I want political campaigns to understand that my sexual and gender identities are not the sole source of my identity and certainly not the sole source of my backing of a political canditate. So, yes, your canditate might be phenomenal on trans* issues, when none of the other canditates really have much of anything at all to say, but if you canditate doesn't have much to say about the health care issue other than the slogan 'medicare for all', then I start to get suspicious. When I try to discuss with you how what's really needed is a comprehensive overhaul of the way that medicine is practiced in this country, and you hurry up and get off the phone with me, I'm not going to back your candidate. Period. I don't care how fabulous he is on trans* issues, I trust some of the other candidates to rise to the occassion when given a chance.
I want political volunteers to understand what when you think touting glbT issues should be the main point of our conversation, when I've already moved past ... I'm not going to vote for you candidate. I'm not a single issues voter. I never have been. I'm not about to start now. I'm not about to take everything else that defines me and toss it to the wayside for one thing about me. Is it important? Yes, it's very important. It's why I stopped voting Republican, right after they told me I wasn't a real person. I'm not going to get into the delicacies of what is/isn't a trans*American, except to say that yes, I see myself myself in that group, and yes, Rien IS my name, even if it's not legally so, and yes, I like zie/hir when describing me, but if you absolutely have to gender me, most of the time I prefer male genderisms. But that's not the point.
The point is, I also care about schools. I care about health care a lot more than that. Gay marriage doesn't really apply to me right now. Yes, I'd love for everyone to get married, but I'd also like there to be discussion on genderqueer and trans*Americans and how they matter too. And how the 14th Amendment just as equally applies to them as anyone else. Religion and personal squicks should not come into the discussion. If you defend free speech, you should be defending trans* rights.
I want campaigns (a very specific one) to understand that Medicare For All is a great slogan, but what about the fact that I was under my father's private insurance, but it just stopped at the St. Croix river because of arbitrary boundary lines? Why can't we discuss erradicating those lines and make insurance provide full coverage across the United States? Why can't we discuss tort reform? How doctors are billed? How patients are seen? Why if you go to Abbott Hospital with psychiatric issues you can wait up to 12 hours for a bed? Why aren't we discussing the personal stories, ways in which people have gotten screwed? Why can't we discuss the silent majority, the ones who have too high of premiums, but haven't had a medical tragedy yet? And ... how are we going to pay for it? Let's dicuss how to pay for these changes your canditate wants to make.
Let's discuss schools too - especially here in MN. Let's discuss national graduation rates versus MN graduation rates. Let's discuss funding for higher education - let's discuss the way that the future of America are consistently getting screwed by student loans. Let's discuss the economy and deficits and why why cutting GAMC is bad, and what to do about it instead.
Let's not assume, when I answer the phone and tell you that I am Rien and that I prefer sir, that GLBT is the core of my political existence.
I want everyone - and not just political campaigns - to understand being genderqueer and trans* is who I am. But there's so much more to me than that.
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