I was also raised in the Empire State, a land often assumed to be more progressive than it actually is, but nevertheless a blue wonderland in comparison to others. It's electoral votes, though diminishing, is still nothing to sneeze at. We're the land of New York Friggin City for cryin' out loud. The birthplace of the NAACP and Stonewall. We're the state that has the U.S.'s first blind governor, not to mention 1 of only 3 black governors in U.S. history.
Now, in my finals years of college, I find myself dating the constantly used and abused "non sexy" land of Washington D.C. My district is very close to marriage equality, with a vote expected to come up in our D.C. council in as little as 2 months. There are other places, states not named California or New Jersey, where the progress on marriage equality is not yet near critical mass like in D.C., but rather there is a slow, uphill, yet steady climb to equality.
Yes, even now, in post prop-8 world, we are winning the non-sexy states. Case and point. Iowa.
Granted, Iowa can be pretty sexy say every 4 years, but post-election it has rejoined ranks with the non-sexy states.
Two weeks before the Iowa Supreme Court hears arguments in a challenge to the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, a new poll indicates a majority of people in the state support gay couples, but are divided on whether they should be allowed to marry or have civil unions.
The University of Iowa poll found that 28.1 percent of those surveyed support same-sex marriage, while another 30.2 percent support civil unions, but not marriage. A third of those questioned oppose any recognition of same-sex couples, with about 10 percent having no opinion or refusing to answer.
This is good. Of course it could be better. But this is a great place to be. Day by day, civil union supporters are increasingly exposed to stories like that of Laurel Hester. Laurel Hester can best speak for herself:
Laurel Hester is the subject of a documentary titled "Freeheld":
At dramatic moments in the documentary, including a scene in which Lieutenant Hester, who lived in Point Pleasant, appears in a wheelchair at a freeholders’ meeting to ask that her pension be transferred to Ms. Andree, sobs could be heard in the audience.
“It was a tough movie to watch,” said Sam Joseph, 49, who lives in South Orange. “I’ve been with my partner for 30 years and it’s always been an issue: What if one of us get sick?”
None of the five Ocean County freeholders, who ultimately voted to extend benefits to same-sex couples, were at the screening.
We're telling our stories. Propositions can be passed, constitutions amended, legislatures capitulate, but out voices only grow stronger. When one asks "where is the movement for marriage equality", one only has to measure the hoarseness of their own voice. That will tell you the state of our movement.
Iowa is a sign of the progress we have made. We have a broad base of support to work from. After generations of struggle we have supporters scattered across the political spectrum and, combined, they are the majority. Our victories in the coming months, years and decades will hinge on pushing our supporters closer to true equality and also reaching out to those current opponents willing to reason and debate. Our stories are breathtaking and are the best arguments for equal marriage.
Craig Ross, 46, watched the movie with his partner, Richard Cash, 54, for whom he is trying to obtain insurance through his employer, a technology company based in the Midwest.
“I have asked about it, but they don’t recognize civil unions, only marriage,” Mr. Ross said.
“I wish this film had a happy ending,” Mr. Goldstein shouted to the crowd after the credits rolled. “It does not. Our civil union law is failing; it is not respected like marriage.”
Between the showing of the film and the beginning of the Oscar broadcast, Ed Mather, 66, of Morris County, said he was still working for the right to marry his partner of 39 years, the Rev. Robert O. Kriesat, with whom he attended the screening.
“The goal is full marriage rights,” he said.
Our path to victory may have begun on the coasts, may have found more direction with prop 8, but it will end in the America we often deride with offensive names, or even worse, forget exist.
It will happen with Small Town, Gay Bars, with LGBT people of faith and many others.
Our stories exist not just in blue states, but in every every town, state and region in America.
I was chatting with Shannon Garcia of Trans Youth Family Allies on the Saturday night after Black Friday, and let her know I did some shopping online at Lands' End. Shannon was telling me they it was well know that Lands' End was a company that were not supportive of their LGBT workers. Well, I never heard that, so I looked up the company last night. And, as some my already know, Lands' End was bought out by Sears (specifically, Sears Holding Corp.) a few years ago. Whatever the policies were for Lands' End when it was a stand alone company aren't currently in play. Does that mean that the Lands' End division of Sears currently follows Sears polices? Well, I don't know -- I didn't find anything online when I looked.
Doing research online though, I did learn that Sears now has a 100% rating from the HRC's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), and is listed in Best Places to Work 2008. So, great place to buy, based on the HRC CEI rating and Best Places to Work endorsement, correct?
Well, of course the devil is in the details. There is a detailed CEI report for Sears Holding Corp. that has subheaded sections for Transgender Benefits and Diversity Training & Management.
[More below the fold]
Sears/Lands' End apparently is doing the absolute minimum they need to do to get a 100% rating from the HRC. Sears has mandatory gender identity diversity training for supervisors and management, but doesn't have written guidelines or procedures concerning employees who transition on the job.
As for medical benefits for trans employees, Sears only provides time off to employees who get surgeries related to transitioning. Sears doesn't cover mental health counseling, hormone therapy, medical visits, or surgical procedures related to transitioning.
And, doing as little as Sears does for its trans employees, the HRC lists Sears as one of their Best Places To Work 2008.
The HRC CEI's 100% rating doesn't help me as a trans consumer who wants to spend my pink dollars at businesses that have progressive policies for their trans employees. To find out if a particular business that has a 100% rating from the CEI truly has progressive policies for their trans employees, I have to read the detailed report for the business.
Basically in my opinion, the HRC has set the bar way too low regarding progressive policies for trans employees for companies to get the 100% rating, and be listed as Best Places To Work. In other words, the CEI's percentage based rating system doesn't help me at all as a trans consumer who wants to spend my pink dollars at businesses that have progressive policies for their trans employees.
So for me, no more shopping at Sears or Lands' End. It's not at all that I'm boycotting Sears and their affiliates -- I'm just sure there are other places that sell clothing that have more progressive policies for their trans employees than Sears has.
Shopping with my pink dollars in a way that rewards businesses that have progressive policies for their trans employees apparently is going to take a lot of effort on my part. I believe after watching Milk on T-Day night, I believe it's incredibly important to reward the businesses that support people like me the most.
So how much research do I need to do? Apparently, a lot.
.
Like the president-elect, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is young (37), accomplished (a Rhodes scholar) and, as the son of Indian immigrants, someone familiar with breaking racial and cultural barriers. He came to Iowa to deliver a pair of speeches, and his mere presence ignited talk that the 2012 presidential campaign has begun here, if coyly. Already, a fierce fight is looming between him and other Republicans -- former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who arrived in Iowa a couple of days before him, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is said to be coming at some point -- for the hearts of social conservatives.Exactly -- a feeling of more openness. It takes more than being born in the last half of the century to actually project a nod to diversity and openness, but whatever, the GOP is all about imagery and imagination rather than reality. Look at the sea of pale old folks who attended its convention. But I guess fronting is about as good as the Republicans can do...."The Republicans really have no choice except to look at some people more youthful if they want to have a better chance of winning," said Betty E. Johnson, an independent and the wife of a Cedar Rapids pastor, who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 but who went for Obama over 72-year-old John McCain. "I liked Obama's energy and hope. I don't know, but maybe a younger person would give Republicans a feeling of more energy, openness."
....Meanwhile, others around the country were talking him up. No less an aspiring kingmaker than Steve Schmidt, the chief strategist of McCain's failed presidential bid, sees Jindal as the Republican Party's destiny. "The question is not whether he'll be president, but when he'll be president, because he will be elected someday." The anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist believes, too, that Jindal is a certainty to occupy the White House, and conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh has described him as "the next Ronald Reagan."Wait -- Reagan!? I thought that Sarah Palin was the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan, according to his son Michael:..."If anything, McCain's candidacy suggests that age is not always a positive -- and sometimes is a negative," Norquist says. "As Republicans, you have a real problem now with younger voters and immigrants. If you were going to central casting for a candidate to deal with all that, who do you have? Jindal. He is young, and he looks young. . . . He's a great communicator. And his record is that he's sharp and quick with policy."
Jindal supporters regularly evoke the Reagan parallel, fueled by a confidence that their hero's brand of social and fiscal conservatism, coupled with his sunny folksiness on the stump, can rekindle the Reagan flame.
Wednesday night I watched the Republican National Convention on television and there, before my very eyes, I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he's a she...Welcome back, Dad, even if you're wearing a dress and bearing children this time around.Anyway, this bit of business below the fold is the nugget to pay attention to...
Jindal is his own invention, in the mold of an Obama. Born in Louisiana as Piyush Jindal to highly educated immigrants from India, he decided as a young child to nickname himself "Bobby," after his favorite character on the TV show "The Brady Bunch." Raised as a Hindu, he converted to Catholicism while in college and later wrote a lengthy, intimate story that provided a window on his religious evolution, in a manner that fairly calls to mind Obama's books about his own grappling with issues of self-identity.Yes, there we are. Nothing new, just a new hue to the same bible based policy promotion by the GOP. No one is going to be fooled by this guy....The record is still evolving, like the rest of him. But social conservatives like what they have heard about the public and private Jindal: his steadfast opposition to abortion without exceptions; his disapproval of embryonic stem cell research; his and his wife Supriya's decision in 1997 to enter into a Louisiana covenant marriage that prohibits no-fault divorce in the state; and his decision in June to sign into law the Louisiana Science Education Act, a bill heartily supported by creationists that permits public school teachers to educate students about both the theory of "scientific design" and criticisms of Darwinian evolutionary concepts.
Let's just take a look at some of the fun stuff about Bobby Jindal that was unearthed this cycle and tell me if these posts from the Blend files reflect change or more of the same...
* McCain VP short-lister Bobby Jindal's exorcist work.
in an essay Jindal wrote in 1994 for the New Oxford Review, a serious right-wing Catholic journal, Jindal narrated a bizarre story of a personal encounter with a demon, in which he participated in an exorcism with a group of college friends. And not only did they cast out the supernatural spirit that had possessed his friend, Jindal wrote that he believes that their ritual may well have cured her cancer.And more...
* Bobby 'The Exorcist' Jindal to let anti-discrimination law expire
* Jindal draws a blank when asked about McCain's 'big ideas'
* Bobby 'Exorcist' Jindal ready to sign off on stealth creationism bill
* Jindal: intelligent design is legitimate science
Subscribe to daily Email
0 comments:
Post a Comment