After ENDA  | Commentary | Advocate.com

||  Commentary  ||
After ENDA
On November 7 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- a formerly LGBT rights bill that was stripped of the T in the belief that that would make it an easier sell. Transgender activist and former Human Rights Campaign board member Donna Rose assesses the cost of that strategy and talks about picking up the pieces.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted November 9, 2007
After ENDA

As a leader in the transgender community I feel it appropriate to acknowledge the historic passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 7. By a vote of 235–184 it sends a clear message that discrimination in our workplaces will not be tolerated.

For many, however, this is bittersweet news. Rights for some gained at the expense of rights for others is not something to be celebrated. Indeed, to acknowledge that those who need these protections most are left on the outside looking in is to accept that some part of our humanity has been sacrificed.

In a very real sense the soul of the LGBT community is crying today. It has been torn from the inside out. It laments that people whom others identify as not being “masculine” or “feminine” enough for whatever reason again stand on the outside looking in. It recognizes that others don’t make the same alphabet-soup distinctions of G, L, B, or T that we do -- that we’re all one and the same -- and it sees the connection between workplace discrimination, schoolyard bullying, personal harassment, and physical violence that so many of us face day in and day out. It’s fearful at the message this partial protection sends -- that some are worthy while others are not. Some call that incremental gain. I call it selective injustice. To tolerate injustice in any form is to believe there are degrees of equality. There are not.

There are those who have approached ENDA with a "win at all costs" agenda for any number of reasons. The fact that our community is left fragmented, that people are hurting right now, that “friends” have betrayed friends, that trust is gone, that credibility is in short supply -- all for the sake of a symbolic victory -- raises serious questions about the “moral character” of supposed civil rights leaders in our community. It didn't need to happen this way.  Still, I choose to cherish my naiveté, and I continue to believe that how you get to your destination is more important than the destination itself. By that count this mad dash to the finish line has been a miserable failure, as the trail of debris has undone years of effort. In many ways we are back to square one again. That is not progress.

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Be the first to comment on this story.

Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

Comments that do not concern specific articles in The Advocate or on Advocate.com will not be posted or published. See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.