In order to continue the streak of Huffington Post article commentaries from the last few posts lol, I found this article that really ruffled my feathers and I wanted to see what other people thought about it.
I had seen this going around Facebook, the fact that Joe Biden had openly stated his support for gay marriage on "Meet the Press." I was so impressed and glad, assuming that this was the start of the Obama administration's endorsement and advocation for Queer Rights, but boy was I completely wrong. Apparently the Obama administration quickly pulled some "damage control" in order to retrack Biden's statement, changing his claims from this:
"I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction -- beyond that."
to this...
"The vice president was saying what the president has said previously -- that committed and loving same-sex couples deserve the same rights and protections enjoyed by all Americans, and that we oppose any effort to rollback those rights. ... Beyond that, the vice president was expressing that he too is evolving on the issue, after meeting so many committed couples and families in this country."
And this simply leaves me scratching my head. Now I am not the most political person on the block, so my analysis may be not up to par, but I think it is quite blatant that Biden and Obama are for queer marriage... they are just too scared to make this a firm political stance before elections because they think that, well... they will lose if they openly confirm this stance. And, though I may get some backlash from it, I want to say that I understand that. I understand the logic behind that decision. But what I want to know is why this is the particular issue they feel is the one they should hold out on. I mean Obama has taking bold stances education, birth control, medical insurance, etc of which conservatives were obviously not too fond. So why is queer marriage the thing where the Obama administration is like, "ooooo let's not touch that one... we can't be toooooo out there," especially when it seems they more than likely endorse it? Any thoughts on this?
What disappoints me the most though is that I feel the Obama administration, the absolute top level of administration in our country, is just flat out setting a bad example for allies out there. First off they are basically saying it is OK that queer people do not have these rights and we can keep it from them... no biggie. Secondly it is showing allies that are for queer rights that it is OK to just sit there silently while queer people are being oppressed. If you see something wrong going on to a minority of a group, don't rush to help... it will make the majority not like you... how terrible! Shouldn't our President and Vice President be setting a better example? Shouldn't they be fighting for the underdog? Shouldn't they be showing us that silence won't change things... that to make a difference we need to speak out when someone is being unjust? Ideally, that is what I hope for from our top leaders, but if even the Obama administration won't take I stand... quite frankly... I'm not sure who will. Although I don't think it is the right way to go about making change, possibly the Obama administration will start taking a stronger stand on queer issues after election session is over, but I don't know if we should actually count on that.
"I am vice president of the United States of America. The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction -- beyond that."
to this...
"The vice president was saying what the president has said previously -- that committed and loving same-sex couples deserve the same rights and protections enjoyed by all Americans, and that we oppose any effort to rollback those rights. ... Beyond that, the vice president was expressing that he too is evolving on the issue, after meeting so many committed couples and families in this country."
And this simply leaves me scratching my head. Now I am not the most political person on the block, so my analysis may be not up to par, but I think it is quite blatant that Biden and Obama are for queer marriage... they are just too scared to make this a firm political stance before elections because they think that, well... they will lose if they openly confirm this stance. And, though I may get some backlash from it, I want to say that I understand that. I understand the logic behind that decision. But what I want to know is why this is the particular issue they feel is the one they should hold out on. I mean Obama has taking bold stances education, birth control, medical insurance, etc of which conservatives were obviously not too fond. So why is queer marriage the thing where the Obama administration is like, "ooooo let's not touch that one... we can't be toooooo out there," especially when it seems they more than likely endorse it? Any thoughts on this?
What disappoints me the most though is that I feel the Obama administration, the absolute top level of administration in our country, is just flat out setting a bad example for allies out there. First off they are basically saying it is OK that queer people do not have these rights and we can keep it from them... no biggie. Secondly it is showing allies that are for queer rights that it is OK to just sit there silently while queer people are being oppressed. If you see something wrong going on to a minority of a group, don't rush to help... it will make the majority not like you... how terrible! Shouldn't our President and Vice President be setting a better example? Shouldn't they be fighting for the underdog? Shouldn't they be showing us that silence won't change things... that to make a difference we need to speak out when someone is being unjust? Ideally, that is what I hope for from our top leaders, but if even the Obama administration won't take I stand... quite frankly... I'm not sure who will. Although I don't think it is the right way to go about making change, possibly the Obama administration will start taking a stronger stand on queer issues after election session is over, but I don't know if we should actually count on that.
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