thomascwaters.com

I’ve been listening to all the discussion about Harry Reid’s comment about Obama, and those who are calling it racist and those who are not. And somewhere within all that noise, there is a growing (hopefully) discourse about structural racism. The ways in which our very systems of thought and organization perpetuate racial inequality. Someone interviewed put it this way- when will we be able to turn the discussion to what is racism, instead of talking about if some set of words is racist?

In the area of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer rights, the same type of thing happens. Without difficulty, we can name actions as hate or homophobic, but we so often fail to see the underlying pervasive structural systems that generate these inequities. We are left throwing criticisms at people, who may be guilty of saying or doing things, but fail to convict the system within which they are operating. Foucault had it all right. It is a shame that he has fallen out of favor (and was a real bitch to try and understand anyway).

The linked story is one that demonstrates this underlying system of thought:

Japanese Trans Man Is Told His Child Is Illegitimate.

It will be easy for most to simply cry out that the officials have acted wrongly in denying this father and mother the right to name this as their child. This child is not illegitimate, but has two loving parents. If every other element of the story were exactly the same, except that the father had been born with male genitalia, the outcome would have been different.

But the more important story here, especially for GLBTQ activists, is to see the underlying structural issue. Look at the way heterosexism is “built in” to the system. Look at how much the notion of “Family” is a heterosexist construction?

This way in which the very systems of our are systemically biased towards traditional gender roles, and patriarchal power systems is why the fight for GLBTQ rights is so difficult. Worth fighting? Yes, to be sure! But in that struggle, it is critical to not allow the frustration of it to cause you to give up and stop fighting for what is right.

Read the attached story, it is a good read, and let me know what you think- are we struggling against bad people, or a systemic system which is biased towards heterosexism?

Gay Community News : Japanese Trans Man Is Told His Child Is Illegitimate..

There were three big national election items to watch in terms of GLBTQ issues: Same-sex marriage in Maine, Civil Unions in Washington, and Anti-discrimination protections in Kalamazoo, and the results of two of these are complete. for most, the big news is the loss in Maine of marriage equality. But for me, the really big news, is the victory in Kalamazoo.

Kalamazoo

The battle in Kalamazoo is where Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will be added to the city’s existing nondiscrimination protections. Of the three races, I was most worried about this one. The ads out there by opponents to the ordinance were hateful, and attempted to  reframe the issue, as one of the “right to privacy.”

This is a big win, in the sense that a loss here would have been catastrophically damaging to any future attempts to add sexual orientation or gender identity and expression to any other protections across the country. Here in Pennsylvania, we are trying t pass PA HB 300 to do just that at a state level. Of theses three big election issues, Kalamazoo was the only one to have anything to offer to bisexual and the trans communities, and at least I, think that is important.

Kalamazoo voters approve anti-discrimination law | freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

Maine

Most of the press within the lesbian and gay communities will be over the loss in Maine where it looks like 53% of the voters were opposed to same-sex marriage. This issue will have devastating impact across the country as well for same-sex families, and same-sex couples who wish for the legal protections and benefits of marriage. However, unlike last November’s defeat in California with the passing of Prop 8, this loss wasn’t so unexpected. The race has been neck and neck with even pollsters unsure how it would turn out. I think the size of the win (53%) may be a bit of a surprise though. I was anticipating a loss, but expected it to be much closer- 51-52% for Yes on 1.

I hesitate to write too much until more of the facts are in because I don’t want to commit to eternity saying anything that will turn out to not be true with more thorough reporting. But this will be a critical battle to disect to better understand how our side lost. There are three factors that suggest that it is our own side’s fault for this loss, and each will need to be thoroughly considered:

1. The opposition used the same game plan as they used to win in California. Since we knew the game plan, where did we fall short in combatting it?
2. If this win was so critically essential to the whole lesbian and gay communities across the country, why didn’t “we” pump every nickel and dime we had, and get every person we could on the ground there to ensure a victory? Why did some activists push for a National March on Washington that had no actual practical impact of day to day life of LGBTQ Americans when that time, talent and money could have gone to good use in Maine?
3. What is wrong with the polling that this loss wasn’t better known beforehand? What do we need to learn about polling on GLBTQ issues so that we have better data to work with?

Last point I want to make about Maine, is that some (have no idea how many) within the trans communities are bashing the gay and lesbian communities for “throwing them under a bus” in Maine. I expect to write more about this, but the whole of the GLBTQ[add whatever letters you want] communities will have to have serious dialogue about how the seeking of rights for some impact all, or exclude some or…. This issue “whose rights are we fighting for” is central to understanding how we move forward everywhere.

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/maine-voters-say-we-dont-to-gay-marriage/legislation/2009/11/04/5082

Washington (the state)

(I add that, because a Marriage Equality battle is brewing in Washington DC, however after the loss in Maine, I wonder how that will change.) From what I can tell, Referendum 71 in Washington is still too close to call, but it is looking promising for the GLBTQ community. Unlike Maine, Washington was looking to keep Civil Union Rights for same-sex couples, that their legislature approved with what has been called the “everything but marriage” law. I have received flack from a number of bloggers and activists, but seems to me that Civil Unions/ Domestic Partnerships would strategically be a great way for us to move forward in our battle for full equality, because polls show that more Americans can support Civil Unions than can support same-sex marriage. Clearly when push comes to shove, it seems Civil Unions may hold up better to a public vote.

Without a doubt, Civil Unions do not provide enough rights and priviledges, but is it strategically the right way to move forward? Through it same-sex families receive more rights and protections than they have with nothing at all, and it moves people closer to being able to accept full same-sex marriage.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7460-Spokane-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m11d3-Referendum-71-Results-Coming-In

I’l write much more as more reporting of these three elections turns up.

How Gay is this cake?

Today’s post requires interactivity and some singing. As I try and blow out the candle on my blog’s birthday cake, I expect to hear everyone singing on or off tune- I don’t care, but sing! Exactly 1 year ago, today, I posted my first blog entry to thomascwaters.com, and now, 775 posts later, I’m celebrating! That first post wasn’t much, except it was the start, and over time a lot has happened, not to mention al those posts, and the almost 40 drafts I have started but haven’t finished. I want to do three things in this post today. 1) I want to say a bit about my story, and how or why this blog has come about; 2) I want to point out a few of my favorite posts from the last year; and 3) I want to say something about what I hope will happen over the next year.

Why I’m blogging at thomascwaters.com

I have blogged on and off for a number if years, on my .mac site, since iWeb has a built in blogging capability. Some of those posts still exist, others have been wiped away, as I have messed up that site and the only way  to move forward was to redo it from scratch. Blogging there, was never very focused, and always more personal. For example, one of my favorites from there, is a post about visiting the Betsy Ross house in Philadelphia, and now gone, there was a series of posts about masculinity, identity and growing older written while I was on a gay cruise. Sites published to a .Mac account aren’t indexed by Google, and while some friends visited, the posts had limited traffic. Still it was a start. I also had worked on a podcast called Queer Look at the Bible, also published to my ,Mac account, and distributed via iTunes. Not many episodes were created, but I fell away from working on the show, not sure if anyone was really listening. However it remained an important project to me.

Last September I read about Podcamp Pittsburgh on Twitter. I had been following Chris Brogan, and then, Justin Kownacki- and I decided to attend PCPGH as a way to get back on track with my podcast. I wanted to learn WordPress, move my blog to WordPress and become rich and famous, or at least get a few people to actually listen to my podcast. I met Andy Quayle of Tubu.net, and set up two domains on his site. The idea was to use a personal site, thomascwaters.com, as a place to experiment and learn WordPress and then implement what I learned on my podcast’s site, QLATB.com.

I have heard over the past few months, a number of younger LGBT activists talk about how last year’s election and defeat in California- Prop 8- inspired them to become activists and bloggers. It impacted me heavily too. I had made only 3 posts, and then came Prop 8! My partner and I were away on vacation at an all gay resort, and watching Obama win and Prop 8 pass was exhilerating and maddening al at the same time. After the first few posts, my focus turned to the election, election results, prop 8 and the fight for gay rights, and all of a sudden, thomascwaters was a gay activist blog and I haven’t regretted a single moment of it. I have used it as a way to learn WordPress, and there have been a few attempts to really get the podcast going, but my time, energy, passion and purpose have all found a home here on this blog. I didn’t become a blogger or activist because of Prop 8, but Prop 8 was an instigation to turn my voice towards something meaningful to me in a way I hadn’t experienced before.

A Few Favorite Posts

There have been a few real highlights over the year, but today I wanted to mention just a few that were important to me for a few reasons. They aren’t in any particular order.

Gay Kiss, El Paso Texas and Follow up post

These two posts marked a change in the way I was treating information I found on the web, especially in blogs. I usually spend some time surfing around and reading stuff. But at one point I started to look specifically at right-wing blogs. Rather than just respond to them, I started to investigate what they were saying, and this was a fun example. I found the claims being made to be insane, so I called the city council, the mayor’s office and the newspaper in El Paso to get the real story.

Posts about Transgender, Transexual, and Intersex

The linked post started a long dialogue about if the “T” in LBGT or GLBTQ belonged there, and if it included or silenced Transexual and Intersex individuals. There are a number of other posts that talk about the same or related topics, just search by keyword. In my opinion, this is one of the most important things I’ve written about all year. The issue of having agency, and voice for all those who are covered (this is debatable) within the pink alphabet soup communities of LGBT/GLBTQ/[add your initials here]  is a topic that we must talk about and explore if the goal is understood as full equality for all. Here in the US, we have states where a same-sex couple can get married by a Transgender or Transexual person can be fired, simply for being TG/TS. That is as far from equal rights as we can get, although there may be some gay and lesbian activists OK with it.

Mommies, Babies, and Ideas

This was a post where I felt I was doing, in a blog post all the stuff I really want to be doing. Not only passing along information, but offering my ideas as to what is underneath the story.

I can probably find a bunch more posts that were favorites for one reason or another, especially from some of the earlier posts, but I’m happy to point out these three. Al of my blog posts are searchable via keyword, or category.

Looking Ahead

At this year’s Podcamp Pittsburgh, I listened to a blogger talk about how to make your blog successful. for her, successful meant writing a blog that is honest and will provide something meaningful to be read. For her, that meant read by her daughter, and for me, it is broader than that, although I am going to work hard not to be focused on the number or hits, and number or subscribed readers or feeds. Am I glad I have added [whatever post] as content to the world today? Is the blogosphere a bit more complete because of it, or is it just a bit more cluttered? That will be a guide.

I do expect to try and dig into Queer Look at the Bible again. Maybe this time I’ll get it off the ground and keep it running. I still believe it is a critical dialogue needed , especially in today’s political climate where religion is a powerful force in the battle to oppress full equality. God, isn’t the problem. I expect, I’ll be writing a post similar to this over on that site, so check it out.

Shameless plea: in lieu of a birthday gift to the blog, please consider clicking the “Buy me a Cup of Coffee” banner in the far right or at the bottom of the post. Donations to the blog made this way are few and far between but it really helps defray the costs of keeping the blog going. Pretend this is public radio and go ahead and make a donation to keep me on the air, OK?

I have a few other projects I’d like to work on, so at times thomascwaters.com, may take a bit of a back seat, or it may just be the frame for these new ventures. But I have a clearer sense of where I’m going today, unlike those early posts about prop 8 written reactionarily to my frustration and anger.

Two people in the last week have commented that my blog is a place they turn to find out who they need to call, or what they need to know about queer politics. I haven’t really intended to be that type of blog per se. There are a number of good, and much bigger blogs than mine that cover a wider assortment of queer news. But It has me thinking about how can I better highlight calls to action? How can I do a better job of giving readers a sense of how can they make a difference by doing one thing- making a call or sending an email or whatever. I’ll probably try and focus a bit more on this as the next year unfolds.

Thanks to you my readers for being there and supporting me and my blog. Here’s to another great year of blogging!

Photo by by Shoshanah

I’ve written several times that the timing of the March is a problem. And I still think that, but on the other hand, is there really any wrong time to march for our rights? Easy answer: No! The conservatives are doing everything in their power to keep GLBTQ people and many others from full equality and protection, but the attacks on LGBT?QLBTQ’s is unprecidented. Consider the war being waged against Obama appointee, Kevin Jennings- simply because he is a gay man. A long list of examples can be posted here, but I think the case with Jennings is the perfect example, and the far right seems that they will stop at nothing to defeat him, and Obama.

Many within the LGBT community have been outraged at what appears to be Obama’s failure to come through on his campaign promises to the GLBTQ community, and that may be true. But the control of our full equal rights is not in Obama’s hands alone. It is our president, our congress, and the whole of the American people to whom we will be speaking at our march and rally.

So, I hope I will be seeing you in Washington this Sunday, because inspote of whatever problems or flaws there are with the march, it is our chance right now to have our voices heard, to unify as one community full of vastly diverse individuals and demand an end to being treated as second class citezens. Achieving full equality may not happen in a single act or by a single law, but to have anything less is unacceptable, and we must keep demanding our rights, and working to achieve them until full equality for all is simply the way it is.

National Equality March™ « Equality Across America.

@oneloveblog posted about this on Twitter today, and I wanted to add a few thoughts. Mary Cheney and her “long-time partner” are having another baby. While Mary hasn’t been the rabid supporter of crazy stuff like her sister, she has none the less remained very loyal to her father and the conservative movement, and after this birth is planning to start a consulting business with her sister, Liz. How scary is that?

First, I wish her all the best as her family grows. Real families are lesbian and gay families every bit as much as they are straight families, and I applaud her for continuing to make that visible. I think too, it really demands that those of us who are fighting for full equal rights  stop and consider what all of this means.  How is it that within the conservative movement that seems to rely on either Family Values or defending our country, that this image of a gay family exists and has so little power to change minds or the actions of the conservative movement? In other words, why do we let the conservative right,  ”own” family values as if it were a conservative idea, and progressives get framed as anti-family?

For me, this isn’t just about gay marriage, although the legal recognition of same-sex marriage is one major step in protecting gay and lesbian families. It is rather, about visibility, and it is about money or status. If the Cheneys didn’t hold the solid place so close to the core of the Republican Party, would a lesbian mom-to-be ever be such a prominent figure? Or would she have been pushed aside long ago? Why do the rights and privileges of marriage seem unimportant to Mary Cheney and her partner? What role does money and power play to provide them the safety net or other things that help support their family?

While the Republican Party is scrambling to redefine itself, and the far right faction seems to have taken over, one of the other main tenets of conservatism is small government and fiscal responsibility which equates to cutting taxes on the rich, and cutting programs for the poor and middle class. If we are to make headway from a legislative perspective on gay marriage and legal support for GLBTQ families, we need to reframe the “Family Values” discourse, so that it is less about upholding the Bible, and it becomes about actually doing things that help real families- all families thrive. We also need to recognize the role played by the “fiscal responsibility” arm of conservatism. We need to make visible the class elements of it, and identify how this is used along with the far right anti-gay parts of the conservative movement. In other words, it isn’t just the Bible-thumping anti-gay message that keeps conservatives from denying full equality to all families. It is the energy and emotionalism from this anti-gay hatred, supported by the basic class-based status quo.

Until we do, some gay and lesbian families, those in a place of power and wealth will continue to do fine, while the vast majority have no rights.

Kate Klonick – Full Court Press – Mary Cheney pregnant with second child – True/Slant.

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania Names New Board Members

Launches Advocacy-Based Organization Equality Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA- Equality Advocates Pennsylvania today announced several new members of the Board of Directors and the formation of Equality Pennsylvania, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization whose purpose is to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Pennsylvanians through legislative and policy reform. Newly elected Equality Advocates Pennsylvania board members are from the Philadelphia, Scranton, Bloomsburg, and Pittsburgh areas.

“I am excited that such talented and committed individuals from across Pennsylvania have joined the Board of Directors,” said Lynn Zeitlin, Executive Director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania. “Their profound dedication to seeing this organization grow, and the skills each new board member brings to the table is humbling and exciting, and will benefit the thousands of Pennsylvanians we reach each and every year.”

The first statewide board meeting was held on Saturday 26, 2009 in State College during the ground-breaking Pennsylvania Equality Summit. New members recently voted for the formation of Equality Pennsylvania, an umbrella 501(c)(4) organization that will allow staff, volunteers, and donors to have more state-wide influence and directly advocate for legislative and policy priorities for LGBT Pennsylvanians. Jake Kaskey has been named the Policy and Programs Director forEquality Pennsylvania and Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, and will lead and direct legislative and programming activities for both organizations. Mason Lane, recent graduate of Emory University, has been named Eastern Pennsylvania Field Organizer for Equality Pennsylvania.

Plans are underway for the opening of Equality Pennsylvania field offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg in 2010 to engage activists at a local-level and increase involvement in coalition-building and advocacy campaigns.

“Forming Equality Pennsylvania allows us to spend greater time and resources directly advocating for LGBT policy priorities in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania,” said Zeitlin. “We have launched an exciting new organization that will continue to build on the widespread coalition and organizing work for which we are known.”

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania is pleased to announce our newly elected members to the Board of Directors:

Brian K. Sims, Esquire (President), Staff Counsel for Policy & Planning for the Philadelphia Bar Association; Mark L. Usry (Vice President), Associate Professor of Legal Studies at Bloomsburg University; Ann T. Loftus, Esquire (Treasurer), Partner at Zateeny Loftus LLP in Bala Cynwyd; Jay K. Meadway, Esquire (Secretary), Member of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC; Jeff Brauer, Tenured Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Advisor of OPEN/Gay-Straight Alliance at Keystone College in La Plume; Thomas C. Waters, Director of New Media, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy; and M. Saida Agostini, MSW, Targeted Case Manager Supervisor for the Family Shelter Support Team in Philadelphia.

Photos of the newly elected board members can be found at http://tinyurl.com/equalitypaboardpics

Equality Advocates Pennsylvania is dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians through direct legal services, education and policy reform.

A Twitter buddy, @QueerJohn posted this link on Twitter, and I wanted to pass it along via my blog. It is a nice concise statement about why some are marching on Washington. I think it expresses some of the best and worst of what is happening. Let me explain. There are two major flaws in the reasoning worth pointing out.

The march is a call to action for the nation’s queers to stop looking at our fight as individual states fights and take our demands right to the people that matter, the federal government.

The problem here is the notion that it is either a fight on a state-by-state basis or a fight at the national level. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the notion we should stop working at the local, regional or state level is at the least ludicrous, but better described as dangerous. One good example is protections for Transgender Americans. The angry queer notes that there is a federal push for ENDA, yet fails to recognize that ENDA covers only work place discrimination. Some states and other locales offer protections in housing and public accommodations already for Transgender persons, but more offer these protections only for sexual orientation. Passing ENDA while stopping to work for full anti-discrimination protections at a local and state level, leave trans persons unprotected. The other problem with this is the notion that “the people who matter” are all at the federal level. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consider abortion. While abortion is legal everywhere because of federal law and a Supreme Court case, the reality is that in most of the country, the availability for a woman to safe access has been shrinking and as the dwindling number of doctors who perform legal late term abortions suggests this trend will continue. While abortion opponents lost  where it supposedly matters- at the federal level- the real losers have been women who need safe access to legal procedures.

Laws at every level of our government matter, and serve a role in a true democracy, and to even suggest we stop working on one level to only focus on another is dangerous, short sighted and stupid.

While I of course support the efforts of local organizations trying to protect our rights state by state, we need to stop believing that this is the path to civil rights. Nobody has ever [won] one civil rights at the ballot box. And even if we do succeed in Maine and California, do we really think the fight is over? Do we not think that our opponents will put the issues right back on the ballot? Of course they will. And do we think for a moment that a ballot initiative will work in the south? And what about all the states that don’t have ballot initiatives? What about issues other than marriage equality? Trans protections in the ballot box? There is no way that is going anywhere.

The second major flaw in the thinking is above. I am not aware of anyone who “believes that state by state is the path to civil rights.” Maybe those people do exist, but in my experience, and I’m an old guy, few expect achieving real equality to happen without local, regional, state, and federal changes. It will take all levels, not one or the other. But the real motivation, I think is implied here instead of spoken outright:

And even if we do succeed in Maine and California, do we really think the fight is over?

I think some people simply want an easy win, and so in their belligerent and whiny ways they think that “going straight to the top,” pardon the pun, will accomplish that. Most of the real force behind the steamroller that forced a march upon us this year instead of next comes from a few California activists who I think are still pissed off that they couldn’t run a successful campaign against Prop 8. Well, I have news for you- there is going to be no easy win! The battle for full equality is happening and won’t stop, but it also won’t find a simple, easy solution. Yes, the more we make strides (at any level), our opponents will continue to seek to push that progress back. And we will most likely win some battles and lose others. And this will continue until a number of factors change, most of which are in play already. For example, the population who votes is getting younger, and everything shows that as this trend continues, GLBTQ rights issues will be more likely passed at the ballot box. I am not suggesting we should sit back and wait until then, but I am suggesting that to say that because our opponents tend to win at the ballot today doesn’t mean it will always be that way.

Hey, I’m not opposed to working for federal legislation or other actions at the top level of our government. That is all needed stuff, and I too urge everyone to rally for these important legislations. I just wish people would get a clue and stop suggesting that a march is going to solve all of our equality issues. Consider the Matthew Shepherd Act and hate crimes legislation. It isn’t like no one has been working on this already! The battle is going to be ongoing and difficult, and a march on one sunday isn’t going to really change that.

The march can do some really important things, and I too hope many make the trip to help make the march as successful as possible. but to anyone suggesting we stop work on local, regional and state levels- I say to you: You are part of the problem, and not really a part of the solution. We need to keep working at every level. And if we do, we will someday enjoy full equality.

The Angry Queer.

Really awesome blog post linked here, written by Paul Hogarth about why he has decided to take a 10 day trip to Maine and volunteer to help with the No on 1 campaign. I’m thinking of going as well, but I will only be able to swing 1 week and closer to the end of the month if I can get away from work.

I’m thrilled people are going to Washington, but I think going to Maine or Washington is probably the single most important thing anyone who supports equality could do this Fall before election day. As issues and rights go, there are a number of priorities for me that come before same-sex marriage. Hate Crimes legislation, Inclusive ENDA and other non-discrimination coverage, ending DADT, and ending DOMA. But even with those as higher priorities to me, I still believe helping in Maine and Washington is extremely crucial, and here is why.

On one level the battle in these two states are about practical rights. Keeping the ability to marry in one state and have a domestic partnership in the other. but the battle is far bigger than that. If the Conservatives win either of these, I’m afraid we won’t see any progress on any LGBT issue at the state level anywhere across the country except where it is brought up to public vote. Because of the way the laws in each state came into being, it will have a huge cooling affect of legislator’s willingness to risk bringing new GLBTQ/LGBT legislation forward. And in addition to this impact, the far right and conservatives will be adequately reinforced so that they will be more aggressive and go after all sorts of queer laws all over the place.

Maine is critical. After the loss in California, another los in Maine will slow any movement on Marriage in a big way, but Washington is possibly even more important. If they can win in Maine, they wil continue with the claim that no one wants gay marriage. But if they win in Washington, they have a new tactic to use: “no one wants any type of same-sex recognition” will become their battle cry.

Washington DC politics are a mess right now with Health Care taking most of everyone’s attention, and the conservatives resistance to anything progressive is only going to grow unless we see some big progressive wins. And the way blue dog dems are acting, I’m not sure we are going to see any progressive wins. So the state level battles are a place where we have a greater likelihood of having some success that will pay off in the short term as well as impact the long term.

So, how about it- a trip to Maine? Check out what Paul has to say about it:

BeyondChron: San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily News » Why I’m Going to Maine.

One of the ways that the Far Right works to slow (or stop) the movement for Equal Rights for GLBTQ’s, as well as other minorities, is to spread misinformation. Sometimes, this includes outright lies, but more often than not, there is some sliver of truth that is either misrepresented or distorted to form the basis of the attack or argument. Those of us fighting so hard for full civil rights need to both be aware of when these things occur, and also well versed enough in the truth to be able to counter the claims whenever possible. Free speech allows for the distortions, and free speech is always a good thing. The solution is to speak the truth so that the misinformation is countered.

The links below illustrate how some on the Far Right construct their misinformation. There are a few important angles to this story, but today I want to focus only on how misinformation is constructed. The story starts with a gay conservative blog called “Gay Patriot,” where an post was written by someone named B. Daniel Blatt. Blatt’s argument against ENDA has 2 main points:

• ENDA isn’t needed because large corporations, such as the Fortune 500 companies are adopting non-discrimination policies on their own.
• ENDA would be impossible to enforce.

This second assertion contains the seeds of misinformation. Mr Blatt wonders if the way a federal law would be enforced would be to determine if discrimination exists based on what percentage of a work force is gay, and then forcing employers to hire gay people. Both of Blatt’s points are ludicrous, but he, like any blogger, including myself, are entitled to share our own opinions. So, not surprisingly a gay conservative site, rails against federal laws, and expresses one person’s opinion as a basis for an argument. Not that big a deal in some regards- in fact I would suggest that is partly the role of a blog is to put ideas out there, and allow discussion.

Discussion did indeed ensue on Pam’s House Blend in a blog post by Autumn Sandeen, where Blatt’s ideas were countered with facts. Correctly, Sandeen identifies Blatt’s position as libertarian, and then describes in considerable detail what is wrong with his ideas. This is all good stuff, and I encourage everyone to read Sandeen’s post on Pams House Blend.

Enter a Far Right blogger, Bryan Fischer writing for Renew America. Fischer is a talk show host known to be way out there on the fringe right. But like Blatt (and myself), all of us bloggers are entitled to share our own opinions. However, what Fischer does, is go beyond sharing his opinion and a distortion is formed. Fischer seeks to validate Blatt as a “gay activist,” because if even a gay activist is saying something, then it must be true. Fischer does this in two ways. First, he cites and responds to the article on Pam’s House Blend which is heavily liberal and very gay and lesbian. Pam often writes from the first person. Fischer writes:

According to a far-left website, a gay activist by the name of B. Daniel Blatt has written that passing ENDA…

OK, now that I’m writing this, I was wrong. This isn’t just distortion, but outright lying. Sandeen’s piece never identifies Blatt as a gay activist. The far-left website merely identifies a post from a blog and finds every hole and flaw in the argument. But in that one sentence, Fischer elevates Blatt to the status of “expert” and “person-on-the-left” by putting words in Sandeen’s mouth. The reality is that Blatt’s is simply a writer/blogger who has some posts on the Gay Patriot website. Nothing I found of his suggests he is even gay, let alone a gay activist. He is simply a blogger with a point of view who posts to a blog.

Interestingly, Fischer doesn’t even go back to Blatt’s original post. He merely quotes from Sandeen’s post, yet fails to even notice Sandeen’s commentary at all, and Fischer concludes with:

When even homosexual activists say ENDA is a bad idea, you can take it to the bank: it’s a bad idea.

Fischer misses Blatt’s primary argument:

Of course, it’s wrong to discriminate against an employee just because he (or she) is gay, but it isn’t the government’s business to prevent business owners from doing wrong. (Bold emphasis added is my own- not a part of the original.)

Blatt doesn’t really call ENDA a bad idea, because for Blatt, any law where the government tries to control business wrong-doing is wrong. In other words, for Blatt, ENDA isn’t wrong because it protects gay people, it is wrong because all laws affecting business are wrong. But Fischer doesn’t mind that. His goal was to create a distortion, accomplished by finding a way to label Blatt a gay activist, which he does by falsely attributing that to Sandeen.

There are some other points, I’d like to make about this, but suffice for now, this is the anatomy of a Far right distrotion.

Blatt’s original post

Pam’s House Blend:: ENDA: Libertarian Gay & Lesbian Thought Vs. Progressive LGBT Community Thought .

Home of the lies and distortion: Renew America

Now that I’ve been back in Pittsburgh for a day, I’m mostly recuperated from yesterday’s trip to State College for the PA Equality Summit. Sponsored by the ACLU of PA and Equality Advocates PA, the gathering was designed to join existing social justice groups as well as individuals together and lay out a plan for advocacy work this fall on issues related the the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer communities. The summit was also the location for the Equality Advocates Board of Directors meeting, and was my first meeting since being invited to join the board. and if that wasn’t enough, I gave a presentation on Social Media.

First, just a short comment about the board meeting. It is a real pleasure and an honor to work with some amazing smart and committed folks, and I am so excited to be in this position.

Next let me talk about the presentation. It seemed to go really well, and the audience was pretty engaged throughout, and asked some great questions. As promised, a SocialMedia (my slide set) is attached. I hope I wasn’t too misleading about the slides (which I couldn’t show there). I guess they are pretty lame, but there is some good info there, so enjoy. I love talking about social Media, almost as much as I love talking about being an advocate for GLBTQ issues. There is a sense I get in my gut, a feeling that the words come from my core in a way that is different for me. I attribute it to just really loving what I’m talking about. so, if you need a guy to run his mouth at your meeting, let me know- I’m always happy to talk about these topics.

So, let me share some general thoughts about the Summit overall. I don’t know what the final tally of attendees was, but it looked like quite a few to me. What was more impressive than just the numbers however, was the diversity expressed within the group. There were folks who had been activists for a long time, and folks who were just looking for a way to get involved and get started. A group of 4 or 5 had come from Bedford County, where they don’t have any GLBT-related group, but they want to start one. I think most every part of the state was represented within this mixture of folks. In addition to folks that might see themselves as “inside the GLBTQ communities, there was an excellent number of straight allies there! One of my favorite bloggers, John from the Pennsylvania Progressive was there, and we had an awesome chat about blogging, writing styles, finding your voice and those types of things of interest to a blogger. But, he wasn’t the only one! I was also thrilled to see Pittsburgh’s Jason Cable there, who writes a blog as well as does a podcast. Between people from Faith communities, to liberal activists, PFLAG members and a wide assortment of folks from many parts of the GLBTQ communities, it was a unique gathering.

For some, PA HB 300 has never been out of mind, but the long drawn out budget fiasco in Harrisburg has meant that for many, anything outside the budget has been totally off the radar. As we get ready to move into Fall, it is time to refocus on PA HB 300 and why passing it is so important. Wow- been months since I have typed those words. While nation-wide same-sex marriage is trendy (and not unimportant here in PA) the reality is that every state is in a different place when it comes to this issue, with some states going for civil marriage, others going for civil unions, others for domestic partnerships, and still others, going the other direction entirely. PA is pretty far away from civil marriage for gays and lesbians, given the fact that earlier in 2009, was the very first time we have ever had any vote whatsoever on any GLBT-themed legislation. PA is unique though- we are one of only a few states which has squashed an attempt to push an anti-gay marriage amendment through in the state. So, how are we going to get basic protection in housing, employment, and public accommodations passed?

The morning was spent reviewing HB 300, why it is written as it is, what it covers, and what are some talking points about it. A fair amount of discussion surrounded the issue of Gender Identity and Expression- what this language means (and doesn’t mean) and why is it integral to the bill. Something, I guess I knew, but hadn’t really thought about: the Inclusive ENDA bill currently moving through the US House is a great idea, but unlike the state legislation, it only covers employment. So, I’m glad that legislation is moving ahead, but we need PA HB 300 so that everyone is protected from discrimination in housing and public accommodations. We also talked a lot about the religious exemption and what it covers and why.

You wouldn’t know it based on the misinformation spread by the legislation’s opponents, but the bill has a religious exemption as well as case law that means that religious organizations are basically exempt from laws like this when it comes to teaching and communications personnel- which covers a lot of people, like pastors, music directors, etc. An example of this in action is that the fact that even though it is unlawful to discriminate based on sex, no one is filing claims against the Catholic Church nor forcing them to hire female priests. The problem for some however, comes outside of religious institutions, when individuals feel they should have a right to discriminate based on their personal religious views. Even in these situations, the discrimination seems clear. There is no quote from the Bible that says, you shouldn’t allow a gay person to earn a living, for example.

There seem to be several reasons why legislators are not moving quickly on HB 300. Some may be afraid that if they vote for it, there will be a conservative backlash next election. Someone raised the statistic (not sure where to find it) that shows that no politician who has voted for GLBT rights legislation has ever lost their seat because of it. But another factor may be keeping some reluctant. A number of legislators don’t believe that people in their district care about this bill, so our job is to get the word out that we do care about PA HB 300!

There are a number of ways ranging from least effective to most effective, when it comes to getting your message across to your elected officials:

• Send a “blasted” email. This is the easiest but least effective form of communication with your elected official. You receive an email from Equality Advocates, or the HRC or someone, and in it is a way to send a quick email off to your legislator by pushing a button. Ideally everyone who gets one of these will respond and send the email, but because it is a “form letter” email, it doesn’t carry quite as much weight with the legislator. A tip for making it stand out and mean more: add a personalized message at the beginning of the email body.
• Send a personal email or fax. This is most effective, if you email or fax your own legislator. some legislators ignore stuff that come from outside their district, but some pay attention to it.
• Pick up the phone and call! This is a pretty good thing to do, especially if your legislator votes for a bill important to you. Often, they only hear from disgruntled constituents, so make sure to thank them when they vote positively for you. If you call, you most likely will get a staff person who will record whatever you say and pass it on to the legislator.
• The very best, most effective way however is to meet with your elected official! Here is an instruction guide on how to do that.