Winter Break, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Transphobia

Good morning from Petra and Happy New Year's! I want to write (after taking a super long hiatus) a new post in three somewhat unrelated installments.

The first installment will discuss my recent travels to the Middle East. I'll gush about my winter break in Amman and surrounding places (Jerusalem, Mt. Nebo, etc...). I apologize in advance for perhaps sounding like a serial bragger or spoiled brat. In my defense, I'm fascinated by the MENA region and the Arabic language, which I've started studying at Yale. 

Clouds over the Mediterranean. Helen (my twin) and I took a direct flight from JFK to Queen Alia airport in Amman. We boarded a Boeing Dreamliner (787-800) operated by Royal Jordanian. I'm fascinated by airplanes, so flying in a Dreamliner for the first time was an amazing experience- it can seat up to 335 passengers and reduces emissions by 20% because it's significantly lighter, which makes take off relatively peaceful experience. 

Second, I'll talk about Jordan from a more intellectual standpoint. I've spent the better half of two weeks roaming around and trailing behind my Mom who works at the U.S. Embassy here. The country is an exciting place, to say the least. I'll write about its politics, economy, social environment, and entrepreneurial ecosystem from information gathered on the web and from Jordanian professionals I've met around town (diplomats, academics, businessmen...).

King Abdullah II is the current ruler of Jordan. He spent his high school years at Deerfield in the US and then went to military school in England. Abdullah is by and large a modern monarch. He's married to Queen Rania, who is really beautiful and smart. It's hard not to like this royal couple. 

Third, I want to talk about a more serious issue, which is the recent suicide of a transgender (MTF) teenager in Ohio. In previous posts I've written about transgender rights, which I believe are a hallmark of 21st century social change. No one should ever feel inferior and unworthy of love because they don't subscribe to a gender binary or norm. Battling transphobia requires a lot of effort on behalf of LGBTQ activists- an effort that is arguably being wasted by focusing on the more trivial issue of marriage equality. 

Leelah committed suicide after her parents put her in a state of miserable isolation for months on end. Her parents were homophobes and propagated transphobic messages within their household. They tried changing Leelah through conversion therapy. When she took her life, they told friends that their sweet "son" had died in a car accident. 

Vote for Hope!

It's been a while since I last wrote about Patrick Hope's run for congress. My first blog post detailed my transition to his campaign and reasons for choosing him as the 8th district's next congressman. Now, after several weeks of campaigning, I can offer you a more comprehensive argument as to why you should vote for Patrick. Allow me to break my argument down into four parts: experience, personality, audacity, and organization. The latter two were not mentioned in my first post about Patrick. Here we go:

1. Experience- 

(a) Patrick has been a health care attorney for over a decade, which means that he has extensive work under his belt advocating for Medicaid and other important health programs. In fact, legislators down in Richmond regard Patrick as the "expert on Obamacare".

(b) (quoting from hopeforcongress.com) Before being elected to the House of Delegates, Patrick served as chair of the Arlington Community Service Board, which serves those in our community with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as those in need of mental health services.

(c) Patrick also founded the reorganized Buckingham Community Civic Association, co-chaired the Arlington Implementation Task Force to End Homelessness, and served on the Arlington County Commission on Aging. 

(d) Patrick has sponsored 31 bills in the House of Delegates. Let me provide you with some more specifics-  Firstly, he fought hard to end the practice of shackling pregnant women when in labor and worked to lower the number of inmates in solitary confinement in Virginia prisons, reducing it by more than 70%. Secondly, Patrick has introduced a bill to ban gay "conversion therapy" for minors in Virginia. Thirdly, Patrick passed a bill that enhances mental health resources across Virginia state universities. These are just three examples of his legislative capacity in Richmond.

2. Personality- 

I talked a lot about Patrick's personality in my previous blog post. In short, Patrick is very attentive and treats you like an equal. He's always open to listening and does not advocate his stance in an overly aggressive manner. Please read my previous blog post on why Patrick's personality trumps the often disingenuous nature of politicians!

3. Audacity-

I personally think that Patrick's audacity towards political issues is what makes him stand out among all of the 8th district's candidates. At first glance you'd think that a radio personality like Mark Levine who calls himself the "aggressive progressive" would be the most audacious. Levine has certainly proved that he has a loud voice and a strong will to bring about change. But what have Levine and other candidates done to stand up for values they believe in, even when it means going against a conventional Democratic narrative? Patrick is the only candidate who has publicly denounced policies even if it meant going against traditional Democratic thought. For example, Patrick denounced Governor Terry McAuliffe's support for a Richmond Democratic Committee president-elect. The candidate opposes same-sex marriage. Patrick was the first contestant in the 8th congressional district race to voice his concerns over this issue.

(Side note- I have nothing against Mark Levine, I met him today and he seems like a great person.)

4. Organization- 

Patrick's team is phonebanking 4 days a week, canvassing on weekends and weeknights, and sporting bright yellow teeshirts to campaign meetings and events. I don't see any other campaign matching our apparatus. Granted, substance trumps style, but I can't help but notice how our yellow and blue colors are taking over the 8th district.

Conclusion: Patrick's campaign efforts and legislative capability have resulted in his team winning 6 out of 7 straw polls (correct me if I'm wrong- I'm going off of memory here) and receiving endorsements from nationwide political organizations such as Blue America. So please, vote for Hope! 

An Atrocity in Uganda

Two hours ago, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a bill that criminalizes homosexuality. The new piece of legislation takes draconian measures to discriminate against LGBT citizens. Below I'll simplify the news through elaborating on a brief overview of the bill, international aid to Uganda, homosexuality in Africa, and international backlash. My explanations are long so if you want some more subjective writing you can skip to my opinion down below.

President Yoweri Museveni

Brief overview of the bill:

• A Ugandan lawmaker first introduced the bill in 2009 with a death penalty clause for some homosexual acts. It was briefly shelved when Britain and other European nations threatened to withdraw aid to Uganda, which relies on millions of dollars from the international community. 
• The nation's parliament passed the bill in December, replacing the death penalty provision.
• The bill that passed divides homosexual behavior into two categories
• The first is called "aggravated homosexuality" in which an offender would receive life in prison. "Aggravated homosexuality" includes homosexual acts committed by a person who is HIV-positive, is a parent or authority figure, or who administers intoxicating substances, homosexual acts committed on minors or people with disabilities, and repeat offenders
• The second category is called "the offense of homosexuality" and includes same-sex sexual acts, involvement in a same-sex marriage, or an attempt to commit aggravated homosexuality. First time offenders in this category would automatically receive 14 years in prison. second time offenders would face more time. 
• Moreover, the bill requires anyone who is aware of an offense or an offender, including companies, media organizations, or NGOS who support LGBT rights, to report the offender within 24 hours. If an individual does not do so they are also considered an offender and face 250 "currency points" or imprisonment for up to three years. 
• President Museveni fluctuated between retracting the bill and signing it. He indicated he needed to know "whether, indeed, there are people who are born homosexual", in which case it would be wrong to punish them; he would not sign the bill until that matter had been clarified. Museveni rapidly retracted that statement and publicly signed it into law on February 24. Museveni's decision was purportedly based on a report by "medical experts" who say "homosexuality is not genetic but a social behavior." 

International aid to Uganda (courtesy of Global Humanitarian Assistance, 2011):

• Total assistance= US $1.6 billion
• Humanitarian assistance = US $56 million
• Cost of multilateral peacekeeping operations= US $7 million
• Government revenues= US $3.9 billion
• Uganda received the equivalent of 9.9% of its gross national income as aid in 2011
• Uganda has experienced active conflict in each of the ten years between 2002 and 2011
• Classified as a fragile state, 2012
• Vulnerability index score, 2012-2013: High

Homosexuality in Africa:

• Homosexuality is illegal in 38 African countries where most sodomy laws were introduced during colonialism
• In Uganda homosexual acts were punishable by 14 years to life in prison even before the controversial bill was signed into law
• Since 2011 some first world countries have been considering or implementing laws that limit or prohibit general budget support to countries that restrict the rights of homosexuals
• In spite of this many African countries are continuing to breach international human rights laws
• Many African leaders feel that gay rights are against their cultural and religious value systems and believe they have a sovereign right to reject what they see as an imposition by mainly Western nations, which attempts to affect national sentiment via aid
• Gay and lesbian organizations in Africa fear the ripple effect from the anti-gay bill could spread beyond Uganda to other parts of a continent where conservative societies tend to view homosexuality as unnatural 

International backlash:

• "It's a gloomy day not just for the gay community in Uganda but for all Ugandans who care about human rights because this law will affect everybody," said Julian Peppe Onziema, a gay rights campaigner in Uganda
• Amnesty International said the law was "wildly discriminatory" and amounted to a grave assault on human rights
• The law comes a week after U.S. President Barack Obama said the legislation would be "a step backward for all Ugandans" and warned it would complicate relations
• A senior Obama administration official had said the U.S. would review relations with Uganda if the law was enacted. Washington is one of Uganda's largest donors, sending more than $400 million a year
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu has condemned the law, saying there is no scientific or moral basis ever for prejudice and discrimination- and accusing the Ugandan president of breaking a promise not to enact the law. 

After stating all of these relevant facts, I hope that anyone who reads this post agrees that this anti-gay bill is simply disgusting and atrocious. President Museveni is clearly standing on the wrong side of history. But condemning the piece of legislation is only the first step in a long process to try to overcome and fight LGBT discrimination in Uganda and Africa. The next step is to figure out why President Museveni enacted the legislation. Then, collective action must be taken immediately to counter these draconian measures. The more countries collaborate together, the better. 

So, first and foremost, it is highly likely that President Museveni passed this anti-gay bill due to Ugandan presidential elections in 2016. The veteran leader's signature will please many voters opposed to homosexuality in the staunchly conservative east African country. Museveni, however, risks alienating Western aid donors, which is a perfect segway into my next point. 

Collective action must be taken immediately to punish the Ugandan government for passing the bill. In 2011 a host of Western nations demonstrated their desire to withdraw aid to Uganda in response to anti-gay legislation introduced in the Ugandan parliament. This can happen again. The U.S. currently gives $400 million on an annual basis in foreign aid to Uganda. There's only one caveat: Uganda is a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic extremism in Somalia. Ugandan troops have formed the backbone of the African Union peacekeeping force battling al Qaeda-aligned militants. Still, the U.S. can appropriate the necessary money for Ugandan peacekeeping while withdrawing money in other sectors of life. Furthermore, other European countries can cut down their foreign aid to Uganda. The U.S. does not have to drastically lower our aid, rather, collectively each country can skim from their money pools to produce an effective counterattack to the anti-gay legislation. 

I hope that this post has adequately covered this horrible event. We must evaluate how frequently the law will be carried out and counter its execution with sanctions of our own. 

Patrick Hope for Congress

A few weeks ago I joined Delegate Patrick Hope's campaign for Congress. He is seeking to win the seat that Representative Jim Moran, of the 8th district, is retiring from.

In all honesty I first volunteered for his campaign out of pure boredom. I had this 4 hour time chunk in the middle of my day that needed to be filled. Plus, someone I know from high school is working as his political director, so connecting to his campaign was a piece of cake. I didn't do it out of a love for Patrick, I just did it to fill time.

So for the past few weeks I've been updating data bases, meeting with campaign staff, and helping at events. It's been a mix of some mundane tasks (read: data bases) along with more exciting stuff (meeting Patrick and caucusing). About two weeks ago I helped Patrick caucus at a nearby middle school; campaign staff spent all day (from 11am to 7pm) getting people to sign an election ballot petition and spreading the word about his credentials. I also got the chance to meet Patrick for the first time- he's a soft spoken, mild mannered, intelligent guy. He does not have a flaring hot temper; he has a gentle and kind nature. This was my first impression of Patrick and it hasn't changed.

In order to caucus for a candidate you need to know something about him. I learned that Patrick is a health care attorney, leader of the Progressive Caucus in Richmond, and a legislator that has put many important bills to vote. He deals with housing, disabilities, health care reform, and mental health. The latter issue speaks to my heart; I fervently believe that federal and state governments need a paradigm shift in the way they approach mental illnesses.

Yesterday I was at the Arlington Commissioner of Revenue's house to prepare for Patrick's campaign kickoff today. We spoke about what makes politicians electable- especially at the state and local level. She emphasized personality attributes- in other words, how you treat people and talk to them stands out above all other components of your campaign. I couldn't help but look back on Patrick's demeanor at the Arlington County caucus. I can't imagine Patrick yelling at anyone or developing a temper over trivial things. I think this personality attribute would stand out on Capitol Hill, where legislators across the aisle fight incessantly over petty issues instead of calmly reaching agreement on necessary political measures. This does not mean that Patrick lacks passion, rather, he seemed fired up about hot issues at the campaign kickoff.

That's my personal take on Patrick's campaign. I started working for him out of boredom; now I'm becoming more passionate about electing him by the day. Other people have different views, but here's what I think differentiates Patrick from others in his field. In other words, this is why I think you should elect Patrick Hope to office:

1. Personality: as I said before, Patrick has a gentle approach to dealing with people. He engages you in conversation and seems to care about what you say. He seems like a compromiser; this will play out on Capitol Hill. He won't get into heated battles over small things. He won't approach issues angrily. He'll approach them with integrity. 
2. Legislative Experience: some candidates run on a few legislative wins. Patrick runs on many victories- even right now, he's successfully winning over a mental health bill that will require colleges to emphasize mental health resources and provide guidance on how to spot signs of depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior 
3. Youth: Patrick's political director emphasize this point with me. Basically, Patrick is a young politician, so if he enters office as a congressman he'll have plenty of time to develop seniority, which is important considering committee assignments. Other candidates such as Don Beyer are much older; they won't be able to reach Patrick's potential seniority status. 

If you want to volunteer for Patrick, or help out in any other way (financial contributions, etc..), you can send an email to info@hopeforcongress.com, or visit his webpage at hopeforcongress.com. I highly recommend helping this talented politician win the 8th district. It's well worth your time and effort. Go Patrick! 

Virginia is (for all) Lovers

Finally! Virginia's ridiculous constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage was declared void by a federal judge on the eve of Valentine's Day. Virginia is the first southern state to take this step towards legalization of same sex marriage. Here's a brief overview of the history of LGBT rights in my home state:

• in 2006 the Virginia General Assembly ratified a constitutional amendment that banned same sex marriage
• in mid-2013 two lawsuits were filed in federal court challenging Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage
• in January 2014 newly elected Attorney General Mark Herring filed a brief stating the state's reversal in the lawsuit in Norfolk: "The Attorney General has concluded that Virginia's laws denying the right to marry to same-sex couples violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." 
• Governor Terry McAuliffe, also a recently elected Democrat, backed Herring's refusal to defend the ban
• a federal court decision in Bostic v. Rainey on February 13, 2014, found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, but stayed enforcement of that decision pending appeal

And here's some more info on Bostic v. Rainey:

• The plaintiffs in the case are Tim Bostic and Tony London who live in Norfolk and have been together for 24 years
• They are joined by Carol Schall and Mary Townley from Richmond. The two women have been together for 28 years and have a 16-year old daughter. They married legally in California in 2008, but Virginia refused to recognize that status. 
• Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen presided over the case 

I think there's no need for me to reiterate my opinion on same-sex marriage. I'm a firm supporter of LGBT rights worldwide, and I'm proud of Virginia for taking this big step towards marriage equality. Combined with (US Attorney General) Eric Holder's recent decision to expand legal benefits to gay couples nationwide, this court case is revolutionizing our country's definition of freedom. 

So many talented and inspiring individuals have come out of the closet recently. Michael Sam, a defensive end for Missouri State, will likely play in the NFL and pave the way for more players to be open about their sexuality. Furthermore, Ellen Page bravely announced that she is gay at an HRC event this morning. Here's her speech:

That's about all I have to say. Here are some pictures to pay tribute to some of the amazing individuals I talked about above:

Terry McAuliffe

Michael Sam

Eric Holder

Mark Herring

Mental Health

The issue of mental health has appeared in many unexpected aspects of life recently. Let me give you an example from last week. On Thursday morning, I attended my Intro to State and Local Politics class. We talked about how Creigh Deeds' son took his life and how the state managed mental health resources. Then, on Friday, I was at a story meeting for the newspaper that I work at (the Connection) and we talked about articles that had to do with mental health. On Saturday I caucused for delegate Patrick Hope's congressional campaign. Patrick counts mental health, along with disabilities and housing, as one of his top legislative priorities.

In fact, a friend of mine at UVA is part of a group called Legislators of Tomorrow that brings together college-aged Republicans and Democrats to craft bipartisan legislation. The piece of legislation that they crafted requires state institutions of higher education to dedicate one webpage on their website to mental health resources that the school provides. Furthermore, the bill requires the governing board of each school to educate its faculty and students on how to spot signs of depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior. I wrote an article about it in the Arlington Connection that you can find right here.

A grassroots movement to educate citizens on the importance of mental health started when Kevin Breel gave an amazing TedTalk on his battle with depression. Since then he has spoken at numerous schools across the country and partnered with organizations such as To Write Love on Her Arms. In my opinion, every high school and private college as well should dedicate time and resources to educating its students on the importance of mental health. Breel wisely pointed out that we openly treat and express remorse for people with physical impairments, such as a broken arm, while we stigmatize and keep silent mental impairments, such as an anxiety disorder. Perhaps putting the issue of mental health in the classroom will help reduce this stigma.

When we discussed the political component of mental health in my State and Local Politics class I only heard positive feedback. People criticized how Virginia is doing a poor job of advancing this cause. For example, the Virginia mental health apparatus could not find an available bed for Creigh Deed's son. This led to his tragic and violent outbreak. How can the government improve their performance and execution on this issue? Is it better to leave the issue of mental health to the private sector and NGOs? Can private universities adopt the same policies that Legislators of Tomorrow proposed? How do other countries deal with this issue? These are all questions that need to be asked.

In the meantime I'll keep trying to find article ideas for mental health, discuss it in the classroom, and work for Patrick's campaign. I hope that everyone can find an outlet to promote this important issue.

Iran's Surprising Stance on Transsexualism

I came to my college campus a bit early so I explored its library and picked up a book titled "Please Select Your Gender" by Patricia Gherovici. Then I flipped to a random page and was mind blown by a passage that described Ayatollah Khomeini's (Iran's supreme leader's) stance on transsexualism. Here it is:

"Is the current conspicuousness of gender modification a sign of freedom in a robust democracy, or is the trivialization of sex change a way to push it as a normalizing and prophylactic cure for gender deviance? A very puzzling situation is presented by Iran, a country in which homosexuality carries the death penalty and where women have very limited rights, but in which the government fully supports sex change operations. In a progressive move more than 40 years ago,  the Ayatollah Khomenei wrote in support of transsexuality and ruled that sex change operations were allowed, a position that has been reconfirmed by Iran's current spiritual leader. Khomenei argued that 'if somebody wants to undergo a sex change because he feels trapped in the wrong body, he has the right to get rid of his body and transform into the other sex, and he is also entitled to new identification documents, in order to put an end to his plight.' Since the 1990s, the number of sex change surgeries performed in Iran has surpassed the number performed in Europe (the estimation is that the number of transgender operations performed in Iran is over seven times the number of such operations in Europe.) According to Dr. Mirjalali, Iran's leading sex change surgeon , a European surgeon performs an average of 40 sex reassignment surgeries in a decade; he performed over 300 between 1993 and 2005." 

So what explains this awesome phenomenon? Did the Ayatollah have personal ties with a transgender person? Does Iranian history support gender variance but not sexual variance? Who knows. I am mind blown.

Gender Dysphoria

I want to take some time to step back from politics and go off on a tangent. I've written a few recent posts on transgender issues and think they're really important. I'm also really interested in mental health issues surrounding transsexualism. So, I'm gonna halt my political rhetoric and take some time to talk about gender identity disorder (GID) and gender dysphoria. GID and gender dysphoria are practically the same thing: GID is a conflict between a person's physical gender and the gender he or she identifies as; gender dysphoria is the term used to describe that specific conflict.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Edition), also known as the DSM-5, serves as a universal authority for psychiatric diagnosis. It controversially classifies GID/gender dysphoria as a mental disorder. It specifically notes that the GID must continue for at least six months in a patient. It lists various direct characteristics of GID: cross dressing, playing with toys traditionally used by the other sex, etc. However, it fails to list indirect characteristics of GID. I found a really cool blog post that complements the DSM-5's controversial classification very well. I highly recommend reading it.

Anyways, that's all for today. Just wanted to make some personal commentary on transgender issues and direct you to a great article. Until next time!

Hillary Swank plays a female-to-male transgender in a 90's production called "Boys Don't Cry".

Peruvian Politics: Homosexuality

On New Year's Eve I was talking to a good friend of mine about his travels abroad in Uganda, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Soon, he'll be living in Buenos Aires and come late July he'll fly to Lima, Peru to hike the Inca Trail. That's when we decided that it'd be an awesome idea if I came along. Now I'm finding myself scratching together a diverse itinerary that includes Incan ruins, the famed trek to Machu Picchu, a beautiful monastery, the celebrated Andean Explorer train ride, and Lake Titicaca. Should be good. But after piecing together plane rides and hostel prices in a haze of ecstasy I experienced a mini heart attack over the state of LGBT politics in Peru. A few months ago I planned on going to Jamaica to coach track and field for a few weeks, but the country turns out to be a cauldron of LGBT hatred. So I quickly Wikipediaed Peruvian politics and was satisfied with what I found. Peru is relatiely progressive when it comes to LGBT rights in Latin America. The key word is relatively. Here are some bullet points that summarize my findings:

• same-sex sexual activity among adults is legal
• in 2009 the Supreme Court of Peru ruled that homosexuality was no impediment to joining the armed forces (way ahead of America) 
• homosexuality can be used as grounds for separation or divorce
• however, society's attitudes towards homosexuals are generally hostile and influenced by the Catholic Church (our current Pope is more progressive though.. should be interesting) 
• in 2010 a bill was introduced to the Peruvian parliament that would recognize same-sex unions
• in 2011 the bill died in Judiciary Committee because some members believed it would have to change the Constitution in order to be law
• the winner of the 2011 general election says he opposes same-sex unions
• in August 2010 a poll showed that 23.1% of Peruvians approve of same-sex unions, with a majority coming from Lima, the capital, or from the youth population
• little to almost no research has been done with the state of transgender politics in Peru

Overall, the findings produce a mixed bag of thoughts. On the one hand, same sex activity is legal, but on the other, gays still face many impediments that non-gays do not. The 2002 Pride Parade in Lima resulted in demonstrators being taunted and attacked and I think it'll still be a while before the government legally recognizes homosexuality. However, it's promising to know that 23% of the population approves of homosexuality. It seems like a small number but the fact that a majority of that 23% comes from a big urban area means that education probably has a lot to do with Peru's stance on LGBT rights. People in Lima are more educated than those in rural populations. It's time to start spreading the word to countryfolk.