Best of Times, Worst of Times

by adminwp in Ruth Hackford-Peer | 0 comments

I’ve never been more proud to be a part of the gay community. I’ve also never been more disappointed. 

The coming together to protest in the wake of Proposition 8 passing astounded me. Meanwhile, the No on 8 folks’ handling of their campaign and their decision NOT to utilize gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in their media strategy was unsettling. Calling on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to support basic protections for queer people — protections they claim to support — was heroic. And the LDS Church’s silence in regard to the Common Ground Initiative was not surprising. The renewal I felt after watching Milk was rejuvenating. The dismal showing of gay parents at an Equality Utah meeting to strategize about the adoption bill was unacceptable. I’ve been surprised and thrilled to see straight allies stepping up to join us in this struggle. And, I’ll admit it, the belief of some that I as a queer person can single-handedly destroy civilization and cause the obliteration of the nuclear family makes me feel powerful.

And overall, I find the racist and transphobic handling of this new movement by the national gay media to be unconscionable.

I believe there is value in pointing out commonalities between and among different kinds of oppression as a way of finding common ground and as a way of understanding the power structures that keep us (all oppressed people) marginalized. But that, to me, is where the usefulness ends.

For example, a useful argument might be illustrating that the same arguments now being used to deny gay and transgender folks rights were used historically to deny other marginalized groups similar rights. Gay and transgender people have heard the argument that allowing same sex couples to marry would fundamentally alter the institution of marriage and would subsequently destroy civilization. Dr. Robert Dabney, who was a theology professor in his day, said something similar about women’s suffrage: “What then, in the next place will be the effect of this fundamental change when it shall be established? The obvious answer is, that it will destroy Christianity and civilization in America.” Let me repeat, he said this over 100 years ago.

A not so useful example of trying to find such commonalities would be the recent Advocate cover. It proclaimed “Gay is the New Black” and followed that with, “The Last Great Civil Rights Struggle.” This cover sends the mistaken message that racial minorities have achieved equality, and it completely denies the existence of and the struggles faced by transgender folks. Now in the article itself, there’s a tenuous balance of not claiming the only pain and injustice available in this country. But for the many who see the cover and don’t read the article there’s only this:

• The stereotype that gays are white.
• The non-existence of transgender people and their lives.
• The partitioning of different kinds of oppression rather than discussing the complex overlapping of our shared experiences — as gay people, as people of color, etc.

The truth is that the white gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community has not shown up en masse to oppose anti-immigrant laws, racial profiling, and the numerous other struggles people of color (gay and straight) deal with on a daily basis. The mainstream gay movement in many ways, in many places, is still like the early women’s movement: It is not a vast coalition of social justice-minded folks who want equality for ALL. Many white gay folks have not analyzed or even acknowledged the impact white privilege (the benefits society gives to white people just for being white) has had on their lives, and many are truly not allies in the struggles of people of color in this country.

Similarly, many queer folks rattle of “LGBT” without any real regard for the T. The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition just released their “70 under 30” report. In the last 13 years seventy gender non-conforming people under the age of 30 who were murdered in the U.S. as victims of hate crimes — a number that increased by 20 since 2006, when the report was called “50 under 30.” This report shows just how dangerous it is for gender-nonconforming young people in this country, especially for young people of color. The report pointed out that many of the victims were black or Latina.

While so many of us are (rightly) worried about marriage equality, there are still so many pressing problems within our community — problems of drug and alcohol addiction, youth homelessness, hate crimes, and the lack of any workplace or familial protections in many states, including Utah. Let’s keep the involvement alive, but let’s not base it all on marriage.

And let’s also not forget that we’re not the only people who face oppression. Getting back to that article in the Advocate I mentioned earlier, there’s one very problematic statement amid the tenuous balancing act. The article’s author asks why this movement doesn’t have a “Martin Luther King Jr., a telegenic brilliant spokesperson to whom all of America can relate?” What’s the problem? My movement does have a Martin Luther King Jr. His name is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King’s dream was for all of us. Is your dream for him?