Oregon Daily Emerald
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
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■ In my opinion
Love knows no bounds
After all the chocolate, after all the
cards, after we’ve all been made psy
chologically sick from the diamond
advertisements and physically sick
from Sweethearts, love remains.
Valentine’s Day passes, and we live
on. Somehow. Bleh.
As someone lacking a significant
other, I’ve been thinking a lot about
love lately. Valentine’s Day is always
a bit difficult for us singles, even the
cynical ones who don’t buy into
traditional, bourgeois Hallmark
crap. Tty to open a door for me, and
I’ll rearrange your kneecaps — does
my arm really look that weak to
you? Natural skepticism makes me
see my lover-bird friends and ask:
As hard as I am, is it possible for me
to be capable of that soft, googly
eyed simpering?
1 can acknowledge love exists;
that’s a start. It’s the magnetic feel
ing between two people that keeps
them together like taffy. It’s a jaw
breaking force that seems to make
spending time with my friends more
difficult than it needs to be, the third
wheel on a very sexy bicycle.
Unlike many people, I believe that
love can happen regardless of gender
and that no law, no matter how hate
ful, can strip it away. Not that the le
gal system should even have the
power to do so in the first place. Ap
parently, it’s not enough for the
states to continue to march insensi
tive policies forward. President Bush
in his State of the Union address de
manded a constitutional amendment
to separate straight and queer.
But there is progress on some
fronts. In New York, yet another
court challenge succeeded in its at
tempts to make gay marriage legal by
judicial fiat. I love the intent; I just
wish such dictates lasted longer than
the moment taken by the populace to
JENNIFER MCBRIDE
QUASHING DISSENT
slap down the idea of freedom to
love. Apparently, the reason the law
exists is so closed-minded men and
women can use it as a tool to tyran
nically maintain their comfort zones.
They would shove valid feelings
back into the darkness just to ensure
Britney Spears has some kind of
sanctity the next time she pops down
to Vegas. What ever happened to so
cial contract theory? Life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness? When did
sexuality become a threat necessary
for Big Brother to control?
Society keeps making closets. Big
closets, small closets. We each have
to play a predestinated role to one
extent or another. Anything that
might scare the general population
must be silenced and shattered. For
this reason, transsexuals have limit
ed protection under the law. In most
states and cities, employers are al
lowed to fire an employee if they find
out he or she is transgendered. Karen
Frances Ulane was a pilot at Eastern
Airlines who was fired because her
gender change might have reflected
badly on the corporate image. In 20
years, one might hope such restric
tive mindsets would have changed,
but just five years ago teacher Dana
Rivers, after teaching nine years at a
Sacramento high school, was fired
because her planned gender opera
tion would distract from an educa
tional atmosphere. Eugene itself has
not fully addressed the transgender
community, still tied up on the minu
tia of bathrooms. As if a “not intend
ed for your gender” sign is sufficient
to stop sexual predators.
Love is also inextricably linked to
its inverse: anger. In many states,
murder is still considered a reason
able response to finding your wife in
bed with another. In January, Jimmy
Dean Watkins received a sentence of
only four months in prison for mur
dering his wife. His blind fury was
apparently excuse enough for killing
a woman. Crimes of passion have
long been a staple of our legal sys
tem, but I’d have hoped by now that
the anachronism would be confined
to “Days of our Lives”. Can you pic
ture a woman walking in on her
cheating husband, stabbing him and
getting away with it at a jury trial? It
would never happen. You see,
women are so used to being hysteri
cal all the time (a result of their in
herent biological frailty), they should
have learned how to control them
selves. Men, on the other hand, are
so used to being big, strong paragons
of brawniness that whenever emo
tions cross their otherwise rational
brains, they are so startled they tem
porarily lose control, the poor babies.
You know who’s really hysterical?
I am, but not from my femininity. It’s
called being desperate. The last per
son who asked me out on a date was
somebody’s mother. Even so, I have
a little hope in this cold, hard heart.
He or she better have a sense of hu
mor though, that’s for sure.
Do you know what love really is?
Having a Greek pizza delivered
straight to your couch during a
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
marathon. Now that’s romance.
iennifermcbride@dailyemerald.com
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■ Editorial
Code not
only step to
transgender
tolerance
Adding gender identity or gender orienta
tion to the Eugene anti-discrimination code is
an important progressive step in providing fair
access to housing and employment for every
one. Discrimination based on gender, includ
ing gender identity, is unacceptable and
should not be tolerated. It is that simple. The
Emerald urges City Council members to pass
this ordinance and expand civil rights protec
tions to the transgender community.
There are at least 100 transgender people in
Eugene, according to city estimates. The ordi
nance will mean real changes in their lives.
The ordinance would also serve a symbolic
purpose, helping to remove the stigma at
tached to the transgender lifestyle.
Unfounded fears of transgender people us
ing public restrooms continue to dominate the
discussion and prove there are plenty of mis
conceptions, as well as trans-phobia, in the
public. The University has included gender
identity to its nondiscrimination policy with
out incident. Eugene will be no different. We
are glad the Eugene Human Rights Commis
sion plans on holding community dialogues to
begin to address these issues.
The ordinance is a great idea. But the best
way to ensure the safety and security of trans
gender people in our community is for all of
us to begin to confront and deal with our own
feelings of fear. We must educate ourselves
about this issue if we want to create a truly
welcoming environment for all people.
The ASUO Constitutional Court’s rejection
Tuesday of University sophomore Silas
Snider’s request to begin collecting signatures
for a recall of a large number of ASUO offi
cials, including the executive and several sena
tors, brings to light a few issues.
First and foremost, the court’s decision
rests on some limp legal excuses. Rather than
dealing with the request in a legitimate and
serious manner, they rejected it on the basis of
a technicality.
Saying the request “does not conform to
the requirements of bringing a matter before
the Court” because Snider was unaware he
was required to specifically give instances
of what the court claimed were “alleged inci
dents that occurred at the Sunriver retreat”
is hardly a courageous action. The court was
well aware of the events Snider was referenc
ing, and, incidentally, when the ASUO
admits in a public statement that retreat mem
bers broke the law, such actions are no
longer “alleged.”
Second, Snider’s attempt was a well
intentioned but misguided crusade. While we
cannot say in good conscience that we
disagree with the logic behind Snider’s at
tempt — after all, we have also called for
their resignation in the past — it was also
completely unrealistic.
In a government system where an elected term
for almost every major position lasts a single year,
the energy Snider expended would have had little
effect. Even if the court had ruled in his favor and
he had gathered the necessary signatures, a recall
election would have probably conflicted with
the next regular election cycle and would have
been pointless.
Snider and his fellow like-minded students
should realize their best opportunity to effect
change within the ASUO is to get involved in
elections and urge the participation of the stu
dent body. Mobilize voters or run for office,
because when students elect the right leaders,
recall elections are unneeded.