His sexuality and his ethnicity matter almost as much as his shoe size. And you are a damn fool if you think otherwise.
On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 10:57 AM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > The Giffords shooting's gay, Hispanic hero > Daniel Hernandez helped save the congresswoman's life -- and yes, his > sexuality and ethnicity matter > > The Giffords shooting's gay, Hispanic hero > Daniel Hernandez helped save the congresswoman's life -- and yes, his > sexuality and ethnicity matter > By Mary Elizabeth Williams > > AP > Daniel Hernandez, an intern with U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, > D-Ariz., walks across the lawn outside University Hospital Sunday, > Jan. 9, 2011 in Tucson, Ariz.It didn't take long after 20-year-old > political intern Daniel Hernandez emerged as the hero of Saturday's > mass shooting in Arizona for the cynics to figure out the angle. As a > poster on Free Republic remarked, "Look shortly for the leftist media > to push the 'Gay, Hispanic-American Intern saving the Liberal > Congresswoman's life from the Tea Party' angle." Well, Freepers, here > it is! > > It's not quite that simple, of course. However we try to understand > the causes of the tragedy in Arizona and the political rhetoric of > violence, it seems clear that there's considerably more to the > disturbing story of shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner than can be > explained by pointing to a few wry Sarah Palin quips. And if simply > being gay and Latino were grounds for heroism, Ricky Martin's face > would be on the $10 bill. > > Daniel Hernandez is, by any measure, an extraordinary young man. He > had been interning in Gabrielle Giffords' office only five days when > an event at a local Safeway thrust him into the international > spotlight for his quick thinking, bravery and competence in the wake > of unimaginable violence. On the "Today" show Monday, Matt Lauer > explained how Hernandez drew upon his high school training as a > certified nursing assistant to check on the pulses of other shooting > victims before noticing the severity of Giffords' wounds and, as he > puts it, prioritizing her. He put her upright and held her in his lap > as he applied pressure to staunch the blood. "I could tell she had a > severe gunshot," he said. "I just tried to do my best until emergency > medical services could arrive. My focus was on making sure I was doing > everything I could to take care of her." Even when the ambulance > arrived, he stayed with her, because "I saw my job then as not taking > care of her medical needs but taking care of her emotional needs. I > tried to comfort her and make sure she knew she wasn't alone. I let > her know I was going to try to contact her parents and her husband." > > In the two days since the shooting, Hernandez has emerged in > interviews as a graceful presence with a no doubt promising future, > with considerably much more going for him than his status as a > minority. So why should the sexual orientation of this eminently > competent, compassionate person keep coming up in this tale? Why is > his ethnicity, and the fact that he grew up speaking Spanish and > attending dual language schools, of any consequence? Hernandez never > asked to be the face of a movement. He doesn't represent any one group > any more than Jared Lee Loughner is your typical white guy. And that's > exactly why it matters. > > It matters because guys like Arizona Sen. John McCain, who described > the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" as "a very sad day," still think > that orientation has an effect on whether or not a person can ably > serve in the military. It matters because the notion that two people > of the same sex can love each other and build a life together is still > considered in many parts of the country, including Arizona, a threat > to what is laughably referred to as "traditional marriage" -- as if > heterosexuals have really mopped up the floor with this whole > commitment thing. It matters because last week, when Arizona banned a > Tucson district's Mexican-American studies program, state's Attorney > General Tom Horne referred to it as "propagandizing and brainwashing." > It matters because just last year Arizona enacted a law that would not > merely allow but require immigration officials to determine the > immigration status of anyone "where reasonable suspicion exists" that > the person might be in the country illegally. And "reasonable > suspicion," as many civil libertarians pointed out, might just boil > down to having a darker shade of skin or speaking Spanish. > > That's just Hernandez's home of Arizona. And though Pima County > Sheriff Clarence Dupnik scathingly referred to his state as "a mecca > for racism and bigotry," violence, racism and bigotry aren't confined > to any one ZIP code -- they exist all over this great land of ours. > They exist just as surely as Hernandez shows that kindness and bravery > are alive and well in Arizona. > > It's still far too easy for a small-minded yahoo to champion > discrimination based on orientation and race, and it's just as easy > for another small-minded yahoo somewhere else to believe the red > states are indeed "meccas of racism and bigotry." If any good can come > out of something as unfathomably horrible as Saturday's mass shooting, > let it be that it shakes up a few preconceptions. That it shows the > world that a hero can be gay or straight, can speak English or Spanish > or both, and that stupid laws can exist in places full of good people. > And anyone who has any doubt of what kind of person deserves to serve > next to him in battle, or stand before their community and declare > their love, or go to school, or walk down the street without being > asked for paperwork needs to hear that and remember that, again and > again until it sinks in. Yes, the "gay Hispanic American" saved a life > on Saturday, and yes, it does matter. > > Mary Elizabeth Williams is a staff writer for Salon and the author of > "Gimme Shelter: My Three Years Searching for the American Dream." > Follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/embeedub More: Mary > Elizabeth Williams > > More: > > http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/01/10/daneil_hernandez_gay_latino_hero/index.html > > > -- > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > Have a great day, > Tommy > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at > http://www.PoliticalForum.com/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
