I say for Queers who are FED UP with having to be “liked enough” before we have equal rights, for those who believe EQUALITY is ours to TAKE and refuse to beg, and for any American who supports our demand to be treated fairly under the law – EQUALITY TAX PROTEST.
Yes, my own blog expresses my rage (which I am allowed to do since my career and ability to work in any capacity is destroyed).

“Give me (equal) liberty or give me death” only makes sense to those who have seen their own family and children seriously hurt by inequality.

also, i think that this line is incredible:

“The Civil Rights Movement wasn’t about sitting in our cushy homes, going to parties and bitching about how unfair we’re being treated while sipping a $5 cup of coffee at Starbucks.”

Ed, do you think that activists/citizens are more likely to fight (facing the hoses and dogs) if we view our rights in this way? i just want to know how much emphasis you place on this strategy, and if it will actually motivate LGBTA people.

Both the former have not achieved as much as could have been hoped for or expected given the time that has passed.

Everyone likes a success story to attach to their own, even if the fit isn’t exact.

We as a younger generation hear their stories trickled down through second hand sources when a primary source is much more effective. That is one of the reasons that the Black Civil Rights Movement was able to maintain its momentum in championing for causes, because while some leaders (Dr. King, Malcolm X) were killed, more rose up to the occasion and were visible in continuing to champion rights.

If we as a community are serious about gaining the rights set forth in the constitution, then we must not be afraid to take risk and step outside our comfort zone. People learn best by seeing others in action. I, for one, try to step out of my comfort zone more each day in an attempt to champion for more gay rights by contributing what I know and what I can do to help.

1. You say, “The truth is that the LGBT community has won a few skirmishes here and there, but we’re getting our asses kicked in the war.”

I don’t know how you can say this without acknowledging the dramatic strides that have been made in terms of the general public growing more supportive of LGBT people. Today, a majority supports civil unions when that would have been unheard of 20 years ago. 15 years ago, Clinton’s attempt to allow servicemen and women to serve openly was derailed due to lack of support from the public, and now the vast majority (something like 75%)favor the repeal of DADT. Obama isn’t doing anything especially courageous in favoring the overturning of DADT; the country has simply caught up with where Clinton was 15 years ago. Now, you may be right that these changes have taken place despite a woefully inadequate political movement, but we are most certainly winning the war that matters, which is broad, increasing public support for our goals.

2. I wouldn’t scoff at the protests that emerged after Prop 8. Too little too late? Yes. But would you have preferred we all do nothing after Prop 8? Do you think there is no value in the emergence of new activist groups like JointheImpact in the wake of Prop 8? Talk about Monday morning quarterbacking. It seems like you are complaining about people complaining about Prop 8! Let’s be happy that Prop 8 woke some people up.

Anyway, thanks for a thoughtful post. =D

In a column in which the author strains to link LGBT rights to the Civil Rights movement of the 60′s, he informs us that “a right-wing group called the Alliance for Marriage has launched an anti-gay marriage campaign.”

Presumably without knowing that the chairman of the Alliance for Marriage is former Congressional Del. Dr. Walter Fauntroy, D-D.C.

Who 35 years ago was the primary organizer of the March on Washington, at which Dr. King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

When talking about beatings, fire hoses, etc, I think some comparisons and contrasts may be appropriate. Oftentimes, civil rights demonstrators in the 1960s (whether in a place like Selma or at Stonewall) were often beaten or humiliated as a group. And their solidarity with each other, in the face of brutality, formed a powerful image that raised the general consciousness of injustice. That doesn’t take away from the fact that there were far too many isolated beatings and lynchings, some of which have faded from history forever.

I am one of many gays who have been on the receiving end of a violent hate crime, and although I don’t care to get into the details, it was clear that the issue was with my sexuality and it was clear that the assailant was committing physical harm. And while this sort of thing happens on a regular basis, it hardly ever seems to penetrate the national consciousness. In fact, it hardly ever seems to become a part of the LGBT community’s dialogue about equal rights. Marriage, yeah, it’s very important. Gays in the military, of course, go for it. These narratives make a point, and can play on “common sense moral values” (e.g., he can take a bullet for you, but he can’t be honest about his sexuality?)

But, getting back to my point about physical violence, in ’60s activism, it illustrated the underlying injustice so clearly: these people are being directly harmed for who they are (their identity as black, gay, etc) not for whatever they may have done (e.g., stage a sit-in or patronize a gay establishment).

Can we come up with constructive ways to force the oftentimes silent oppression of LGBTs out into the broad daylight? Can we think of some real, honest, well-planned direct actions that make the case clear?

Just thinking out load here. As an example, let’s say the Metropolis Police Force is known for hiding or covering-up hate crimes. A local LGBT activist group puts out a call to the local community to help them identify cases where the police have essentially let the attacker(s) go without any charge or a slap on the wrist. Then, wait a few days until it happens again. Protect the victim’s identity, but get the story out to the community, make it vivid. And then, organize a group to head down to police HQ the next damn morning, and stage a sit-in in their offices, demanding justice and refusing to leave until the injustice is corrected.

Make sure to have a lot of people, because big groups scare them. It will also make it more likely that a local reporter will be there to cover the event (certainly the Metropolis Blade or the Metropolis Weekly could be tipped off), take pictures and video as the cops inevitably arrest a bunch of people, and publicize the fuck out of how your community’s government officials are complicit in reinforcing a widespread social problem known as homophobia.

I’m down.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/samesex.htm

Thank you for saying what needs to be said.

I’ve felt so alone in my own howlings about how much our side complains about discrimination and how little it’s willing to do the hard and unglamorous work of fighting it.

This is why the antics from California piss me off so much — like I’m supposed to care if a bunch of gay people get together AFTER Prop 8 passes to bitch and moan about bigotry. As if merely complaining about bigotry actually DOES anything about bigotry anyway.

We’ve somehow turned into people who mistakenly believe that we can win our rights by NOT doing things: We won’t talk to this person, we won’t listen to that person, we won’t buy from this company, we won’t support that politician.

It’s time we do something. I’m hopeful that the Prop 8 debacle has shown that our “leaders” are only that in name and will spur a new generation of smart, effective activism.

Hey, a guy can dream :)

While the march that followed the passage of Prop 8 may have been a little too late, I think it was good for us as a community to see that we can get it to together if we want to make it happen.

Also, I think we should note the work of Soulfource which is on the front lines. Young people travel the country in buses to address homophobia and at religious and military schools.