I liked it. It was on point but now it's time for him to push action.
And yes, I noticed what he said about DADT. And I know that others noticed his mention of the commitment to overturn the policy.
Now before some of us start ruminating in that particular way which we do, I would ask that you remember the faces of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They weren't exactly looking all that happy.
Maybe I am misinterpreting their desire not to show emotion, but then again, maybe I'm not.
Overturning DADT should happen and it will. But it won't be easy. We should remember that. Instead of directing venom at Obama's way because he "isn't moving fast enough," I would suggest that we continue to do what we do - and that is to exert pressure on the President. Remind him that we helped to get him elected and we lgbts as Americans deserve our rights.
But let's not get caught away with the hyperbole. Yes, we are all tired of being second class citizens but talking about how sick and tired you are may make you feel good via facebook or the blogs, but it entails more than that.
To tell the truth though, I have been very disturbed by some folks' overeagerness to paint the President as a "bigot." He is pragmatic to the point of annoyance at times, but to call him names reveals a haste that's not conducive to the community.
And if I may take it further, I especially hate how these discussions over Obama's commitment to the lgbt community have made us snipe at each other. I have different opinions about Obama's commitment to the lgbt community. I don't like some of the things he has done, but I am willing to give him credit on other things.
But sometimes I don't want to mention how I feel because I don't want to be sniped at by some (pardon the expression) self-satisfied, "righteously indignant" individual who seems to be so obsessed with his/her opinion of lgbt rights that an understanding of other opinions seems to be out of his/her mindset.
I don't think it's right that someone who doesn't know me all of the sudden feels justified to trivialize my life simply because I don't share that person's opinion.
We may disagree but no one likes being called names or having their commitment to lgbt equality minimized simply because they take different views of President Obama. Regardless of how you feel about the President, you shouldn't feel that you will be attacked by your own people.
But it's happening all of the time. And it reveals an inability to understand that while we are all lgbt, we come from different environments and different opinions on how we should take steps to get what we need in terms of equality.
We don't all come from the Castro, or any other big city metropolis. We don't all listen to Lady GaGa (until last month, I have never heard of Lady GaGa). And some of us don't follow the struggle for lgbt equality as much as others.
But at the very least, lgbts owe each other basic respect.
If we don't, then we are no better than Peter LaBarbera and the rest of the religious right.
2 comments:
A standing ovation with sincere applause for your sir!
My question has been and will continue to be, why are people not mad at the right people?
Do people not realize that the president can't just make things happen, that Congress makes a majority of the decisions?
So why not point that anger where it goes, towards your state representatives. Those in Congress. That's who the problem is, not the president.
The president has to walk a fine line, and he may bust his ass to get things done, but if Congress are going to continue to be a bunch of bastards as they have been being, there is nothing the president could remotely do that will fix anything.
I mean our president is being fought against so hard, harder than even Bush, that he'll be lucky to do a darn thing. And of course he'll get blamed even though technically it's all on Congress.
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