Lessons for the marginalized
Filed by: Amy Hunter
November 2, 2009 1:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/11/lessons_for_the_marginalized.phpKalamazoo will vote tomorrow.
Should the city reinstate and keep on the books a transgender inclusive non-discrimination ordinance? Nearly all of these local initiatives ultimately stand or fall on two issues, "reverse discrimination", leveled at L,G,B and T and the infamous "bathroom issue" singling out the transgender community for demonization.
While Kalamazoo got off to a potentially harmful start three years ago by not including a trans-person in the process of negotiating language with the city, once alerted to the oversight, Kalamazoo Alliance for Equality (KAFE) quickly embraced the transgender community and made the hard decision of choosing unity over safety. Then, with a trans-person as a co-chair, KAFE made the equally risky decision to strengthen the language of the ordinance to be much more trans-affirmative.
I clearly remember the meeting when I asked the question: "What's it going to be, all of us or none of us?" The next three or four minutes of silence were absolutely deafening.
