new wave feminism

Hillary Clinton

related: U.S. makes first-ever push for gay rights abroad

WAIT. WHY ARE WE PUSHING FOR GAY RIGHTS ABROAD? WHAT? THAT MAKES NO SENSE. THAT’S LIKE A CHILD ABUSER STARTING AN ANTI CHILD ABUSE CAMPAIGN. GAY RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD PROBABLY BE ADDRESSED FIRST, NO? THAT’S SO TYPICAL OF OUR GOVERNMENT. “OH, NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE BAD AND NO OTHER COUNTRIES SHOULD HAVE THEM, BUT IT’S OK IF WE DO.” HOW ABOUT SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE AND GIVING ALL PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES THE SAME RIGHTS BEFORE WE GO STICKING OUR FUCKING OPINION UP EVERYONE ELSE’S ASS LIKE WE ALWAYS DO? LEAD BY EXAMPLE, NOT BY FORCE.

(via canthemannons)

Woah there. Way to have a gut reaction to an issue you seem to know little about.

I’m in Serbia right now. For those of you who can’t find it on a map (I’d estimate most Americans), it’s a small country on the Balkan peninsula, two countries north of Greece.

Serbia had its first ever gay pride parade last year. It consisted of a couple hundred marchers, a thousand or more riot police protecting them, and a couple thousand rioters who wanted their heads. Fortunately none of the protesters were killed.

This year the parade was cancelled because of safety concerns. The police simply didn’t have enough manpower to stop the predicted violence.

One of my friends here told me about being chased by skinheads, running for her life, when they saw her kissing another girl. This is a sadly common occurrence.

Gay rights in the United States still needs a TON of work— don’t get me wrong. It’s tough to be gay nearly anywhere in the US.

But believe it or not, it’s worse elsewhere. Like here.

So, President Obama can’t fix everything in the US. He can’t stop the Republican effort to make gay marriage unconstitutional in my home state, North Carolina. He can’t force Texas to legalize gay marriage. We’re called the “United States” for a reason— sadly, this is a state-level issue.

But what *can* the President do? He can end DADT (check!). He can promote hate crime legislation on a federal level.

And he can use our cultural capital and our soft power to push for the improvement of gay rights everywhere in the world, like in Serbia, where the Gay-Straight Alliance already receives support from the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, and the European Commission. 

The President isn’t omnipotent. He does what he can where it’s feasible. To get outraged that Mr. Obama isn’t perfect is to overlook all the good that this policy will do.

(via tuckarchist)

interesting discussion that sprung from a quote I posted earlier today

(via tuckarchist)