Hating the hypocrisy
I’ve lost track of how many of our elected politicians have disgraced themselves and us with their own stupid self-centered decisions. But that doesn’t bother me; politicians pay for the bed they sleep in … one way or another.
What really yanks my chain, though, is when a jack like Larry Craig makes it his goal to hurt me and other gay people with his anti-gay votes while he’s allegedly having sex with men in public restrooms!
‘Nuff said.
Steve Walters
Dallas
Leadership lacking in Bailey debate
I understand the Dallas Voice has published articles about Shannon Bailey and the Texas Stonewall Democrats, and I want to thank you for that. I think your writing has highlighted the fact that many people in the LGBT community are watching and waiting.
A majority of the executive board has officially voted to ask Shannon Bailey to resign. They heard from general members who were almost evenly split on what action the board should take.
In effect, no action took place. The TSDC board is not willing to take a stand one way or the other on this issue. Meanwhile, the TSDC bylaws are written in such a way as to be disjointed, inconsistent and give Shannon utmost power in the organization, which means that the TSDC will approach the start of the primary season a weak organization which is possibly unfit to effectively advocate for LGBT equality in the state of Texas and beyond. The members of the caucus are so bitterly divided and emotional and the board itself is unable to separate personal emotion from our political purpose.
Some at the meeting wanted to make this a personal issue and not actually assess what allegations of this kind mean for a community that is constantly painted as sexual deviants unjustly by society. And many people basically said that GLBT people should be able to have sex in a public place and we should stand up for that comparing this situation to Lawrence v. Texas.
I was appalled and saddened by this societal norms of not allowing sex in public for anyone, GLBT or not, is acceptable and should be upheld. I am appalled at the complete lack of leadership of this board.
There is one other thing that I think the public should know. Leaders of caucus have expressed that sexual reassignment surgery for the one transgender leader on the board is the equivalent of being charged with criminal behavior. This terrifies me as the bisexual wife of said transgender leader, because this shows that the people in charge of this organization do not support the transgender community as they purport to. This is in conflict with the mission of Stonewall at a state and national level.
Lastly, my views do not necessarily match those of my wife, who sits on the TSDC, they are solely my own.
Linda Ocasio
Austin
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 31, 2007