Our Views: Not enough, but a startBaton Rouge Advocate, July 15, 2010 "While it is not enough, the Metro Council should adopt a compromise version of the One Baton Rouge resolution promoting tolerance in the social and economic life of Louisiana’s capital city."
What is One Baton Rouge really all about? Baton Rouge Business Report, July 14, 2010 “The greater Baton Rouge area is a growing, vibrant and diverse region with plenty of opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens and visitors to sample our unique culture. From great food, festivals, news and nightlife to social groups, churches, and professional resources, you’ll find it all...”
“Make no mistake about it, Baton Rouge is a beautiful city composed of a good, kind, generous and for the most part, accepting and tolerant population.”
If Mayor Kip Holden and the Metro Council read the two quotes above and then listened to local businessman and gay activist Joe Traigle, they would be confused. Traigle recently implied in a letter to the mayor that Baton Rouge is not a very nice city and will never succeed with economic development. The fact is, the first quote is from the website of the Capital City Alliance [a gay rights organization] and the second is from Joe Traigle himself. Confused?
I have known Traigle for years and credit him for his perseverance, though his tactics have been criticized—and rightfully so. After Traigle recently sent a letter blasting the mayor for not pushing the adoption of the One Baton Rouge resolution again, Holden responded in The Advocate, taking issue with Traigle’s “bullying tactics and the reckless abandonment with which he’s trying to embarrass people.” Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker was also upset with Traigle’s letter, telling The Advocate, “His letter may have been well-intentioned but it was ill advised. You would attract more votes on the council with honey than with vinegar.”
Well, maybe not. Despite the rebuke of Traigle’s public attack on the mayor, Walker, the mayor’s go-to guy on the council and someone who strongly opposed the One Baton Rouge resolution when it was first discussed in 2007, has now signed on as co-author of the resolution, which will come up for a vote at the Metro Council meeting on July 28. Interesting. The Mayor has not said much publicly.
In his letter to the mayor and chamber board members, Traigle said he did have one expectation, asking that people “read this letter objectively and not be afraid to discuss it.” I read it, but I found, as I have in the past in dealing with Traigle, that his memory—or what he shares of it—is selective and not always accurate.
For instance, in one of the three examples he uses to show “how some of the leadership in Baton Rouge acts toward gay taxpaying citizens,” he talks about the Rotary Club canceling his speech on “Equality and Tolerance.” But here’s the rest of the story.
Traigle notes he was a member of the Rotary and its board and had spoken there four times before. Nevertheless, he implies he was canceled because of discrimination because he was gay. After talking to an officer of the Rotary at the time, I learned the board unanimously approved Traigle to speak on issues they knew might be controversial. But then Traigle began calling Rotarians who headed businesses in town. According to my source, Traigle called one CEO of a major local company and asked if they would be adopting an employment policy with specific language that Traigle was suggesting. The CEO informed him that the company already had policies, that it was bound by federal law on discrimination issues—that it even had diversity training. Traigle insisted on knowing if they would be adopting his specific policy—because he was speaking at the Rotary, where he would be inviting the press, and was going to announce those major companies that had or had not adopted the policy. Whoa! [That’s the kind of strong-arming Jesse Jackson uses on corporations to raise money for his Rainbow Coalition.]
This CEO [and Rotarian] was upset and let the club know how Traigle was using his upcoming speaking platform at the Rotary to advance his agenda. I was told that is why he was canceled—and can you blame the board? So instead of using the opportunity to share his views with 400 business people at the Rotary, Traigle used tactics that tripped him up, and he missed out. And now he accuses and portrays others unfairly. So much for “One Rotary.”
I wonder what tactics he is using now on the mayor, Mike Walker and the Metro Council. “One Council?”
Not everyone in the gay community seems to have the same perception of Baton Rouge as Traigle. Kevin Serrin, chairman of the board of the Capital City Alliance, told The Advocate, “I don’t think Baton Rouge is as close-minded as a lot of people perceive it to be.”
So what is One Baton Rouge really about? One group’s view of how everyone should think? Political correctness? Fairness? And at the end of the day, will it change anything in Baton Rouge? I feel confident in saying, until hearts and minds truly change, there will be no One Baton Rouge. And is that true of any city?
I respect Traigle’s unwavering commitment to his cause—that is a rare quality—but I do not like his alleged tactics and false accusations. [I wonder if I will be the next target.] They foment the kind of hostility and divisiveness the One Baton Rouge resolution is intended to, well, resolve. And while I do not know the final outcome of the July 28 Metro Council meeting [though I anticipate a lot of acrimony], I know that a few words on an innocuous resolution passed by a split Metro Council isn’t going to suddenly create the community we seek.
I am writing to address some assertions made by R. Glenn Kelly in a letter to the editor published Nov. 7. In this letter, Kelly dismissed discrimination against gays as essentially non-existent. This view is incorrect and governed by emotion and, frankly, indicates a lack of critical thinking about the issue.
A letter to the editor on Oct. 27, written by a local area homosexual resident, Kevin Serrin, as a rebuttal to me, is a sad example of the modern-day definition of “intolerance,” which says, “If you don’t cater to me and my ilk, then you are intolerant.”
Letter: Letter writer omitted his affiliation Mr. Charles Watts – November 6th, 2009 - http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/69339857.html In response to Mr. Kevin Serrin’s letter on intolerance toward gays and lesbians:
Mr. Serrin failed to mention that he is chairman of the Capital City Alliance that was formed to promote fair and equal treatment for gays and lesbians, information that would provide readers a context for his comments and political agenda.
Letter: Line was drawn; letter crossed it Mr. Kevin Serrin – October 27th, 2009 - http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/66236547.html A letter to the editor on Oct. 14, written by a local area resident of Irish heritage, is a sad example of the intolerance and lack of understanding that many area residents and elected officials feel toward this city’s sizable gay and lesbian population.
Letter: Tolerance and common sense Mr. R. Glynn Kelly – October 14th, 2009 - http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/64177602.html The letter to the editor, on Sept. 29, written by a self-professed lesbian Baton Rouge educator was a real eye-opener for me. Apparently educated people are leaving Baton Rouge in droves because of a lack of tolerance. I have to admit that I was unaware of this problem.
Letter: Reader sees lack of tolerance in BR Ms. Laura Jones – September 29th, 2009 - http://www.2theadvocate.com/opinion/62486872.html It’s no mystery to me why educated adults are leaving the Baton Rouge area in greater numbers than any other part of the state. As reporter Stephen Ward notes, it’s not economic. It’s a simple matter of tolerance, or in our case, lack thereof.
Looking at quality of life: Officials from the Capital City Alliance, a local gay rights organization, and Forum 35 will discuss a survey that measured the quality of life for Baton Rouge gays and lesbians during an event that starts at 6 p.m. tonight at Lyceum Dean. LSU and CCA polled more than 350 people during a five-month period and found that more than one-third of gays and lesbians reported experiencing discrimination and harassment in Baton Rouge. The study also found that local gays and lesbians are politically savvy and vote in high numbers.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009: Meeting at Senator Landrieu's Office
(left to right: Patrick Millett, Boyce Clark, Leslie Foster, Trista Olivier, Danny Trogé, Kevin Serrin)
On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, five members of the Baton Rouge gay and lesbian community met with Leslie Foster of Senator Mary Landrieu’s office as part of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) ‘No Excuses Campaign.’ The goal of the meeting was to share stories and experiences on issues that affect individuals of the LGBT community personally. The group had a very productive meeting and discussed issues ranging from hate crimes, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and the need for favorable LGBT legislation at the federal level. The meeting established for the first time an open and ongoing dialog with the Senator’s office, and provided the Senator’s staff with contacts within the Baton Rouge LGBT community.
Kevin Serrin, Chairman of the Capital City Alliance (CCA), also took the opportunity to inform the Senator’s staff of the work of CCA and other LGBT organizations in the area. Results of the 2007-2008 LGBT Quality of Life Survey were also shared with the staff.
If you would like to get involved in CCA’s Education and Advocacy Committee, or other CCA activities, please e-mail info@ccabatonrouge.org.
July 6, 2009: CCA responds to bigotry on the LSU campus.
Please check out our letter to the LSU Board of Supervisors and the letter to the Mayor that prompted our response in our Press Release on the Baton Rouge Business Report.
