On a Political Note → ENDA and the Walls of Ignorance
Maybe satellite/cable TV is good for something after all.
CSPAN makes it possible to watch our government on public display.
At least we can watch the proceedings on the House and Senate floors.
I suspect that most of the true governing goes on behind closed doors.
I watched today as the House of Representatives “debated” the Employee Non Discrimination Act, or ENDA. Actually this was the version of ENDA that was deemed to be more palatable to the masses, the version that excluded protection from employment discrimination for transgender individuals.
Representative Tammy Baldwin introduced and withdrew an amendment that would have called for protections based on gender identity. She made a passionate plea for compassion that fell on deaf ears.
According to a poll conducted by the Human Rights Campaign, 70% of the GLB community was in favor of excluding transgender protections from the bill in order to help get it passed. It’s so easy to write off the equality of everyone if it infringes on your own little utopia. It’s so easy to exclude such a small minority. Or galvanize hate towards a small minority.
Most of the arguments against ENDA were based on religious beliefs. It appears that institutionalized hate is OK in the Republican Christian right. If only these people who think they have all the answers in this and the next world would actually inform themselves about what is real and what is blind faith, this world and our government would be much better off and so would they! Does anybody live by the Golden Rule anymore?
The bill had specific provisions that excused religious institutions and also the marriage rights bigots from having to conform to it’s provisions. Heck, there were even two amendments added that redundantly addressed both of these subjects. Whatever happened to separation of Church and State?
The GLB community selfishly threw off the T in order to serve their own narrow interests. Where was the GLB community at Stonewall? This bill is doomed anyway because it is certain to be vetoed by the president. Why be so quick to jettison the T?
There are sayings, “divide and conquer”, “united we stand, divided we fall”, blah, blah, blah, but I think there is a deeper issue.
In the last few elections the right wing had vilified the GLBT movement, and has actively sought to keep it at second class status. The idea of same sex marriage was enough of an issue that it drove people to the polls in droves who were filled with irrational hatred. The demographics have been changing over the last few years, the unpopular war and the previous congressional elections have opened many eyes on the right to the fact that hatred for GLBT people will not be enough of an issue in the next election to carry the day for them.
They saw the transgender inclusive ENDA as a way to exploit a very small minority for their galvanizing hate mongering. Aha, transgender, an even more defenseless group!!!!! These right wing beauracrats have redefined the meaning of the “bully pulpit”. Most of these politicos know as much about transgender people as the rest of the country. Our transgender representatives are seen each day on Jerry Springer, people who are just beginning their transitions are guests on Larry King, and the nightly network dramas usually portray transgender people as prostitutes or sex crazed harlots. It is rare indeed to see a transgender individual who is experienced, level headed, and well adjusted in any media outlet.
I’m here to tell you that we are a much bigger demographic than they realize! There are so many T people who live in “stealth”, and the last thing they would want is for someone to find out about their past. Our best examples would never come forward in the past. Society has judged us by our worst examples. Unfortunately that makes us an easy target. What is needed is an end to being “stealth”!!!!
This society must grow up someday, get it’s head out of the gutter, and stop letting the fear mongers run our lives! We must be visible, functioning and contributing members to the society in a public fashion!! Come out of the stealth closet America!
But wait, we might be fired from our jobs and we have no recourse. There is no protection for people who fall under the category of T.
If only the HRC and the Democrats had some balls!!!! Say what you think people! Stand up for what is “right”! What is “right” is an ENDA that includes the T!!! When the next president is in office, please give him or her a bill to sign that serves us all.
Jennifer Leitham
November 7, 2007
