Sherrie Z
04-14-2007, 09:51 AM
From The Daily Iowan ... editorial from Jonathan Gold ... "Bozos on the loose"
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2007/03/28/Opinions/Bozos.On.The.Loose-2808181.shtml
"Whether it's a Bible-thumping Congress or a homophobic city commission, the enshrinement of discrimination has no place in society."
The Daily Iowan
Jonathan Gold
Bozos on the loose
3/28/07
EXCERPT:
The city commissioners of Largo, Fla., were presumably devoid of white hoods when they voted to fire City Manager Steve Stanton because he wants to have a sex-change operation. They gave the usual idiotic excuses bigots do when they want to seem mainstream: It's not that Stanton is transgender, it's that they suddenly have a problem with his competence. But the commission praised Stanton in his last annual evaluation, calling him "extremely competent" and "a fierce defender of our city," according to the St. Petersburg Times. See, now that he's a transgender person, they have a problem with his ? competence. Sure. The real kicker is that he was taken to task for causing "turmoil" with his announcement.
This is the most common and effective excuse for officially sanctioned discrimination. "We're not racist/anti-Semitic/homophobic, it's just that it'll cause such a commotion if we grant this right to minorities/Jews/gays." It's sickeningly transparent on so many levels. Stanton was put on leave immediately after his announcement - there hadn't been a peep about his job performance until then.
Even if we grant the ludicrous premise, they're putting an official seal of approval on discrimination. "Don't ask, Don't tell" was enacted because the Army said openly gay soldiers could hurt morale. Similar things (and much worse) were said in the debate about black soldiers in white units, illustrating just how long this lame defense has existed.
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/media/storage/paper599/news/2007/03/28/Opinions/Bozos.On.The.Loose-2808181.shtml
"Whether it's a Bible-thumping Congress or a homophobic city commission, the enshrinement of discrimination has no place in society."
The Daily Iowan
Jonathan Gold
Bozos on the loose
3/28/07
EXCERPT:
The city commissioners of Largo, Fla., were presumably devoid of white hoods when they voted to fire City Manager Steve Stanton because he wants to have a sex-change operation. They gave the usual idiotic excuses bigots do when they want to seem mainstream: It's not that Stanton is transgender, it's that they suddenly have a problem with his competence. But the commission praised Stanton in his last annual evaluation, calling him "extremely competent" and "a fierce defender of our city," according to the St. Petersburg Times. See, now that he's a transgender person, they have a problem with his ? competence. Sure. The real kicker is that he was taken to task for causing "turmoil" with his announcement.
This is the most common and effective excuse for officially sanctioned discrimination. "We're not racist/anti-Semitic/homophobic, it's just that it'll cause such a commotion if we grant this right to minorities/Jews/gays." It's sickeningly transparent on so many levels. Stanton was put on leave immediately after his announcement - there hadn't been a peep about his job performance until then.
Even if we grant the ludicrous premise, they're putting an official seal of approval on discrimination. "Don't ask, Don't tell" was enacted because the Army said openly gay soldiers could hurt morale. Similar things (and much worse) were said in the debate about black soldiers in white units, illustrating just how long this lame defense has existed.