History Repeating

Rabbah Rona Matlow

As I write this column, Jews around the world are observing Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of the Hebrew month of Av, the most solemn day in the Jewish calendar. It is the day that we commemorate the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE (BC) and the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE (AD). We also commemorate many other hugely tragic events that were brought upon the Jewish people throughout the millennia, on this Hebrew date.

One of these tragic events is, of course, the Shoah – the Holocaust. In addition to the Six Million Jews killed, over one million queer people (exact identities unknown) were killed along with untold numbers of disabled people.

Friends, history is repeating itself here in the United States as we are fighting to keep the Evangelicals from taking control of our government, along with their stooge Donald Trump and his chosen running mate, the atrocious J.D. Vance.

For a number of reasons, to be quite honest, I don’t care for VP Harris or her chosen running mate Tim Walz. As California Attorney General, Harris put Black men away for disproportionately long sentences, and she was vilely transphobic. I served my 22-year career as a Navy officer roughly the same time as Tim Walz served his National Guard and for too many reasons to get into here, I am very unimpressed with his career. What I will say here is that his temporary promotion to Command Sergeant Major is a non-issue. I also had a temporary promotion in my career. It happens all the time in the military. If you do not receive your permanent promotion during your tour in the higher grade, you revert to the lower grade. END OF STORY!

But – whether I like Harris and Walz is irrelevant. This column, at its core is about saving trans lives. We are commanded by rabbinic interpretation of Lev. 18:5 to save lives to the greatest extent possible. This means that we must prevent Trump/Vance from being elected to office in November.

His Project 2025 will decimate the Veterans’ Administration and every other Social Program in this country. He will make huge tax cuts for the ultra-rich, and put tax increases on the poor and middle class through consumption taxes to make up for it. We cannot afford this.

President Biden is currently working on ethics legislation for the U.S. Supreme Court. Laws that exist for EVERY other court in the land, but the Justices of the Supreme Court have made themselves exempt. He seeks to change that. We must have Harris/Walz elected to see this through. “Stacking the Court” is NOT the answer, because the next time the GOP has power, they will simply return the favor.

And, if Trump is elected, it is guaranteed that he will establish laws that will put EVERY trans life in the U.S. in jeopardy. We cannot have that!

When the GOP overturned Roe v. Wade, they said it was because they were “pro-life.” Yet, we know that is a total lie, because everything else that they do is pro-death! They are white supremacists plain and simple and their goal is to subjugate or kill everyone who does not meet their definition of what an approved person is. We cannot allow this to happen.

I am seeing that Harris/Walz are ahead in the polls currently. We must fight to keep up that momentum. We MUST get Harris/Walz into the White House, and we MUST take back control of Congress. Without this, trans lives will be in more danger than ever. And the reality is that in any state where the GOP has power, trans lives will continue to be in jeopardy. So trans orgs will have to step up their efforts to help move people from GOP controlled states to safer places. So, I call on wealthy trans people such as Jennifer Pritzker, of the uber-rich Pritzker family (Hyatt Hotels, etc.) to use your family’s money to save trans lives. And other super rich trans people like Caitlyn Jenner – put your money to good use for a change. So many people’s lives are in jeopardy, and only through philanthropy from the mega-rich trans families can we make a real difference!

Peace,

Rona

Tags: featured, opinion, politics, Transgender

Category: Transgender Opinion