Q Of The Day: Tokenism At Work?

Rick Warren

I am tired of being solicited for my vote, and then cast aside as if I don't exist.  I'll wait and see how Barrack really treats my community before making a final decision, but the way I feel now, he's just another politician.  

I donated frequently to Barack's campaign, as he inspired me.  Now I feel let down, as expediency trumps Right.  I don't plan to ever donate or even vote again if things don't change. I'm 56, and I'll be damned if I'll be fooled again.

Bill MacKay
Washington  

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by: macbill @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 12:43:44 PM CST

Here's what would pacify me

I want to hear someone TALK about LGBT inclusion at the inauguration, something to specifically counter the Rick Warren venom. I'm giving Rick the benefit of the doubt that he won't use the occasion to preach his hatred. But I want someone up there to say: Gays, Lesbians, and Transgendered people are Americans too, and deserve the same rights as everyone else. This administration will fight hard to make this happen.

Given the content of Obama's speech on election night, I'm clinging to the hope that those words will come directly from him.

Right now, we have nothing. An earlier post indicated that Lowery wasn't going to touch us with a 10-foot pole, so I'm not exactly assuaged by that. And if Tammy is another silent figurehead, I'm not pleased either.

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by: rdm24 @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 12:44:17 PM CST

I'm hoping Lowry (sp?) does just that ...

He's speaking after Warren, and has the chance to do some critical reaching out.  Even if Warren says nothing about gay people one way or the other (and I doubt that he will), Lowry has a golden opportunity to highlight America's diversity in all its forms (can you hear the litany now? ... "black, white, Hispanic, and Asian; Christian, Jew, and Muslim; gay and straight; rich and poor ...") and provide a blessing for us all.

And then, yes ... I want some action from Obama.  Let's get a move on with disbanding DADT, nullifying DOMA, moving on a fully inclusive ENDA, figure out how to make civil unions the law of the land (he never promised marriage, so I won't hold him to it) -- THEN he'll regain my enthusiastic support in 2012.

And ... who am I kidding.  If he's running against Palin or Jindal in 2012, I'll stand on my head to get him re-elected then just like I did this year.

"There are two kinds of people in this world -- the kind who separate the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't."  -- Gloria Steinem

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by: red7eric @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:46:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Lowery made some disappointing

"hands off" comments the other day.  If he does as we all hope, great, but I wouldn't bet on it.

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Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 15:22:57 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I'm still hopeful

Lowery (and sorry for butchering the spelling before) was being asked to comment on the controversy surrounding Pastor Warren.  He decided to neither condemn nor endorse Warren, which is fully understandable, as he would have faced a mountain of criticism either way.

However, saying something inclusive about the LGBT community during the benediction would not be a condemnation of Rick Warren, but simply a validation of his (and, if we're to believe him, Obama's) belief in an America that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.  Such a statement would be no more or less controversial than Obama's language during his victory speech at Grant Park, which also included the LGBT community in his vision of America.  I wouldn't be at all surprised if we're mentioned with a few kind words (again, along with every other community on the short list) ...

"There are two kinds of people in this world -- the kind who separate the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't."  -- Gloria Steinem

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by: red7eric @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 17:53:46 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Thank God someone see's through this crap

Thank you for this point of view. It is exactly correct.

If Obama had not chosen Warren to give the inaugural invocation, and

If Obama had actually placed an LGBT person in his cabinet,

Then, we might think they were simply alerting you with that subject because they thought Tammy would be of particular interest.

As it stands, this is blatant pandering and damage control.

I WONDER HOW MANY others had not received their invitations until after Rick Warren blew up in Obama's face?

This is not more genuine than Rick Warren removing some of the hateful language about gays and lesbians from his website.

The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. -- John F. Kennedy (inspired by Dante's Inferno)

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by: oldbrit @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 12:44:26 PM CST

Who sent the e-mail, Autumn?

If it came from the Obama campaign, then yeah: that's pandering, and it's not classy.  But if it came from some LGBTQ-specific list, then it's an appropriate headline.

"There are two kinds of people in this world -- the kind who separate the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't."  -- Gloria Steinem

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by: red7eric @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:48:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

"Presidential Inaugural Committee - Communications"

This email was directly from the transition team, sent to members of the media. I don't know if this was sent only to the LGBT specific media or not.

Check the letterhead of the PDF I created from the email, that I linked to with the JPG thumbnail if you want to see yourself.

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~~Autumn~~

As if there were safety in stupidity alone.
--Henry David Thoreau

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by: Autumn Sandeen @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 16:30:01 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I'd prefer genuine progressive policy over stopgap pacifying...

...but, semantics aside, hell yes I personally feel the need for something from Obama that demonstrates that he's actually starting to get it when it comes to us. Andrew Sullivan pointed out that Itzhak Perlman--who is also getting some stage time on Inauguration Day--has a lesbian daughter and is probably less than thrilled to be sharing billing with a guy who thinks she's the moral equivalent of a child molester. A lot of people are going to need pacifying before this is over.  

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by: boltgirl @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 12:46:34 PM CST

There are very few things that would make me feel better about this whole Rick Warren debacle

A sharp, stinging slap across Obama's face would be one of those. A token lesbian on the inauguration committee is way too little, way too late to make up for his continued endorsement of treating LGBT people as sub-human.

I'm glad I didn't donate to his campaign. I'm glad I wrote his campaign a letter explaining why I wasn't donating. I'm tempted to print out a copy, take it over to his vacation home in Lanikai this evening, and wish him, "Merry F****** Christmas, President-Elect Iscariot."

God save ornery old queens! - kevinchi

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by: Keori @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 12:51:04 PM CST

yes, tokenism.

if obama wants us to believe otherwise, he'll remove Bigot Warren from the lineup and fiercely get behind our legislation starting in the first 100 days.  and that doesn't mean sending everything do die in study committees, that means fiercely advocating for its timely passage.

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Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:05:19 PM CST

It's not 'pacifying' I want...

It's action. It's to see something concrete, not an honorary co-chair token effort that, as you point out, is being pushed as something much bigger than it is. The highlighting of Ms Baldwin's presence on the list is what pushes it over the line from PR to pandering.

But show me something material, Mr Obama. An appointment of someone to a substantive post (i.e., with hiring authority & control over the budget). Show me where DADT and ENDA fall on your initial list of proposed legislation. (Yes, I understand, the economy is your first priority, duh, but I'd like to see those things on the list somewhere. And to see you push them, not just mention them and then change the subject.)

Symbolic gestures are cheap. That's why I'm annoyed but not outraged about Warren. But enough 'symbolic' gestures--or lack of them--in a row start to add up to a pattern. Some substantive action on the issues would buy a lot of goodwill.  

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by: KCProgramr @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:10:16 PM CST

Look at the percentages

There are 15 names on the list.

At least 10% of them should be LGBT. That would be 1.5 persons. I prefer that these figures be rounded up rather than down.

So, two people on the list should be LGBT. A trans man would even things out. That would be equal representation rather than tokenism.

When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.

- Abraham Lincoln.

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by: Fritz @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:23:54 PM CST

Um... 10%?

It's time to drop that outdated statistic. It's not true (we're probably under 5%), and it doesn't matter that it's not true. We're still millions strong, and we deserve the same rights as everyone else.

But let's make sure we argue for it honestly.

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by: rdm24 @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 17:43:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Don't like it

Seems like pandering.  But I would like to point out that Obama is possibly appointing a Gay man to be Secretary of The Navy as shown on the front page here.  And that was announced prior to Warren.

That being said this whole thing sucks.  I have worked hard to get my husband to be politically active and finally after 10 years he was.  I say was because he now doesn't want to hear anything about politics at all.  Now that's change we can believe in.

The trollish sounding blogger formerly known as BURNSEY

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by: R.K. Wright @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:32:47 PM CST

tired of the whining

The Warren choice is a small disappointment. Are we not on the verge of the end of the Bush era? Some perspective is in order here. I'm still celebrating.

Is Baldwin's name on the list pandering? Yeah that's what politicians do. Putting Obama in a damned-if-you-do-damned-if you-don't-box is a stupid no-win situation.

Are there actual policy issues that Obama has betrayed our community on? Um, he's not even in office yet. All this drama is foolish.

--ish

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by: ish @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 13:35:21 PM CST

It's more than a small disapointment

but I agree we're going a bit overboard. However, we need to keep the heat up, so he'll be less likely to pull something like this again.

I am the lizard queen!

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by: RainbowPhoenix @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 14:03:31 PM CST

[ Parent ]

WE (LGBTS) were never allowed time to celebrate

That's part of the anger, our election night got RUINED by the LDS elders and Rick Warren shoving a shiv in our backs with prop 8. Now they RUIN the Inaugural for us too.
I would have LOVED to have been able to kick back the day after the f*ckin election, and not worry about anything, but prop 8 meant we had to FIGHT, then this Warren invitation meant another G*D DAMN fight.
Seems we get this shit dumped in our laps, no other American has to lift a f*ckin finger over, and I'm pretty disappointed in straight celebrities....doing NOTHING, when it's just our MOTHERF*CKIN Constitutional Rights being gutted.
WHERE is anyone, but a handful of celebs who showed up for a couple protests???
And where is ANY MOTHERF*CKING RESPECT being shown to OUR leaders, from Obama's team?

"race, taste. and History finally overcome....and you ain't there"
by Tony Kushner

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by: peteyPornpig @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 17:01:46 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Tammy Baldwin has to make her own decision

I think she was put in a no win situation by Obama, either lose some voice to be used on our issues with Obama, by refusing, or keep her LGBT constituents happy that she won't kiss the hem of Rick Warren's robes. This "honor" doesn't come with any means to dump Warren, so she stands there like a token.
I would have thought higher of Ms. Baldwin if she had refused, but I give her the space to decide for herself.

"race, taste. and History finally overcome....and you ain't there"
by Tony Kushner

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by: peteyPornpig @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 16:51:39 PM CST

I don't think poorly of her if she stays on.

She needs to make that political calculation you refer to.  If she thinks it's more to the benefit to stay, then she should stay.  

What would be truly meaningful is for some of the straights she's listed with to refuse the invitation on the Warren grounds.

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Lurleen on Twitter.

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by: Lurleen @ Tue Dec 23, 2008 at 17:43:25 PM CST

[ Parent ]