The busyness of life gets in the way, and yet all these words march unceasingly through my head. Some are lost forever when I do not write them down. But what vanity is it to feel that it is a loss anyway?
I wonder why I need to write, even without an audience. I know I don't write well, but still I find it fills some well inside me, provides satisfaction.
To travel, to write, and to do the law. These things I do, and take great satisfaction in them. In the end, I guess that is the thing that makes doing them worthwhile.
As much as I like to write, I even more enjoy reading the writing of another if it seems well written. I've been reading Freya Stark's works lately, along with my law books and various other things. I am drawn to strong, unconventional people, women in particular, who unapologetically take life in both hands and squeeze all the juice out of it, and do so without stopping at the appropriate gender behavior line.
Stark traveled and wrote in the middle East in the early 1900's. She went about as a single woman when convention and society said she mustn't. "To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown and accept whatever comes in the spirit in which the gods may offer it." Baghdad Sketches, by Freya Stark
This seems like not just a wise way to travel, but a fine approach to life itself. Go forth, and taste and see and smell and talk and listen.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
equal protection
What should equal protection of the law encompass? Until fairly recently, there has not been any cognizable claim for a transgender person, or a gay man or lesbian, to claim any sort of equal rights or protection against discrimination. This has changed somewhat, but for the LGBT community, some of the bundle of rights that most of us assume as our birthright are simply lacking. Under Title VII, employers of 15 or more persons are prohibited from employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion or sex.
Words mean different things to different people. Context, history, education, experience and so many other factors are determinative of how I understand what you are saying. So what does it mean when the law says that discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited?
"A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may very greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used" Justice Holmes
The Court has, over time, further defined what 'sex' meant in Title VII. They have said that it includes sexual harassment (Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986)), which can be quid pro quo- explicit or implicit coercion of sexual acts, or a hostile environment-where things are so bad that the 'reasonable person' under the circumstances would quit. Gender stereotyping may be actionable if it has discriminatory impact.
Title VII has largely been held inapplicable to discrimination/sexual harassment suits brought by transgender persons claiming they were treated differently based on their sexual identity.
Based on a close reading of Title VII, and the apparent legislative intent, I too find it hard to locate the basis for a colorable federal claim for a person discriminated against in their employment based on their sexual identity or their sexual orientation. And that is the part that concerns me. I understand that the courts, even if they are activist in their leanings, must apply the law as they find it. Here, Title VII has limited application. I know it was enacted to address a then-current social problem. We humans have been co-existing on this planet for a long time, but we seem to be destined to repeat our mistakes. Today, in a country where equal protection of the law is a basic tenet, a person has no federal claim if they are fired or mistreated because they are gay, or transgendered, or simply do not fit the societal norms for their biological gender (21 states have some statutory protections in place).
How does a person's sexual identity impact their employability?
Words mean different things to different people. Context, history, education, experience and so many other factors are determinative of how I understand what you are saying. So what does it mean when the law says that discrimination on the basis of sex is prohibited?
"A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may very greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used" Justice Holmes
The Court has, over time, further defined what 'sex' meant in Title VII. They have said that it includes sexual harassment (Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986)), which can be quid pro quo- explicit or implicit coercion of sexual acts, or a hostile environment-where things are so bad that the 'reasonable person' under the circumstances would quit. Gender stereotyping may be actionable if it has discriminatory impact.
Title VII has largely been held inapplicable to discrimination/sexual harassment suits brought by transgender persons claiming they were treated differently based on their sexual identity.
Based on a close reading of Title VII, and the apparent legislative intent, I too find it hard to locate the basis for a colorable federal claim for a person discriminated against in their employment based on their sexual identity or their sexual orientation. And that is the part that concerns me. I understand that the courts, even if they are activist in their leanings, must apply the law as they find it. Here, Title VII has limited application. I know it was enacted to address a then-current social problem. We humans have been co-existing on this planet for a long time, but we seem to be destined to repeat our mistakes. Today, in a country where equal protection of the law is a basic tenet, a person has no federal claim if they are fired or mistreated because they are gay, or transgendered, or simply do not fit the societal norms for their biological gender (21 states have some statutory protections in place).
How does a person's sexual identity impact their employability?
say 'mother may I' three times
Inspiration comes in many forms. Attending this year's law school graduation is one. I see those graduates, and as I inch closer each year, it still seems unfathomable that I could be there too. I'm not a fatalist, but the thought of actually achieving this goal often seems unlikely. Perhaps it's because so many have fallen away so far. We have lost more than half of those who began with us, many for reasons unrelated to grades. Money, family, unwillingness to give up so much else for years, the list is long. So who am I to think I will be one of the few who stay the course, who can keep her job so the bills can be paid, whose health and other major life events will not trip her up? I cross my fingers, throw salt over my left shoulder, do the hokey-pokey and any other manner of thing. I want this. And that may be tempting fate, if there is such a thing. I'm hedging all bets, and remembering not to get ahead of myself. Better to just think about today, this week, this class.
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