Prop 2 just slapped whoever was closest

Dallas Morning News | Steve Blow:

"In the days leading up to the election, I noticed something curious. I talked to people strongly opposed to gay marriage who also said things like: 'I've got nothing against gays.' Or, 'I think gay people should be treated fairly.' I believe them. My sense is that this vote does not reflect renewed animosity toward homosexuals."

The majority of voters deny gays legal rights with regard to marriage, yet firmly believe they have "nothing against gays." How people can hold such contradictory beliefs simultaneously is hard to fathom. Yet they do. And are completely oblivious to that fact. Understand how the human mind can do this and you'll have your explanation how good people can hold hateful beliefs without becoming hateful themselves.

Many slave owners in the 1800s must have believed they held nothing against African-Americans, either. They just believed that blacks shouldn't have the same rights and privileges as whites. To later generations, such beliefs reek of hypocrisy. To the people of the time, the contradictory beliefs must have seemed perfectly compatible.

Another ballot initiative indicates how long such mental feats of juggling can persevere. The voters of the city of White Settlement defeated a proposal to rename the town West Settlement. Some of the good townsfolk firmly argued that their town's name is not racist; it just refers to the historical fact that that's where the white folk settled, separate from the nearby native American settlements. They see no contradiction.

It sometimes takes centuries, but attitudes towards African-Americans, towards women, towards homosexuals, are slowly moderating. Actions are slowly aligning with the words. Sadly, that's no consolation for the victims of discrimination today. Discrimination by people who have no idea that they are discriminating.