I'm going to keep hitting this subject until it sticks. The way to move forward on ENDA and the GLBT movement as a whole isn't with misdirected anger toward our very own allies, even if we don't always agree with them. I hate to single out the people at QueerToday, but they've done it yet again. According to QueerToday, not only is Frank wrong to split ENDA - something I agree with - but, in fact, he "hates" trans people. That's right, Barney Frank is a "fucking douche bag." No, wait, that wasn't enough, he's a "HUGE fucking douche bag."
But, folks, we can't stop there... QueerToday provided the masses with a nice portrait of Barney Frank on their site. Pay special attention to the burning red eyes; that's right, Barney Frank is evil to the core. He's the devil! The Horror of Horrors - he wanted to actually expand rights and was willing to compromise to do it.
Here I thought the Republicans and DINOs were our enemies. The sad fact is this is how we treat some of the people who have been working the hardest on our behalf. Surely, readers know the saying, "with friends like these..."
PS : we probably wouldn't be talking about ENDA right now if it weren't for Barney Frank.
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If you don't mind, I'm going to mention something I just noticed that has nothing to do with demonizing Barney Frank.
Go to Thomas.loc.gov and look up HR 3685. That is the T-free LGB-only ENDA. It as only 9 cosponsors. The companion bill, the T-only ENDA has even fewer. HR 2015 has 171 co-sponsors.
What this tells me is that there is little to no interest in Congress to split these bills. If legislators believed, as Frank apparently does, that it is a noisy minority that wants to retain the inclusive bill, they would have withdrawn their support and become co-sponsors of the split bills. Apparently only 9 legislators have put their finger in the wind and measured the same drift as Barney. Only 9. How much evidence do people need that our majority and the majority of concerned legislators do not support splitting the bill?
Hey Ryan,
We at queertoday all have different styles of blogging, expressing ourselves - our anger, our feelings, and our thoughts.
I am the founder of the site. I would not have posted in the same way Trevor did, but I have to say none of us, and not Trevor, are not delusional enough to think that Barney is our enemy or that he is evil to the core. I think Trevor has fun expressing his frustrations and anger, and if you've seen his previous posts you'll certainly see that trend.
But naturally we are all frustrated with him, and view him as the person trying to divide us using a strategy that the vast majority of people in our community do not support.
Ok, on the subject of demonizing Frank.
Well, some lampooning is to be expected. However, I agree with you Ryan that the post you link to goes way overboard. But it is had for people to keep perspective in these things.
Most civil rights and human rights movements that I've studied have the same division between the gradualists and the immediatists. Isn't it reassuring to see how normal we are, even when we in-fight? This movement is no different than and other in this respect. :)
I agree with you Laurel =) We should keep it together, but we shouldn't treat Barney Frank the same way we'd treat Tom DeLay.
Mark, I think Frank's doing the wrong thing too, but wouldn't it be better to have everyone on your site call him up and tell him that, reasonably so? If nasty attacks worked on Frank, he wouldn't be here right now. Let's save that sort of firepower for James Dobson, Bush and the like... after all, they're the ones who are really preventing us from passing an all-inclusive ENDA right now, not Barney Frank.
Ryan,
I called and didn't use nasty words.
I can't speak for Trevor, I'm not sure what he said.
And, I have already explained the blog and how we are all different and the posts range from academic to silly and emtional, etc.
Mark
Here's another bit of evidence for Barney Frank that average people want employment protection now for T-folk. On 365gay.com is the announcement that anti-LGBT forces in Oregon failed to get enough signatures to force a voter referendum on two laws passed this year: domestic partnerships, and adding LGBT people to the state's non-discrimination law (covering housing, employment, etc.).
Oregon is not known to be liberal beyond Portland and a few smaller outposts. If T-folk were that onerous to Oregonians, the signatures would have been gathered. But they weren't. Same goes for Washington state, which passed similar legislation earlier this year. Their anti-LGBT forces were also unable to get enough signatures for a referendum vote.
So, what have we here? The vast majority of the people in these two 50:50 dem:repub states have embraced LGBT people and are working to protect them, not divide them. Would it be fair for Mr Frank to refer to the majority of both of these states as "fringe activists"?
Laurel, I feel like if Frank has evidence that splitting ENDA is the way to go, he needs to be more specific. He doesn't have to name all those supposedly pro-G&L yet trans-hating legislators (though I wish he would), but a little explination of their rationale would be really helpful. If they're worried about political backlash, their opponents are going to run the sae attack ads with footage of the Village Halloween parade regardless of the actual contents of the final bill. This doesn't pass the smell test.
Ryan, these issues get heated. You can't really look at people who see issues that affect their lives in the most personal ways and ask them to be more reasonable. Well, you can, but emotions run high, and it gets discouraging when we see little difference between the actual, concrete actions of our friends and our enemies, even if our friends' motivations are supposedly purer. Frank is a smart guy and I find it difficult to believe that he didn't know he'd be taking a lot of heat from trans and pro-trans people over this. Politicians have thick skins, and no matter what happens with ENDA, at least he probably won't get fired for being gay, he'll survive just fine. Frankly, an openly gay US Rep blathering about "fringe activists" is far more damaging to them and far more harmful to society in general in reenforcing Republican memes about being "out-of-the-mainstream" than any attacks on him that he likely doesn't even know or care about could ever be to him.
It seems that the pro-lgbt pressure is having a beneficial effect. read about pelosi's compromise here:
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3274
Ryan's hero, John "Mr. Inclusivity" Aravosis, wasn't content with ignorant mocking of the intersexed, he's now throwing out insinuations that pro-trans forces are ready to align with the Religious Right. This makes me really confused.
I know casting aspersions on our own allies is really bad, so to prevent it am I supposed to attack people for having Liberal Cooties and actually asking the representatives who are supposed to represent to knock off compromising with Republicans and watering down bills and actually do something sustantive for a change, like Barney, or am I supposed to ridicule the intersexed and imply that anyone who disagrees with me is actively campaigning with James Dobson and Pat Robertson (you know, make smears up), like John?
I want to be inclusive, but I need guidance.
This is nothing more than a tempest in a teapot. Even in the unlikely event that a T- bill were to get through the House and survive filibustering in the Senate this term, it will not be signed into law. And it is clear that there will not be enough votes in either house to over-ride a veto.
Quite frankly, I am tired of Ts having induced groups, such as HRC and NGTLF, that originally sold themselves as working for equal rights for gays & lesbians, to hold legislation that might benefit G&Ls hostage to the Ts' interest. HRC and NGTLF haven't really gotten much of anything done for G&Ls at the federal level, so I don't bother with them any more.
--raj
Anon 8:43,
"Frankly, an openly gay US Rep blathering about "fringe activists" is far more damaging to them and far more harmful to society in general in reenforcing Republican memes"
That's exactly why I think we need to keep ENDA inclusive, especially when we aren't going to pass it in any form whatsoever. It's damaging to the community; I absolutely agree with that. But it's also damaging to the community to go on and attack him mercilessly, instead of urging him rationally to change his mind. He has been working for us. We're not always going to agree. But we still have to remain part of the same movement and use our internal strengths to try to get him to do the right thing, not go on hyberolic-type of attacks.
Anon 4:42,
I sense a little sarcasm... but I'll ignore it. They should get "uppity" they're being discriminated against on a daily basis. However, their are efficient ways to protest/urge/etc. and innefficient ones. Calling Barney Frank a "douche bag" is of the latter variety.
Anonymous @ 4:42PM
Those of us who understand the reference know that your reference is dumb. "Uppity" was derived from "uppity Negroes," by majority whites. your reference to "uppity Intersexed" vis-a-vis gays&lesbians is one minority in relation to a relatively small minority.
So now, explain to us, why should G&Ls eschew potential rights for a minority who has not yet laid the groundwork to have them included.
--raj
Tammy Baldwin, the other openly gay member, has another take than Frank. In fact, she thought we had a slim majority WITH trans inclusion... interesting to note.
Cute. Some juvenile knows how to use Photoshop.
Perez Hilton does, too.
--raj
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