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www.ambiente.us JUNE | JUNIO 2010
What’s wrong with the GLBT Movement?
By Carlos Mock, MD
Perhaps you are like me, wondering what happened to all those promises by the
young Obama administration about equal rights for the GLBT community.
We were assured that ENDA would be passed in 2009. President Obama spoke at the
HRC dinner last year in NYC and announced the repeal of DADT by year’s end. Many
local Equality organizations have been announcing marriage equality, only to see New
Jersey, New York, Illinois, and many others fail miserably.
Are you wondering what’s going on? For the last year, over and over again in the
blogosphere, we have written about how 2009 was our year. We understood that never
again would we have the kind of Congressional margin the Democrats had, that it
wasn't an election year and it was time to act. The Obama team, and yes HRC, told us
to wait; that they had a grand plan and everything would take place in time.
Well the time is over for poetic words and empty promises. Our patience has run out. If
HRC has a master plan and time schedule, we at this stage, have a right to know what
it is and what the Obama team promised to get them to back off. Simply put, enough of
these political games and giving our friends permission to take detours, prolong the
trip and deny us our equality.
As our president memorably said a while ago, "Enough." Really and seriously - enough.
What’s wrong with the GLBT Movement?
By Carlos Mock, MD
Perhaps you are like me, wondering what happened to all those promises by the
young Obama administration about equal rights for the GLBT community.
We were assured that ENDA would be passed in 2009. President Obama spoke at the
HRC dinner last year in NYC and announced the repeal of DADT by year’s end. Many
local Equality organizations have been announcing marriage equality, only to see New
Jersey, New York, Illinois, and many others fail miserably.
Are you wondering what’s going on? For the last year, over and over again in the
blogosphere, we have written about how 2009 was our year. We understood that never
again would we have the kind of Congressional margin the Democrats had, that it
wasn't an election year and it was time to act. The Obama team, and yes HRC, told us
to wait; that they had a grand plan and everything would take place in time.
Well the time is over for poetic words and empty promises. Our patience has run out. If
HRC has a master plan and time schedule, we at this stage, have a right to know what
it is and what the Obama team promised to get them to back off. Simply put, enough of
these political games and giving our friends permission to take detours, prolong the
trip and deny us our equality.
As our president memorably said a while ago, "Enough." Really and seriously - enough.
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Close your ATM to the Democratic
Party and any GLBT organization that
fails to deliver:
As if we needed more reason not to
give to the Democratic National
Committee (DNC), Ben Smith of
Politico.com, gave us yet another
one. It turns out the DNC recently
gave Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) over
$500,000 to pay for ads for his re
-election. Nelson stands against the
LGBT community at every
opportunity. Not only that, but he
was also a major reason we are in the
current health care situation. We don't need to be financing Democrats who act like Republicans.
Why in the world would we give money to the DNC simply to free up their funds to give to Blue Dog
Democrats?
How long has your local Equality organization promised you Equal rights and an end to
discrimination? How long have you been waiting for them to deliver? Try asking questions about
their failure or how they are spending your hard earned contributions and what results they’ve
achieved. They immediately get defensive or even angry. When was the last time you saw an
annual report detailing how your hard earned money was spent? With the Obama revolution,
most state houses achieved Democratic majorities—yet, local organizations can’t convince the
Democrats they helped to elect to deliver for them.
Party and any GLBT organization that
fails to deliver:
As if we needed more reason not to
give to the Democratic National
Committee (DNC), Ben Smith of
Politico.com, gave us yet another
one. It turns out the DNC recently
gave Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) over
$500,000 to pay for ads for his re
-election. Nelson stands against the
LGBT community at every
opportunity. Not only that, but he
was also a major reason we are in the
current health care situation. We don't need to be financing Democrats who act like Republicans.
Why in the world would we give money to the DNC simply to free up their funds to give to Blue Dog
Democrats?
How long has your local Equality organization promised you Equal rights and an end to
discrimination? How long have you been waiting for them to deliver? Try asking questions about
their failure or how they are spending your hard earned contributions and what results they’ve
achieved. They immediately get defensive or even angry. When was the last time you saw an
annual report detailing how your hard earned money was spent? With the Obama revolution,
most state houses achieved Democratic majorities—yet, local organizations can’t convince the
Democrats they helped to elect to deliver for them.
Tired of the status quo, a major new civil rights organization was formed in our struggle for
freedom. Kip Williams and Robin McGeehee, Co-chairs of the National Equality March in
October, announced the formation of "Get Equal." http://www.getequal.org/ The talented
organizers have spent months since the March on Washington, carefully putting together an
effective national network of activists to battle for civil rights for the LGBT community. They
have traveled across the country, held retreats with young leaders and worked with march
participants to create an entity that will fill the vacuum of the absence of a 'direct action'
organization in our movement.
I encourage every GLBT person to carefully analyze where you will put
your money in 2010. Do you want a repeat of 2009? Chose well and
make sure you get accountability from the organizations you support.
Don't budge and continue to only give money directly to candidates
who are for full equality including marriage equality. To add insult to
injury, our President is still against same sex marriage!
Dr. Carlos T Mock is a native Puerto Rican who resides in Chicago, IL and Three Oaks, MI. He
has published four books and is the GLBT Editor for Floricanto Press in Berkley, CA. He
contributes columns regularly to Windy City Times in Chicago, Ambiente Magazine in Miami,
Camp Newspaper in Kansas City. He's had several OP-Ed published at the Chicago Tribune.
Inducted in the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame October 18th, 2007. You can find more
information on Dr. Mock at: www.carlostmock.com
Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source
freedom. Kip Williams and Robin McGeehee, Co-chairs of the National Equality March in
October, announced the formation of "Get Equal." http://www.getequal.org/ The talented
organizers have spent months since the March on Washington, carefully putting together an
effective national network of activists to battle for civil rights for the LGBT community. They
have traveled across the country, held retreats with young leaders and worked with march
participants to create an entity that will fill the vacuum of the absence of a 'direct action'
organization in our movement.
I encourage every GLBT person to carefully analyze where you will put
your money in 2010. Do you want a repeat of 2009? Chose well and
make sure you get accountability from the organizations you support.
Don't budge and continue to only give money directly to candidates
who are for full equality including marriage equality. To add insult to
injury, our President is still against same sex marriage!
Dr. Carlos T Mock is a native Puerto Rican who resides in Chicago, IL and Three Oaks, MI. He
has published four books and is the GLBT Editor for Floricanto Press in Berkley, CA. He
contributes columns regularly to Windy City Times in Chicago, Ambiente Magazine in Miami,
Camp Newspaper in Kansas City. He's had several OP-Ed published at the Chicago Tribune.
Inducted in the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame October 18th, 2007. You can find more
information on Dr. Mock at: www.carlostmock.com
Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source
Out in the Tropics Festival June 7-11, 2010 |
