We done gone and done it.
Lyndsey had her rant about this yesterday; I suppose today it’s my turn, ’cause we done gone and done it, kids. ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act intended to protect people from discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation and gender identity, has passed the House - without the trans-inclusive language.
And according to surveys, the majority of us are all right with that.
Do you know what the LGBT community (oh, excuse me - the LGB community) just did?
We just pulled a W.
That’s right, we took a page out of the rulebook of the man that many of us despise as one of the worst presidents in the history of our nation.
Remember “No Child Left Behind”?
Uh-huh.
Now remember the recent presidential veto of a bill that would have provided healthcare for thousands of children who don’t currently receive care?
…how many children do you think were left behind there, hm?
So what happened to our solidarity? What happened to human rights and civil rights organizations, LGBT/GBLTQ foundations, lawmakers, representatives, lobbyists, all so loudly protesting the removal of trans-inclusive language from ENDA? Somewhere along the way it died down to an abrupt and pathetic murmur, and the T in LGBT got left behind while the rest of us sailed on merrily ahead. I know we’re all tired of having to fight for every last tiny thing we get, but is that any reason to roll over and show our bellies and accept the little table scraps we’re given with hardly a fight?
Are we really so selfish that we’re willing to say, “Well, let’s just take it this time and make sure we’re covered, and we’ll worry about the transpeople later”?
Not acceptable, people. Not acceptable. There’s a reason we call ourselves the GBLTQ/LGBT community - because we are a community, no matter how much we snipe at each other from within. It’s like family; you may not always like each other, but you pull together in the end and support each other even if you don’t always approve of each other.
There comes a time when you have to pick your battles, and be satisfied with the small victories. This is not one of those times. If we start letting transpeople be pushed aside…
…who’s next?
ENDA, employment non-discrimination act, GENDA, workplace protections, house of representatives, house speaker nancy pelosi, transgender, transvestite, transsexual, crossdresser, crossdressing, mtf, ftm, m2f, f2m, male-to-female, female-to-male, gender identity, gender dysphoria, transition, transitioning, sex change
November 8th, 2007 at 8:46 am
This upsets me so much. I don’t feel right about it at all. It’s like winning a game, but knowing that you cheated to get there. I don’t see this as a victory … I see it as a shame.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:30 am
It’s mean, that’s what it is. It’s a kick to their faces.
November 8th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Who’s next? Very interesting question…let’s see, who could be next in the discrimination backslide? Uh–the rest of our community? Then we go back to the ’50’s again where the African American community gets their rights taken away? And then…perhaps women? Let’s make it all revert back to where only the free, rich white man had all the power. But only if they were sexually attracted to women, and married them.
AS a trans person myself, it pisses me off that everyone has to think in terms of who gets basic equal rights, and who doesn’t. When the EEO was passed to begin with, wasn’t it Equal Employment Opportunities–for ALL? Shouldn’t we just say, “All human beings have rights regardless of who they sleep with, who they identify as, what they have between their legs, and what the color of their skin is”?
I could say more about this, but I will wait until my new 451 Press blog gets activated…
November 8th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
What of other gender sexual identities? The asexual, polysexual, bisexual or [other/insert here]?
I don’t have to worry about US laws, but they can impact on judgements in the UK sometimes. I have friends who are poly, asexual, trans, etc. I don’t fit into the nice neat straight female mould either. Not comfortable with the way these things are going.
November 9th, 2007 at 8:29 am
This is not good and does not bode well for the future.
November 9th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
[...] be much explosively new going on on the news front this morning, anyway. People are b*tching about ENDA, churches are still screeching about allowing GBLTQ parishioners to have certain freedoms or even [...]
November 10th, 2007 at 12:41 am
…This is when I say something rather gauche and suggest that, in fact, no one is “next.” Established rights by one group of people do not evaporate because new rights of others fail to pass. You cannot reasonably assume things will go back to the 1950’s without evidence–namely, active and frequent repeals of non-trivial gains made in the 60’s and 70’s. This isn’t even a repeal.
I cannot condone what happened on the House floor, but I cannot condemn the subsequent responses of the community. Faced with the possibility of real change (as opposed to the toy bill it probably will end up being), people will choose it over stagnation and utter failure.
More importantly, momentum works in two ways. Tabling the argument of the possibility of the bill living to see law, what is better in the long run: passing a bill that helps some percent of the community, or failing to pass any bill at all? The general consensus is that it is better to do some good than no good, and I will reserve judgement until I see any good at all.
I will say that as something originally meant to make a statement, it is in rather poor taste. But then, I suspect I’m repeating myself.
November 21st, 2007 at 2:35 pm
[...] it might seem a little trite when transfolk were conveniently left behind during the vote on ENDA, but it’s still important to show respect for transpeople nonetheless; a little extra [...]