March: women's health, gay marriage, & liberation

image from: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/anti-woman-march-madness

 

 

You should read the whole Mother Jones article on the absolute political chaos that is currently going on.   This is bad.  Very bad. 

 

Also, from today's Daily Women's Health Policy Report, this article gives more insight into the horribleness that is being voted on in North Dakota.   Even scarier.

 

Plus, tomorrow, the Supreme Court hears the prop 8 case and the DOMA case on Wednesday.  All the possibilities of what might happened, which The New York Times expertly delineated, make my head spin.  It is going to be a long wait until June.  I wish I could be a fly on the wall for the debate & discussion between the judges.   

 

In the meantime, I'm going to disappear into the world of freedom and liberation with Passover.  I'm grateful that this year off from medical school means I can actually celebrate Jewish holidays with friends and family; without [too much] guilt that I'm slacking or making someone else cover for me.  I realize that this might be one of the last years, at least through residency, that I can take off and travel for the holiday.  May it be a true festival of freedom this year!

 

Maine, Maryland, & Washington

As the executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association just emailed out “Today, GLMA joins with supporters of equality from across the country to celebrate yesterday’s historic election results, which set the stage for a new era in the quest for LGBT equality.” On one hand I’m glad that 3 more states passed “marriage equality” yesterday.  Between these 3 states, Minnesota’s voting down on marriage discrimination, Tammy Baldwin’s win, and the re-election of Obama, yesterday was a big victory for queer rights. 

On the other hand, I am beyond angry and hurt.  How is it a victory when we are still letting other people vote on MY RIGHT to get married and have a family?!  How is that not, in it’s very essence, discrimination?  And while these amendments are being billed as “marriage equality”, we are still far from equal, even in states where gay marriage is legal. 

If I am to fall in love with someone overseas and get married in a country where it is legal, I have no rights to get them citizenship or protection in the US.  If I fight in the US military and live in a state where I’m legally married, I still cannot offer military partner benefits to my wife.  Even if I file my taxes as a married couple on the state level, my federal taxes will still be filled as single, creating a huge f*ing mess.   This isn’t even separate but equal… this is straight up inequality!

 

I think these state measures are a Band-Aid.  They are hiding the real problem and leading the general public to believe that the LGBT community is finally gaining equality.  But we are not!  As long as the public gets to vote on my personal rights, I am very much not equal and I will not be satisfied by placation of a few new state amendments.   I still have no national recognition of my love.  I still don’t have the ability to adopt my (theoretical) children if born to my (theoretical) wife in many states in this country.  Hell, I can still be fired from my job or openly discriminated against for my sexual orientation in some states.

The Supreme Court needs to finally rule on prop 8 (this mess has been going on for 4 years now).  DOMA needs to be overturned.  We need to stop letting the public vote on the rights of minority groups.  We need to expand anti-discrimination policies and regulations.  We need to give queer kids hope for their future… Come on people, we can do so much better.  

[More] pretty colors highlight [more] sad truth.

Similar to my previous post, Pretty colors highlight sad truth, another chart has been created highlighting the dispersion of rights across the United States. 

Image taken from"Gay rights in the US, state by state", Guardian in America interactive team, guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 8 May 2012 11.12 EDT at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2012/may/08/gay-rights-united-states?fb=native.


This chart is really cool.  The whole article is.  It is interactive, allowing for stratification of rights based on location and specific laws.  It totally brings out the nerd it me. 

Amendment 1 in North Carolina today means that one more state refrains from lighting up.  I certainly hope that, in my lifetime, this whole map fills with bright colors.  I like bright colors.  I also firmly believe that all humans deserve equal rights regardless of who they happen to love.  Yes, being queer does make me bias, but I'm pretty sure I'd feel this way regardless.  Even the [very mainstream / sometimes conservative] American Medical Association (AMA) believes that LGBT rights are essential for optimal health.  Isn't it 2012?

Bentching gomel

There is a Jewish tradition to publicly acknowledge when you've survived a dangerous situation (eg serious illness, long travel, childbirth, etc).  It is traditionally done at one's first opportunity in front of a minyan and often done with a Torah present.

Last Friday night I was driving home around 8pm when I heard a loud bang and my car rattled.  [Aside: Yes, I know it was already shabbos, but after working a long week and having to work through the weekend it was the only time I had to run the errands that desperately needed to happen. Story of my life as a med student.]  I was on a pretty well traveled 4 lane road in a safe area, though there weren't really any other cars directly around me.  It took me 2 or so blocks to realize that my entire back windshield had shattered and another two or so blocks to realize that I probably should pull over.  I was in complete shock and baffled as to what had happened.  I then pulled into the first driveway I saw which happened to be a well lit grocery store & restaurant with people around.  Thank G!d!!!

Though I'm in my late 20s, and nearly a doctor, the first thing I did was to call my mom in tears.  While on the phone with her, still sitting in my car in shock, a sketchy silver car pulled into the lot, quickly turned around, and speed back out onto the street.  I thought it was strange but didn't make anything of it.  I called the police who came out to write an incident report.  The best idea we all could come up with was that maybe some kids were messing around with a BB gun or that a car in the opposite direction kicked up a big rock.

I have subsequently learned that an hour or two later that evening, on the same road, a friend of a friend's tire blew out while he was driving.  He pulled over immediately to see what happened. When he got out of his car he was jumped by 4 men.  They had thrown a brick at his tire.  He was badly beat up, robbed, and car jacked.  The police later told him that it was a gang initiation.  Thank G!d he's still alive. 

While it is possible that these two events are unrelated, it is pretty likely that they are directly linked.  I have no idea how many other people, if any, were injured or had property vandalized that night.  However, I'm pretty sure that had I gotten out of the car, as a single female in the dark, I would have fared a lot worse than the $250 it cost to replace the glass.

Birkhat Ha‑Gomeyl

 
hebrew from http://www.berachot.org/hebrew/hagomel.htm

"Blessing: "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the Universe, Who bestows good things on the unworthy, and has bestowed on me every goodness."
Congregational Response: "Amen. He Who has bestowed on you every goodness, may He continue to bestow on you every goodness. Selah."