Ok, for the record, I'm not even that all fired against riots and mayhem, as they do seem to draw attention. And if not 'as American as apple pie' they for sure are at least as American as the Boston Tea Party.
It's kinda sad - pathetic really - that so few Americans have any idea of how this government works, or the history of how it got to exactly this point. Though, I suppose in some defense, there has been a concerted effort to keep most people ignorant, and no doubt, its working. But you know, Obama can not say something have it become a law. He is a president, not a dictator. Anyone who thought he was a 'savior' as opposed to say, 'a politician' was sure missing something. Hell, I never thought he would even be 'good' I just thought he would be 'less bad.' And all he has to do to win re-election is be less bad then the other person, which at this point looks pretty easy. So I'm pretty sure they came in looking for the long haul, the full 8 years, and have some sort of timetable as to when they are going to propose things. And, I have to give them some credit, they seem pretty hard to sway when it comes down to changing that timing.
He is smart though, and I'm sure that unlike Bush he has learned some lessons from history, to wit: going after these issues early (very early) in the life of the Administration killed the Clinton deal from the get go. So I'm sure he is not all hot and heavy to go down that same road.
That, and its not hard to look around and find other problems, more serious problems that deserve attention and work at this juncture.
And, its often not even the Congress with the power, it's the states. When 50% of the States have this passed, Congress will go along, but without State consent, what exactly is the Federal Government going to do to enforce, regulate and moderate this situation? It could turn out that the Feds enforcing 'trans rights' or whatever will be about as effective as the war on pot. Smashing success that, eh what? 35 years of the war on drugs have made drugs a lot harder to find right?
And, people are now talking about - finally - legalizing it. Why? Well because several states have basically opted out of the war on drugs.
Most rights are local. Several places did the trans rights back in the late 80s/early 90s, and have moved on. For my part, federalist that I am, in so far as I'm cool being in SF, then I don't care as much about what is going on in Ohio or Mississippi. We solved the problem here, I'm sure they could do the same there if people were willing to go out and work on it.
But no, we want the Federal Mommy to come in and do for us what we are too lazy to do for ourselves, and that's just not going to work out in the end.
Now, for some points.
That means those who live a dual life might feel they are risking exposure if they gather in the streets in protest.
Wow, if that's all you feel you are going to risk being involved in street action protests then you've never been near one have you? You are going to risk a lot more, jail, violence, and perhaps even death. Remember, the U.S. Army/National Guard has NEVER not followed an order to shoot at Americans. If you are really going to the barricades - as opposed to some yuppie lunch spot - be ready for anything, for everything.
Could it be he and his backers have no intent to honor the campaign promises he made? Could it be he is no friend of the LGBT community?
Could it be that they know well that the LGBT folk are not going to head over to the Sara Palin camp? And that he has not done it 'all' in six months, he has made some moves in the right direction, and I think the incremental approach, drop by drop - he's been pretty good at keeping up a constant barrage so that the right can't get one topic nailed down before he's moved on and gone through five more.
But I think what really kinda amazes me, to the point I can be amazed anymore, is exactly where was this huge, public trans movement that helped Obama get elected? Hell, I think more than one girl in here wants to transition to be Phyllis Schlafly, so its not like we present a united front. I didn't see a huge public mass of transpersons standing up - and raising money - for Obama. Or are you just trying to ride the LG coattails once again without doing any real work toward that end?
No, I think the mass of people who voted for Obama voted for him because he was not Bush, or Bush light. Face it, Bush sucked so bad he made it impossible for white guy to be elected, and if it were not Obama, it would have been Hillary. Matter of fact, if Obama is followed by a woman (highly likely) and then a Hispanic (also likely) we could be a solid generation out of having a white guy president, that's how much Bush sucked.
Still, I think there are far more important topic and issues that need to be addressed. Not that I think it will be done the right way. But still, some progress in that general direction might be nice.
