Shadow Mutt Politics

1972 - Bernie wrote a letter in support of abolishing all laws dealing with abortion, sexual behavior (adultery, homosexuality, etc.), and drugs

1983 - Sanders signed the first proclamation to create the first Gay & Lesbian Pride Day in Burlington, VT

1985 - Burlington passes proclamation protecting LGBTQ people from housing and employment discrimination

1993 - When Congress members attacked non-discrimination in DC, Sanders voted “no”

1993 - Voted “no” on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

1995 - Sanders rebuked Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham for using the word “homos” when talking about gay people in the military

1996 - Voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)

1999 - When Congress tried to keep domestic partners from adopting children in DC, Sanders voted “no”

2001 - When Congress tried to keep domestic partners from receiving health benefits, Sanders challenged it

2004 - Voted against the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage

2007 - Voted to expand and strengthen penalties for violent crimes committed in the basis of sexual orientation

2009 - Voted to expand federal hate crimes to cover offenses motivated by gender identity and sexual orientation

2009 - Supported Vermont’s first-in-the-country law legalizing gay marriage

2010 - Voted to overturn “don’t ask, don’t tell”

2011 - Called on President Obama to support marriage equality

2013 - Co-sponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

2013 - Co-sponsored the United Families Act to allow LGBTQ Americans to bring their partners to the Us

2014 - Co-sponsored the International Human Rights Defense Act

2015 - Co-sponsored Civil Rights to include sexual orientation and gender identity protected categories

2016 - Co-sponsored Bill to designate June 26, 2016 as LGBTQ Equality Day

2016 - Bernie condemned conversion therapy

2017 - Co-sponsored the Every Child Deserves a Family Act which prohibits foster care entities from receiving federal assistance if they discriminate against prospective LGBTQ parents

2018 - Committed to passing the Equality Act

2019 - Has proposed a comprehensive housing plan that addresses societal homelessness, which disproportionately impacts the LGBTQ community

2019 - Committed to advancing policies that ensure fair treatment for transgender people who are targeted by police unfairly

“Whataboutism” is a Cold War propaganda tactic that the Soviet Union started using in the 1940s to avoid or shoot down criticism. 

Instead of addressing people’s concerns or answering uncomfortable questions, Soviet leaders would respond with, “What about…” and then draw attention to unfavorable events in the U.S. and other parts of the Western world. 

Later in the episode, Riker shows up at her trial and accuses himself of sexually harassing Soren to try to take the blame and save her from being tortured. He knows what awaits her because it happened in human history, and he tries to use his privilege to protect her, but she refuses to back his lie.

Jonathan Frakes, the actor playing Riker, criticized the showrunners for casting all women in the roles of the agender J’naii, and said Soren should have been played by a man, that the message of the episode would have been much stronger if Soren had been played by a male actor. The casting directors and production thought audiences–and Jonathan–would be uncomfortable with him having to portray a love story opposite a male actor, even though the episode was supposed to be an allegory for homosexuality (too heavy on the “allegory”, given that Soren identifies as female and Riker identifies as male–it’s still a queer relationship, though!).

I’m the first to say that allegories don’t have to be exact 1:1 comparisons to the real world to be valid, but the farther from there that they drift, the more impact is potentially lost. This episode would have been very impactful if a male actor had played Soren and she still identified as female, or if either a male or female actor had played Soren and instead he identified as male and Riker still found him attractive…but it was 1992 and airing on regular cable package channels so the production staff wimped out.

Is there confusion in the episode between sex, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation? Yes. That’s because it wasn’t written by experts on LGBTQIA+ issues or Queer Studies professors who were helping to carve out those definitions at that time. The episode was trying its best when it didn’t have the words to express itself perfectly (and was trying to address the issue in a “Star Trek” way, rather than the A Very Special After School Episode way.)

Soren still expresses herself quite well, in spite of that.

Benjamin Sisko & Julian Bashir Talk About The Political Climate of the Early 2020′s in Past Tense, Part I

Original Dialogue:

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White supremacist trying to form a straight-pride parade accidentally lets truth slip at city council meeting