Hasta La Gadget!

Hey, guess what? It is Mental Health Awareness Month and Washington, DC is buzzing with advocates excited to meet with their congressional representatives to discuss meaningful mental health reform. For those advocates making the trek to DC, I am sure that on your list of questions for your congressional representative is something related to the need for improved services for LGBTQ individuals, right? I mean, we talk about the importance of addressing discrimination against the LGBTQ community all the time. The nation is abuzz with discussion about the rights of transgender individuals, who can use what bathroom, and whether or not a therapist should be obligated to see someone if they disagree with their sexual orientation. And of course, you are planning to speak to your congressional representative about LGBTQ equality… right?

Feeling a bit nervous about where to begin? Recent events in Congress are always a good conversation starter. Here is a good one for you to use, as it just took place yesterday.

During the House vote on H.R. 4974, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y. submitted an amendment aimed at upholding an executive order that bars discrimination against LGBT employees by federal contractors. 

The vote tally at the end of expired time had the amendment passing, 217 – 206. Democrats cheered, but then slowly began to boo. Something was not right. The vote tally on the screen began to change, with the yae votes slowly decreasing and the nae votes increasing.

The rules of the House are that after the time expires, if a Representative wants to change his or her vote, they need to go to the well of the House Chamber and register their change with the Speaker. But no one was going to the well to change their vote, yet the votes were changing on the screen!

The room got louder and louder with shouts of protest as the tally on the screen showed mysterious vote changes taking place one by one, until the Speaker finally called it after the nays exceeded the yeas by one. The amendment was ultimately defeated 213-212.

Here is why this vote is important for children’s mental health advocates
If your congressional representative considers him or herself a champion of mental health reform, then at some point, you need to understand their position on the rights of the LGBTQ community – a community that is highly represented in mental health treatment, support and advocacy. If your congressional representative has voted to disallow basic equal rights protection for the LGBTQ community, you will want to ask them to help you understand the basis of their position, and how it reflects their commitment to comprehensive mental health reform.

Of the seven congressional representatives who switched their votes on the Maloney Amendment without following proper protocol, five are co-sponsors of H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015. H.R. 2646 is a bill that has generated much discussion in mental health advocacy circles over the past few years, and my guess is that many of the mental health advocates making Hill visits this month will be discussing H.R. 2646 with their elected congressional representatives.

Ask your congressional representative how he or she voted on the Maloney Amendment. If they voted no, ask them why, so you can better understand their thinking. Then ask them how they see the basic rights of the LGBTQ community being addressed in H.R. 2646. The ensuing conversation should provide opportunity for you to provide some perspective and possibly broaden the thinking of the individual entrusted to make decisions on behalf of the community in which you live.

Here are the five vote switchers on the Maloney Amendment who are also co-sponsors of H.R. 2646. 

• Jeff Denham – Rep. Denham, Jeff [R-CA-10]*
• Mimi Walters – Rep. Walters, Mimi [R-CA-45]*
• Greg Walden – Rep. Walden, Greg [R-OR-2]
• Bruce Poliquin – Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2]
• David Young – Rep. Young, David [R-IA-3]

You can watch the CSPAN footage from the floor vote on the Maloney Amendment here.

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Republicans, even those who denounced Donald Trump earlier in the primaries, are getting out their checkbooks and rallying behind him. Trump, for his part, is deftly building bridges, releasing a list of potential Supreme Court nominees so conservative they would make Ted Cruz grin, and hosting a Chris Christie fund raiser to retire the former candidate’s $400,000 in campaign debt.

Meanwhile, the Democratic party remains divided, with Bernie Sanders continuing to promote the notion that his nomination was stolen by a corrupt Democratic National Committee, not that at the end of the day he simply had less support, with Sanders supporters promising to bring their fight to the streets and convention hall in Philadelphia this summer.

I am sure to Sanders supporters it feels like the revolution is around the corner, and there are changes needed to the Democratic party system and country that can not wait, so therefore the Democratic party and its candidate must be taken to task. The same approach was tried in 1968. What it got us was six years of Richard Nixon.

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“Will you really have enough time to work on this project?” “Shouldn’t you be spending more time with your newborn?” “If I gave you a break, I’d have to give everyone a break.”

These are just some of the discriminatory comments working women hear from their bosses during or after their pregnancy, and they do more than just make women feel uncomfortable.

Hardworking women are being forced out of their jobs or onto unpaid leave after they reveal they are pregnant. Many are denied even minor accommodations, such as bathroom breaks or a flexible schedule to attend a doctor’s appointment, forcing them to work under conditions that cause them pain or discomfort.

And it must stop.

Although it has been illegal under federal law to discriminate against pregnant women for nearly 40 years — and illegal under New York City law to deny pregnant women reasonable accommodations since 2014 — women are still routinely discriminated against in the workplace for being pregnant.

At the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the agency that fights discrimination citywide, we see pregnant women who are denied even minor workplace accommodations, such as one pregnant retail worker who was told she wasn’t allowed to attend a doctor’s appointment because it was the holiday rush season. In another case, a pregnant worker was told she needed take more time off to spend with her newborn and was later terminated. And yet another worker was fired immediately after she told her boss she was pregnant.

Workplace discrimination has real and lasting consequences for pregnant women, their careers, and their families.

When women are forced onto unpaid leave, they lose a paycheck when they need it the most. Some even lose access to health insurance as a result of being on unpaid leave, which forces them onto Medicaid. And some even question whether they want to continue with their pregnancy at all when faced with workplace discrimination.

All too often, employers make assumptions about what pregnant women can or should be doing in the workplace — the meetings they should attend, the projects they can handle, the hours she should be working. Although some of these assumptions may be well intended, they take away a woman’s right to make those decisions for herself, limiting employment opportunities.

It is imperative that pregnant women everywhere understand their rights in the workplace and that employers know their responsibilities under the law.

This month, New York City issued legal guidance to help pregnant women and employers understand existing protections under the New York City Human Rights Law. The guidance specifies that employers in New York City are required by law to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers, such as minor changes in work schedules, additional bathroom and snack breaks, or less strenuous or hazardous positions if available. The guidance also clarifies that employers are prohibited from retaliating, demoting, or firing a woman because she is pregnant.

Women should never have to choose between starting a family and her career. No one has the right to limit a pregnant woman’s opportunities in the workforce because of their personally-held belief about how pregnant women should live or work or question their commitment to their jobs.

Pregnant women deserve the same respect, dignity, and employment opportunities as everyone else — and it’s about time we give it to them.

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I love the hope expressed in the Gospel phrase “that they may all be one”. It was Christ’s hope for the church, and it’s the motto of my own denomination, the United Church of Christ.

At the same time, I’m watching as the United Methodist Church moves towards a possible split. There are reports that leaders are now acknowledging a way forward that includes the option of a sort of amicable separation. And in its wake I do hear the concern of those who think the church should never schism.

But the reality is that the church of Jesus Christ has been in schism for over a thousand years, and many of those schisms have been necessary and good. The Protestant Reformation was a schism. The Methodist church itself broke away from the Anglican tradition. American denominations were in schism during the Civil War, with the Presbyterians not reuniting until 1983. Other denominations have broken apart over issues involving the inclusion of women. The truth is that schism is practically as old as the church.

And it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Here’s how I think of churches that have to break apart over issues of inclusion: everyone is sitting in a large room, and there is one big table. The only trouble is, not everyone at the table agrees that everyone else should be allowed to sit. So, the ones who aren’t allowed to sit remain standing against the wall while everyone else sits there comfortably, eats well, and debates whether or not they will let the ones standing sit at the table.

Here’s what an amicable separation could look like: Everyone agrees a solution is not coming anytime soon, but a large portion of the group says “we aren’t going to wait for our friends to be allowed to sit anymore.” And so, everyone remains in the same room, but another table is set up where everyone is welcome to sit.

The larger Methodist tradition is that big room, but it could be true that it’s time to set up two tables and let the faithful LGBTQ people leaning against the wall take a seat. The church is already in schism, because a church is not whole that does not recognize the baptisms of all of its members.

Perhaps it’s time that we simply adjust the seating arrangements accordingly.

When denominations debate issues of inclusion or justice they do so because a separation has already taking place. There are already multitudes of United Methodists who are not in the room because they have had to leave it for other rooms. LGBTQ people and their allies have grown tired of waiting for a seat, and have gone to other places where their God-given gifts have been well utilized. In a quiet and gentile way, they have been schism-ed out of the church. (I get that; I was a PCUSA minister for eight years, standing against the wall and waiting. Leaving was the healthiest option I had.)

So now the United Methodist Church is facing a big moment. The UCC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church, and Evangelical Lutheran Church have also been here, of course. But the United Methodist Church remains the largest mainline Protestant denomination in this country, and the split is becoming more deeply entrenched. The fact that the idea transgender people should undergo “reparative therapy”, a fringe treatment condemned by everyone respectable medical and psychological association, is getting serious support at General Conference is just one example.

So the time has come to ask the question: Can the people leaning against the wall wait any longer? Or is it time to set up a table where they can sit down.

Like I said, I do pray for a time in which “they may all be one”. Because we are humans, and deeply fallible, I fear that may not come about on earth. It may only be in the next life, when we see God’s love and truth face-to-face.

But that’s not to say there isn’t something good that can come from this. This week over 1,000 LGBTQ clergy members from other denominations said we would stand in solidarity with our United Methodist LGBTQ colleagues. To me that’s a symbol of what progressive Christians from all mainline denominations should do more of going forward.

I am a devoted student of Reformed theology, and even I can say that in the 21st century church we can’t make our theological differences our idols. The reality is that Luther, Calvin, Wesley, were they alive today, would have far more in common than we realize. I wonder what they would think about their 21st descendants fighting 16th, 17th, and 18th century theological battles when the real work of the Gospel is yet to be done.

And so, if the United Methodist Church splits, I will not see it as a failure. I will see it as a commitment to get everyone a seat at the table. But more than that, I hope it will be a call for all of us who are progressive Christians to gather together in a bigger room, and to all sit together in fellowship. We don’t have to forget where we come from, but we do have to remember why we are here now.

Ironically, maybe it’s this moment of separation that will somehow move us closer to the time that we will “all be one”.

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Malaysia is slowly embracing religious totalitarianism that soon would engulf not just the political, public dimension but also controls on how people should think, feel, believe (or lack thereof) or whom they can fall in love with. Here in Malaysia, the troubles and heats that human rights activist had to bear are mostly from the ultra-conservative orthodox religious communities; especially from the altered version of Syafi’e Sunni Islam that are being practiced by majority of muslim in Malaysia.

This Sunni Islam is rigidly and closely controlled by the patriarchal-misogynistic, fascistic government and authorities that rules the society with a totalitarian module. The problem with controlled mainstream Islam in Malaysia, and especially the one propagated within Peninsular Malaysia is that it is an altered version of the Shafi’i madzhab with the government assuming control and deviating from the fundamental values of syafi’ie school within Ahlul Sunnah Wal Jamaah or even having humanistic values within it. They are only frameworks of laws, punishments without the spirituality, empathy nor humanity.

The religion is being exploited heavily in Malaysia by the people above the societal hierarchy that possesses status, power, money, religious knowledge, authority and influence. Most are men that hides behind the cloak of faith; proudly shove on other’s face of their alliance to God and Race (rallying support from the like-minded audiences that are both absolute theocratic and/or ethno-nationalistic); demanding respect of their powers, and their alleged special rights.

Raiding & more raiding
Recently, on the evening of 3rd April 2016, the Malaysian transgender community who hosted and held a dinner and beauty contest for the trans women community recently were raided by Malaysian religious authorities, The Federal Territories Islamic Department (JAWI) without any warrant issued. The religious authorities gatecrashed the closed-door dinner event without police personnel accompanying them on the grounds that it violated a fatwa against beauty pageants that were gazette for the Muslim women. There were 10 religious authorities with few people from the media that came, and forced captured the transgender organizer, Ira Sophia, as well as lawyer-turned activist Siti Kasim.

Aside from this appalling unwarranted unethical raiding done by the so-called religious authorities, 7 days later after the incident that the trans women and Siti Kasim had endured; another similar incident happened whence the Selangor religious authorities (JAIS) raided the family home of actress Faye Kusairi in the dead of morning hours at 2.30am. Apparently having tipped by the “neighbors” suspecting Faye committing “khalwat”, the offence of being in close proximity with any forbidden member of the opposite sex in Islamic Shariah law.

The complaint was proven to be false when it turns out Faye was not even at the residence, she was with a female friend at another house and those who had to face the wrath of JAIS were her father, mother and brother. Their house was broken into by JAIS officers; the door grill was smashed.

These two are just recently prominent examples of a long list of raiding done by the religious authorities in Malaysia.

While Malaysian are fighting against such law and abuses of human rights, the government however have another plan when recently it was announced that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) is placing two officers and a sergeant at the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to assist the department in Shariah law enforcement starting from May 1st 2016.
Malaysia Islamic Development Department director-general (JAKIM) Datuk Othman Mustapha said the trial project would be implemented for a year and see how it goes.

“Issues that threaten the Islamic religious faith such as Shiah & deviant teachings, conflicts over Shariah law, social ills and the question of rights to freedom have become increasingly complex. Therefore, professional support and services from PDRM personnel to assist JAIS’ enforcement machinery in handling Shariah cases are critical and timely,” he said at a press conference after the handing-over of the three PDRM personnel to Jais for the trial project, here, today.

We hope this cooperation between PDRM and JAIS can be strengthened and extended to the Islamic religious department of other states in future.”

“This placement idea was mooted by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the Home Minister in 2013,” he added.

This development is troubling since the infallible, unquestionable stance of religion in Malaysia is well known & going against religion, religious laws, fatwas that are endorsed by the government is considered as a high treason, blasphemous and could land one in rehabilitation center, be tried at court or land themselves in jail. (While death sentence is not done in Malaysia by law, the religious zealots in Malaysia do holistically threaten those who cross them with death, rape threat online or offline)

Continuous Persecution
It is well known that Malaysian government opposes & uses LGBT minorities in Malaysia as scapegoat, but the grasp of fascism already choking the targeted vulnerable marginalized minorities in Malaysia.

Being targeted by the systematic oppression and discrimination, or have their rights swept under & ignored; Women have their clothing choice policed, their rights & presence are slowly pushed to slow erasure, only to be confined at home as “homemaker” & should be subservient to the husband, people of other faith have their belief controlled or discriminated, the heat of oppression reaches the immigrants, aborigines proselytized,the orphans had their supports swindled, people with disabilities & mentally distressed manipulated, HIV stricken & LGBT community being horribly vilified.

What worse is that religion seems to only be fueling the hatred, bigotry, prejudice and ignorance among the increasingly religious-centric, ethno-nationalistic, ultra-conservatives Muslim Malays majority in Malaysia.

In conclusion, the demand for Muslim to re-study, understands & empathize with their fellow human, especially the marginalized community supposed to be in top priority, and the push for secularism that benefits all should be a priority. Remember that the knowledge that we possesses are just drop of an infinite ocean of knowledge & there’s so much for us to learn from each other.

Crowdsourcing the struggle for human rights. Be part of the solution at Movements.org. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Movements.

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