Why? It has nothing to do with what he did. I have seen his story in the good news channes, FOX NEWS, and not once was either his sexuality or ethnicity mentioned. But I would bet that the loonies on the left would point it out at every chance. If either had any relevance to what he did I am sure it would have been a part of the story and he himslef would have mantioned it, if not shouted it to the whole world.
On Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 12:44 PM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > And there you go, being diismissive, negative, and cynical yet again. > > You are dead wrong, they matter very much. > > On 1/11/11, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > 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/>< > 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/<http://www.politicalforum.com/> > > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > > -- > 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.
