Politics: Paradigm Shift
There’s a scene in the film “MILK” where Harvey Milk is in a room full of establishment politicians and gay activists discussing political strategy opposing Prop 6, the initiative to fire all gay educators based on the implication that gay people are pedofiles. In this scene the consensus of the room is that the campaign should play it safe and send out a vague political mailing that doesn’t explicitly mention homosexuals even though proposition 6 is an intentional demonization of the gay community. Milk reacts to the room forcefully, stating that “we don’t need a human rights campaign, we need a gay rights campaign, ” and promotes the necessity of gays being out of the closet, highly visible, directly engaged with those who oppose their equal rights, and tightly organized in a collective of minority interests that encompasses racial, gender, and senior minority groups. On second viewing, this scene resonated with me, particularly considering the details of the recent Prop 8 campaign failure and the gay paradigm shift that is happening right now in real time.
From the cheap seats (where I sit), it seems that Harvey Milk is esteemed by the gay establishment more as a vague symbol of equality than as a man with very specific ideas about fighting for and achieving justice. On Prop 8, our side did a terrible job of involving our allies and putting a gay (and thereby personal) face on the campaign. I’ve also noticed that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is referencing Milk heavily in their recent advertising materials and clothing lines, yet that organization has thrown our transgendered allies under the bus and is consistently criticized for being serial pushovers on Capitol Hill (their record is one of epic failure). HRC’s recent annual report states on its front page that “We Believe in the Politics of the Possible,” which seems like code for “we don’t believe much is possible,” considering that even with a democratic majority HRC doesn’t think it’s possible to achieve a comprehensive civil rights bill that extends beyond ENDA and hate crimes legislation. It doesn’t take a sage to recognize that Harvey would not be pleased by the fractured and defensive way we struggle forward. Noting the wave of post-prop 8 activism that has swept across this country, I posit that the status quo is no longer acceptable, and HRC and every other gay rights organization must recognize this quickly if they hope to maintain relevance.
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I do not think HRC threw anyone under the bus, the people who did are the moderate democrats and republicans who did not want to support equal rights in the work place. I know HRC is the largest organization for LGBT rights, and deserves the most criticism, but I don’t’ remember a single blog about the countless good work that they do. I hope someone is able to write a different perspective. What is true is that before and after that vote last year, HRC is the largest educator, lobbyist and supporter of transgender rights, and continues to be so. After the divisiveness between the gays in California that lead to a failed campaign, I really appreciate the your perspective but would rather see how we can work on ways to strengthen this organization.
Please feel free to submit a post that elaborates on your viewpoint.
HRC’s a corporation.
I can’t think of one thing that HRC has accomplished aside from launching a line of clothing.
After reading your post comparing prop 6 and Harvey Milk to our current struggle with prop 8, and what the HRC did to help defeat it, I couldn’t help but turn the critical and passionate eye you write with onto your own blog site. I went through the TNG archives and noticed that you have had dozens and dozens of posts since prop 8 had passed, informing your readers on where the protests were, what events were being held around the nation, and how the campaign to defeat prop 8 had failed on multiple levels. But when I went into the TNG archives from before the election I was shocked to see that there was not the same passionate posts on how your readers could support the No on 8 campaign, make donations, write letter campaigns to California, or just do MORE. To be able to criticize another organization that did all of those things and more when your own blog barely posted copies of the television ads being aired is a little hypocritical. I always thought The New Gay was about alternative points of view and doing something away from the main stream, but your constant critical posts and pointing the finger is what EVERY blog out there is doing. The HRC had the guts to be out on the front lines, staying at donors houses, going door to door, raising more money than any other organization to help California defeat prop 8, and when the proposition passed on election night they did not crawl into a hole and bury their heads. I recently attended the Human Rights Campaigns New York fundraising dinner where Senators, Congressmen and women, State Senators, Governors, and the mayor of New York spoke alongside the president of the HRC. If you could have heard the passion in their voices and the resolve to continue to fight the injustices of the Bush administration together, you would not think that HRC believes that passing these bills will be impossible or that they are not willing to try AGAIN. The Bush administration is where every LGBT non-profit and even more liberal organizations had a losing record with for the past 8 years, not just the HRC. I believe that everyone has a right to their own personal opinion, so I respect your right to blog about it. This is just my personal opinion, and I believe that you should look at yourself closely before you criticize others.
Mike: I think saying a blanket phrase like that doesn’t really give credit to your arguement, just makes you appear uninformed. Their campaign/youth college alone is worthy of recongnition.
Anonymous,
You are justified in your criticisms. TNG did post at least three items in reference to Prop 8 prior to the vote, but we could have done more. I personally sent funds to the prop 8 campaign and I know other TNG writers did as well, but perhaps that is part of the problem. As a community we tend to throw money at organizations and ask them to lead, but rarely are we inspired to become more personally active. I think we’ve all had a wake up call in that regard. Case in point: no one sent us any posts about prop 8 prior to the vote, but we received many after the fact.
The point of my post is that this shift in thinking is happening, but the organizations that receive our money are not responding accordingly. I agree that HRC does many things, some of them well. However, they aren’t doing them well enough. Our community is demanding more, and if HRC won’t lead in a way that is consistent with the will of the community, they will be pushed out of the way.
Anon: I found four posts on Prop 8 from before the election. One of them includes a humorous video that was made by TNG folks to counteract some of the bs propaganda that was going out. We did stuff…
Robin and Robyn say “No on Prop. 8″
Robb and Robin Say Yes on Prop 8
Proposition 8: Donate Now
Proposition 8: Our Rights at Risk
… but you know what, we’re not a politics site. We do this all for free. We’re not a massive multi-faced PAC/non-profit organization with multi-million-dollar budgets that claims to be spearheading the charge for human rights.
We are also a barometer of our readers. A large percentage of our submissions come from “non-staff” contributors who just up and send us stuff. Our lack of pre-Election day coverage of Prop 8 is just an indication that we and our readers had other things to worry about (electing Obama?), especially since Prop 8 was a state initiative that was going on 3000+ miles away.
In short, it’s not our job to be the national leadership on gay rights. Someone else claims to do that already, and they don’t seem to be doing a good job of it. I think healthy criticism of the HRC is completely appropriate. But that’s just my opinion. Got your own, share it with us.
Ben, I see your point that we all need to do more, even if I disagree with a lot of the specific criticism of HRC. Congress is likely to take up a hate crimes bill in the spring and ENDA in the fall. HRC is working day to day — lobbying, working with the White House and creating grassroots campaigns in swing districts — all to make these two bills a reality. Of course there’s a lot more that can and should be done but I hope folks don’t think our community can snap our fingers and a hate crimes bill and ENDA become law. The work going on behind the scenes is critical and HRC’s the organization doing it. No small task.
Touche, Anonymous. I just can’t resist a good one-liner.
But there is a grain of truth in it. I simply have no idea what HRC does besides hold fundraisers.
OK, they were on the “front lines” of Prop 8. I sure don’t remember seeing them appeal for nationwide donations like certain wingnut churches I can name. Where was HRC outside of California during Prop 8?
And where was HRC when 29 other states passed anti-gay marriage amendments in the last 10 years? If they weren’t there, shame on them. If they were and still haven’t figured out how to win, shame on them.
And while it’s great that all these important politicians are making sure to be seen at HRC dinners, as you mention, are they showing up for us in legislatures and statehouses when it counts? I’d be interested to know.
It’s certainly your prerogative to defend HRC — you obviously work(ed) for them in some capacity. But like a lot of people, I no longer look to HRC as the default gay rights organization. They’re not entitled to my respect just because they have a nice building and popular bumper stickers.
@Ben: Amen, brother.
To your points Mike B:
HRC did appeal nationwide to its entire donor base and raised somewhere over $3 million for the effort. You’ll notice in the ‘No ads’ HRC is named at the end as a funder (CA law requires that ads for ballot measures disclose the two largest donors on screen). HRC also sent a number of staffers who lived in supporter housing in California for months.
As for the other states, I know HRC was involved in many (me being a person who worked on Oregon’s No on 36 campaign in 2004). And no, they haven’t figured out how to win, but neither have most people (save for Arizona’s 2006 victory only to be reversed in 2008).
As for state legislatures, HRC invested heavily in some key states which is why NY is much closer to passing marriage in the legislature and why NH has civil unions. Malcolm Smith (who was at this past weekend’s dinner that Anonymous talked about) is the Senate Majority Leader thanks in part to HRC’s electoral work on the ground there. And just last week an HRC staffer Allyson Robinson testified in front of the NH legislature supporting a bill to add gender identity to their non-discrimination law that only covers sexual orientation.
On a larger point tough, HRC has a lot of detractors seemingly for “having a nice building and popular bumper stickers.” While there’s plenty of warranted criticism, I hope folks get a clear picture of the facts when making up their minds about the organization.
Perhaps this dialogue reveals areas where communication, on all sides, can be improved. For better or for worse, mission-based organizations need to understand that their supporters expect news to come to them. I do not think Mike B. is being catty when he says that he isn’t sure what else HRC does besides fundraisers. For many, their contact with HRC may be limited to solicitations in the mail or talk about town when the Annual Dinner occurs. I support HRC financially each month and have for years…yet…I have not ever received an annual report in the mail.
Communication is key and if target potential supporters are functioning with misinformation (or a lack of information), then there is a problem.
It sounds like we have a number of well-informed readers who would be able to do a “What HRC Does For You” post and I think that’d be a great jumping off point.
Michael,
I would certainly concede your point that HRC does some good work. However, I think it might be useful for you to engage in a little thought exercise in order to understand why so many of us are critical of them. Imagine if Harvey Milk had not been killed and he were in charge of the largest gay rights organization. How would the tactics that he might advocate differ from those we’ve seen from HRC? I think that speaks to the point Ben is making in this post. Our problem with HRC is that they are timid in their advocacy for gay rights. Like those who Milk fought against, HRC seems afraid to more forcefully act on our behalf. They spend a ton of money on that fancy building downtown. They throw fundraisers and parties for themselves. But what do they do to engage their supporters? I’m poor, so I don’t get invited to these fancy dinners. I don’t see them speak passionately at these dinners, but I would like to hear someone other than Dan Savage speak passionately when everyone can hear them. You know what I get instead? you know what I get in the mail? I get credit card applications telling me I can have the HRC logo on my card. The largest gay rights organization never asks me to do anything more than take out a fucking credit card with their logo on it. Fair or not, like it or not, they have utterly failed in winning the confidence of those on whose behalf they claim to fight. They have failed at leadership. We have no HRC equivalent of a Harvey Milk-like leader, and the reason why, many of us suspect, is because the folks at HRC are pretty comfortable hanging out at cocktail parties and cavorting with those in power. They have become the establishment and so they cannot challenge the establishment. Given their poor record of achievement, many of us want to work from a new model (see JointheImpact, for example). Is that so hard to understand?
One point of frustration that I have is evident when looking at the HRC website. There are a number of nice links to all the programs that HRC has, but I couldn’t find a single fact sheet telling me what they have specifically accomplished. It’s way too generalized.
My non-profit organization writes an annual report that is fairly comprehensive (specific) of what we were able to accomplish. Considering the cynicism and growing mistrust of HRC and how it spends gay money, I’ve been underwhelmed by the lack of transparency/due diligence.
How do you measure success by hrc, ultimately it comes down to the voters, right? HRC can spend millions on a race and still not prevail, is it HRC’s fault that bigots will be bigots. Is it our fault rather…for spending our cash at Urban Outfitters who fund negative campaigns against what we consider to be families? Ultimately the responsibility of making change happen is not a result of one organization but lies with all of us.
“The point of my post is that this shift in thinking is happening, but the organizations that receive our money are not responding accordingly. …Our community is demanding more, and if HRC won’t lead…they will be pushed out of the way.”
– Ben
I could not agree more. The impression I get is that HRC represents the Gay Community as they wish it were or would like it to be (in some future parallel universe) but not as it actually exists. I feel no more represented by HRC than I do by MAL.
This is a serious strategic problem. Gay political enfranchisement has always struck me as peristaltic, moving forward in awkward fits and starts or backing up. Ben’s point is that Gay leadership, like HRC, is engaged with neither it’s community nor it’s allies which compromises our goals and delays progress. I think these are incredibly valid criticisms and I’m hoping this thread will produce a dialogue on how to overcome those problems.
I don’t think Ben’s point was to attack HRC but to level fair criticism out of genuine concern for the future of Gay rights. There has to be a safe space for that and I depend on TNG to provide it. So how about we try to imagine what an actual Gay rights leadership looks like? One that represents our communities not as they wish they were but as they actually are.
Ben, I’m not so sure that this is a paradigm shift. This seems more like a reformation in demands, without ever questioning our underlying assumptions. Maybe it is simply naivety on my part, but I’m not as optimistic about the LGBT community to influence change.
If I understand you correctly, you see LGBT people wanting an approach that shows the humanity behind our cause. Vague appeals at “equality” just aren’t cutting it. You feel that lesbians, gays, and allies need more direct action, more direct involvement, and less “flying under the radar” HRC tactics. Is this an accurate assesment?
If it is, then I really see this as reforming old ideas into not-so-old ideas. It seems to me that a paradigm shift will make us question more than just our tactics. For example, who are our allies? What is gay oppression? What is oppression? I’m an avid believer that oppression (in any form) effects us ALL. Denying equal rights to gay people (and thus causing suffering to gay Americans) innumerably affects heterosexuals and society as a whole. LIKEWISE, keeping laws and institutions in place that systematically keep the homeless without homes effects society as a whole (including us homosexuals). Until we actually realize that our civil society just isn’t working for A LOT of marginalized groups, then we won’t see the need to create ACTUAL alliances.
This is so important because we won’t attain equality without legitimate alliances. This means that we need to care about the suffering of other groups, and actually ACT on their behalf. After all, this is what we expect of the straight allies we now have (people who have no DIRECT impact on gays getting married, yet fight for the cause nonetheless). Are we really just going to expect people to wake up and want gay marriage WITHOUT our community ever dipping our creative activism into other causes??
A true paradigm shift will occur when we move from “gay activism” to “activism.” As a gay community, when we care about other causes, then we can create real alliances. These alliances can take care of each other and influence the change we all seek.
Hey, HRC actually did something!
Looks like they helped mobilize opposition to the hour-long AFA infomercial “Silencing Christians” that a Mich. TV station was considering airing.
Check it out: http://www.hrc.org/12122.htm
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