Discrimination and the National Equality March
I followed a link on Twitter this morning and found myself on the “Boycott 2010″ web blog. Part of my prep to write on my own blog, is to bounce around and see what I find out there, and often come up with something to write about. This morning, I’m doing that, mostly by procrastination, but hopefully, I’ll get back to my planned project quickly. There are two related things here on Boycott 2010 to mention.
Equality March Poll
At the top of the blog, is a poll about the National Equality March which was interesting. Of 1913 voters, 93% are not attending the Equality March, believing the resources are better used elsewhere. The first thing I thought was “wow- did this come only from this site’s visitors?” I doubt a poll on my blog would be so dominant in one direction. I think my readers share a broader perspectives on my issues, but I also doubt I’d get that many people to respond to a poll.
I’m, going to be writing about the March, most of this week, and this is not a bad way to kick that off. I agree it is pretty easy to agree with the notion that resources could be better used in other ways, but I’m not so sure that is a good enough reason not to attend at this point. What resources are we talking about anyway? Are we talking about tons of money that is being raised by the organizers to actually pull off the event? Or the individual resources people are spending to get themselves to Washington to participate? Â Both? I just wonder, how much of either of that would have been given to “other needed causes” if it weren’t being spent this way?
Even more interesting than the poll results, are the 6 comments connected to the poll. Only 6 comments- so no conclusions should really be drawn as to what this means, but they are still interesting. I was especially surprised by this one:
If 500,000 or more people show up, good. If it is not a showcase for drag, leather, circuit pose, bear fab, dyke chic, faeries,etc. Great! This is not the time to confront with socially challenging templates. Dress like you would to ask for a bank loan, because you kinda are!
In the earliest days of the G/LGBT/GLBTQ rights movement, the Mattachine Society shared a similar perspective- that the way to receive acceptance was to look at the ways we fit in, and conform. Yet, we also celebrate stonewall where drag queens, hustlers and other assorted characters fought back and are now credited with beginning the modern gay rights movement. We have come so far in 40-50 years! I don’t mean to knock this viewpoint. to me it, and the other comments merely illustrate the fact that there is no one reason to go to the march, or viewpoint from which to see its benefit. Maybe there ought to be- I don’t know. Events or campaigns with unified, and simple to grasp purposes are often the most successful,. but when you are talking about something this big affecting so many people, can a unified purpose really exist, or an agreed method towards it? I wonder how the comment’s author, RickyDee1955 will feel if he goes and sees any drag, or leather or whatever. I really appreciate this comment as well:
I always regretted not going in 1979… no way I’m going to miss it this year! I am taking the Gay Hound bus from Chicago… and there is still time to join us at JOINNTHEIMPACTCHICAGO.com
To regret not acting afterwards is a terrible thing. I was just barely out of the closet in 1979, and I don’t remember even being aware that there was a March on Washington, but going to the ’87 March is something I will never forget and have written about before on this blog. A desire to not regret is part of my reason to go this year. Life is too short to miss or walk away from opportunities to be a part of change that can influence generations to come. If you aren’t planning to attend, I hope you may change your mind this week, and head off to Washington this weekend.
Discrimination and Playing the Victim
But the thing that really prompted me to write about Boycott 2010, wasn’t the poll at all, but a blog post from October 2, about discrimination and the inclusion of people of color in the GLBTQ rights movement overall. The post, originally from CoCalVoice.net is an excellent read, so please check it out. Maybe I should clarify, “excellent read.” I mean that it is a great illustration of the frustration experienced by many within a fractured system or collections of movements by a diverse mixture of people.
This notion of the inclusion of diversity within the GLBTQ communities and movements has been on my mind in a huge way recently, and you know what? I can tell right now, that if I keep writing this morning, I’ll have another 1000 words, and a blog post far too long and complicated. So, I’m going to stop here. Read the blog post by Nakhone Keodara, and look for my post specifically about it later.
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