The Trump administration will keep the position of special U.S. envoy to promote LGBT rights abroad at State Department, the Washington Blade reports.
Trump administration to keep position of special U.S. envoy to promote LGBT rights abroad at State Department. https://t.co/jS4hRF0Gr0
— IGF CultureWatch (@IndeGayForum) February 18, 2017
Pete Buttigieg, gay mayor of South Bend, Ind., with higher political aspirations (he’s an extremely long-shock candidate for Democratic National Committee Chair), in a separate Washington Blade interview, lambasted “the level of ‘pinkwashing’ of the Trump campaign.”
Reminder: The term “pinkwashing” was concocted by leftists to dismiss Israel’s support for gay legal equality and inclusion. As described by Mark Joseph Stern, it’s the presumption that “the Israeli government has no interest in promoting LGBTQ rights except to help mask its oppression of other groups.” That Buttigieg would use such a term is, well, disgraceful.
4 Comments for “When nonprogresives support LGBT rights, it’s insidious”
posted by Jorge on
“‘No one who specializes in harming vulnerable groups can be regarded as a friend to the LGBT community even if we’re not the group he’s harming at the moment,’ Buttigieg said. ‘And I would also say I do not believe that he cares about the LGBT community because I do not believe that he cares about anything at all.’”
That’s about as strong as that argument gets. The pinkwashing accusation is unfortunate from someone who tells in the same interview of an elder neighbor he imagines to be conservative standing up for him.
It seems to me that both the caricatures of virtue and sin are false. If we can find in human experience a good man, and a wise and virtuous such as Mayor Buttigieg doing something so dirty as he runs for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, it stands to reason that we can also find in human a dirty man such as Donald Trump doing something so good, wise and virtuous as he runs for and serves as President of the United States.
posted by Tom Scharbach on
The Trump administration will keep the position of special U.S. envoy to promote LGBT rights abroad at State Department, the Washington Blade reports.
That’s good news, as I indicated a few days ago in a comment to the previous thread. But keeping an office and making/pursuing policies are two different things, and we’ll have to see how it turns out.
posted by Jorge on
I hope for luck there.
Laura Bush kept the flame for women’s rights and welfare around the world going during the Bush administration. This time I think President Upside Down Flag could use some help.
It’s opposition “help,” too. Trump’s trying to make deals with Russia, downplay Europe, and play a sleeping game with the Middle East. Not the best platform for promoting LGBT rights internationally. A few swift kicks are needed.
posted by Tom Scharbach on
Trump’s trying to make deals with Russia, downplay Europe, and play a sleeping game with the Middle East. Not the best platform for promoting LGBT rights internationally. A few swift kicks are needed.
As always, this is a case of watch the substance, not the symbols. Let’s see what State’s actions are going forward. I share your skepticism, but I hope I’m wrong.