BUS 449 Post 20

Dear Reader,

This is my last post for this class assignment. I want to thank you for sticking with me all these weeks and paying attention to what I wanted to say for a long time. I was always afraid to talk about such issues with others because I thought that nobody would accept and respect such ideas. Thank you very much, reader, for your patience and willingness to listen. I hope that my blog showed you more insights about the issue and taught you about tolerance and respect. I wanted to make sure that you understand that Love is Love and you can do nothing about it. Love has no borders, no limits, and no conditions. It is very sad that people are misunderstood and are judged upon simply because they do not fit with the “traditional” (I hate this word) image.

The more I wrote about this topic the more I understood that there is still a very long way till we can achieve this ideal world where people are treated equally and human rights are universally respected. However, I also see that it gets better; we just need to keep going and continue fighting.

Dear reader, I want to wish you all the best in your life. Be honest to yourself and be open-minded. Don’t let others ruin your individuality by imposing artificial norms on you. Learn to accept yourself no matter who you are: boy or girl, straight of gay, or maybe all of the above.

Sincerely,

Rita.

BUS 449 Post 19

Dear Reader,

My blog assignment is almost over and this time I want to share with you names of very brave people who were not afraid to step out of their closets. More than that, they are all celebrities who are always surrounded by the media attention. Such step that they all have made shows not only an act of bravery but also as an act of support that provides hope for all those people who are not yet brave enough to do the same or who feel oppressed by the society. They also send a very powerful message to young adults who are horrified by the idea about their true gender identity. Those brave celebrities are trying to reach those people and tell them that it gets better.

I am sure that you know most of the names I am going to mention but you might not know that they identify themselves as not 100% straight.

Ellen DeGeneres

Ian McKellan

Neil Patrich Harris

Ellen Page

Cynthia Nixon

Jim Parsons

Kristian Nairn

Jodie Foster

This list can go forever. I just wanted to share with you my personal heroes. 

BUS 449 Post 18

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn

Dear Reader,

In less than two month the law allowing same-sex marriage will go into effect in the Illinois. The bill was passed in November last year but couples will be able to register their marriage only starting from June 1. This way, Illinois is the 16^th state in the USA to legalize gay marriage.

Nevertheless, according to U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, marriage license can be issued before that date if one of the partners has life-threatening illness. She said that waiting until June to get marry “violates the couples' rights to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution”.

Cook County Clerk David Orr received numerous requests and was sued by gay couples for the right to register their marriage before June 1. In response he showed his support and said that his office in Chicago will start issuing licenses for gay couples. However, Cook is the only county in the state that registers same-sex couples so far, which doesn’t seem fair for residents of other parts of the state.

For now the situation doesn’t change, Chicago is the only place in the Illinois county where gay couples can get married. Otherwise, they have to wait till June 1 when the law will come into effect.

BUS 449 Post 17

Norman Lamb

Dear Reader,

Great Britain once again brings promising news for the LGBT community. Health Minister of Britain Norman Lamb, after being addressed by 15 MPs from different political parties, demanded the assurance from the National Health Service (NHS) England that General Practitioners stop provide any referrals for gay conversion therapy. He says that such treatment has no place in the modern society, therefore, should be eliminated. “It is based on the completely false premise that there is something wrong with you if you happen to be gay,” he said. “I certainly want to do what I can, as a Liberal Democrat, to eradicate this.”

Here are some statistical facts from the 2009 survey, where mental health professionals found that more than 200 out of 1300 doctors had tried to help at least one client to reduce the attraction they felt for somebody of the same sex. A third (35%) were said to have been referred for therapy by a GP and 40% of those were reportedly treated within the NHS.

The Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Gilbert commented on the issue: “In the 21st century, no lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual should be accessing this kind of voodoo psychology. Instead we should be providing services which help give them confidence and support them with their sexuality.”

The Labor MP Sandra Osborne said: “Conversion therapy is a very real and present danger in Britain. More than just a problem amongst religious fundamentalists, it's an issue for the NHS and professional sector, and this isn't a simplistic debate about freedom to choose: if LGBT patients are coaxed into undertaking therapy by peer pressure or referred on to conversion therapists after approaching professionals, then this is hardly a 'free choice' at all.”

Indeed, Britain has been setting a good example for gender equality for a very long time. I hope more countries will follow such example and eliminate their biases. Here is the link to the article, is you are interested about the topic.

BUS 449 Post 16

Brendan Eich

Dear Reader,

You probably have heard about Mozilla’s CEO Brendan Eich stepping down from his position on April 3. The reason behind is his support and $1000 donation to Proposition 8 initiative in California that opposes the same-sex marriage.

Eich was appointed as CEO in March but was forced to resign after being criticized and boycotted. The first to react was dating site OK Cupid that blocked access to its website for users who used Mozilla Firefox browser. Also, numerous Mozilla’s employees tweeted about the issue disapproving Eich’s views and demanding his resignation. (Here are some examples of angry tweets.)

The general message was that Mozilla failed to live up to its principles of inclusiveness. Executive chairwoman Mitchell Baker wrote: “We know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it’s because we haven’t stayed true to ourselves”.

However, Eich resignation has caused fierce debates about the rightfulness of the decision. Many doubt whether it is just to boycott the company over Eich’s personal beliefs. Also some say that CEO’s personal beliefs should not interfere with his work. There were numerous angry tweets such as: 

“Congrats @mozilla your intolerance ran off a guy who's work is ubiquitous & revolutionary. You must be proud to be such bullies. #ILikeEich”.

I personally do not know the right answer to this issue. I guess it is a good example for Prof. White’s Business Ethics class.