Monday, May 04, 2009
by Wayne Besen
In an online discussion forum, a respected activist recently lamented the decentralization of gay community advocacy. He made a powerful case that we would be better off if our efforts were more regimented and unified.
"Our communal problem is that the LGBT community is so fragmented that we are constantly a cacophony of voices rather than a choir," the advocate wrote. He went onto make the point that division can lead to defeat in the political arena. "We celebrate diversity of opinion within our community but that does not work in politics."
The community leader raised another point worth contemplating as legislation that affects the gay community winds its way though Congress and will likely end up on Obama's desk: "So, who will the President listen to? Is it the Human Rights Campaign...or a host of bloggers? Sometimes, I wish we could go back to a time when we had less ability to communicate. Then, there were fewer voices to be heard and less confusion about who was representing the community."
The problem with this analysis is that a golden age of GLBT unity never existed. The early 1950's activists clashed with gay individuals who preferred quiet, "private lives." Activists who wore suits and ties to protests rejected the new radicalism of the 1960's and 1970's, exemplified by the Stonewall rebellion.
Never ending battles have also been fought over the role of sexual liberation. Some activists have claimed that our movement is about sexual freedom, while others have preached assimilation and found the overt displays of sexuality at Gay Pride parades offensive. Additionally, our movement has fought the battle of the sexes to the point of exhaustion. Let's not even get started on the nasty dust-ups over transgender issues.
Such disorganization is even more conspicuous when contrasted with the conformity of our opponents. When growing up, these (mostly) churchgoers were rewarded for obedience, while our very existence was considered disobedient. To survive as a GLBT youth, one had to learn to question authority and be a freethinker. These traits make for incredibly interesting dinner guests, but create havoc for political organizers.
There is no doubt that the diversity of organizations and mushrooming of messages has hurt our movement on many levels. It has been nearly impossible for any leader to gain traction -- and thus legitimacy. The closest we have come to a larger than life leader is San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. However, he achieved far more prominence after he was assassinated (and later canonized by Hollywood) than he ever did while alive.
The discordant voices and actions have unfortunately provided fodder for our adversaries. They have endless tapes of nudity and nuttiness -- that have made it easier to portray GLBT people as the miscreants they claim we are.
That said, there is a strong case to make in favor of the diffuse nature of the movement. It can lead to innovation and questioning of existing paradigms. For example, we can't forget that the push for marriage equality was considered wildly "off message" only a decade ago. If our movement had been more centralized, marriage would have seemed too radical and never seen the light of day. However, marriage activists and impatient same-sex couples pushed the envelope. This has given us game changing victories in four states -- and counting. The latest polls show that almost half of Americans now support the freedom to marry.
We also have to remember that not long ago, the major GLBT organizations ran from religion. It was gay religious activists that thought fighting for acceptance within denominations was a worthy battle. While not achieving the same success as marriage equality, there have been successes -- most notably the Episcopal Church confirming Eugene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. We have also seen the rise of groups, which challenge faith-based bigotry, like Faith in America and SoulForce.
The controversial campaign by activist Mike Rogers to "out" closeted politicians who favored amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay people from marrying would also never have occurred in a centralized movement. Some might argue that his exposing of Republican hypocrisy helped undermine the GOP's legitimacy as the party representing "family values."
Moreover, conformity also makes it difficult to turn around a sinking ship. The nation is headed on a new path, but hierarchical and rigid GOP leaders are still obsessed with tax cuts, abortion, Ronald Reagan and opposing gay couples marrying.
The gay movement is untamed and freewheeling, like New York City, while the Religious Right is tightly controlled, like Singapore. Each model has its advantages, but also its shortcomings. In a diffuse media age that resembles the Wild West, the more agile and fractious movement may finally have the upper hand.
5 Comments:
An 11-5 team couldwow gold miss the playoffs It's wow goldobvious that the growing gulfwow gold between the NFL's haves and have-nots will result in some supposedly "good"wow gold teams not going to the playoffs. wow goldIn the NFC, where 9-7 wow gold and sometimes 8-8 wow goldis enough for a spot in the six-team tournament, 10-6 might not do it this year.In the AFC, which has wow goldseen several teams win 10 wow goldbut stay home for the postseason (most recently, the 2007 Browns), an eleven-win team could get shut out this year. If the 9- Jetswow gold and 9-5 Dolphins win next Sunday, the winner of their Week 17 game will capture the AFC East, even if New England wins itswow gold last two games. This will thrust the Pats into the wild-card pool.
posted by °吢愛、, at
9:44 PM
If the dofus kamasRavens and Patriotskamas dofus win out, both teams would be 11-5. However,dofus kamas New England would fall behind Baltimore kamas dofusbased on conference record, acheter dofusthe second tiebreaker for buy kamasdetermining wild-card acheter kamaspositioning. If the Colts win one more game todofus kamas reach 11 victories,kamas dofus they would holdacheter kamas a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Pats.dofus kamas In a year in kamas dofuswhich an 8-8 team acheter kamasmight win the AFC West, dofus kamassuch an outcome wouldkamas dofus support the notion acheter des kamasthat the leaguedofus kamas should comekamas dofus up with a formatbuy kamas that does not guarantee dofus kamasa playoffkamas dofus berth to one of achat kamasthe four dofus kamasteams in kamas dofusevery division.ffxi gil Arizona is looking at an early exit The Cardinals are final fantasy xi gil5-0 in the woeful NFC West. buy ffxi gilBeyond the friendly maple story mesosconfines of theirmaplestory mesos own division,runescape gold the Cards arerunescape money now a dreadful 3-6. Their out-of-division recordaoc gold likely will sink to 3-7 next weekend,age of conan gold when the Cardinals travel to age conan goldFoxborough to play a Patriots team that desperately needs a win.
posted by °吢愛、, at
9:44 PM
Arizona's final regular-season game world of warcraft goldcheap wow goldwow orwow power levelingworld of warcraft goldwow pois against the Seahawks, who might find a way to send Mike Holmgren out with a win -- and drop the Cardinals to 8-8. The problem for the Cardinals is that, wow orbuy wow goldcheap wow goldwow power levelingwow powerlevelingdofus kamaskamas dofusLord of the Rings Online GoldLOTRO Goldafter securing their division, they've taken their foot off the gas. They'll likely have a hard time finding the pedal again. It's one of the fundamental problems of an organization will little history of success.LOTR Goldflyff moneyflyff penyabuy flyff goldffxi gibuy ffxi gilFinal Fantasy XI gil It was such a big deal for the franchise to lock up its first home playoff game since Harry Truman was living -- in the White House -- that the Cardinals quickly lost sight of the importance of maintaining continuity heading into the postseason. Arizona has lost three of four games,buy Warhammer goldWarhammer goldEverQuest 2 goldeq2 platworld of warcraft goldwow powow or and the Cards might finish the year with a three-game skid. Though they could piece it all back together in time to win the wild-card game they'll be hosting, the Cardinals simply aren't ready to be competitive on the road in places like New York or Carolina buy wow goldcheap wow goldwow power levelingwow powerlevelingdofus kamaskamas dofusLord of the Rings Online GoldLOTRO GoldLOTR Goldin January. It can get worse for the Packers On Sunday, the stunningly inept Packers found a way to lose to a Jaguars team that, fly for funfly for fun penyaflyff penyabuy flyff goldffxi gilbuy ffxi gilFinal Fantasy XI gilEverQuest 2 goldeq2 platseveral weeks ago, had seemingly abandoned any genuine desire to win another game. After a 2-0 start that saw the Pack happily peering down at their 0-2 rivals from Minnesota,buy Warhammer goldWarhammer goldwow pobuy wow goldwow orwow gold cheapworld of warcraft goldwow gold kaufenwow gold cheapwow levelGreen Bay has lost nine of 12 games, while the Vikings have won nine of 12. Now, Green Bay is 5-9, and far worse than a possible 5-11 record is the possibility of losing in Week 17. wow geldwow gold kaufenwow gold cheapwow powerlevelingEverQuest plateq platEverQuest goldeq2 plateverquest 2 goldAt Lambeau Field. To the Lions. That's right: The Packers could be the one team the Lions topple to avoid going 0-16. In a season that began with the Brett Favre fiasco and has seen a reversal of last year's 13-3 excellence,flyff penyabuy flyff goldflyff moneyeve iskeve online iskworld of warcraft goldbuy wow goldcheap wow gold the biggest indignity would be, by far, fumbling away a game to the worst team the league has seen since the 1976 Buccaneers. world of warcraft goldwow gold kaufencheap wow goldwow powow orIt might not be enough to get coach Mike McCarthy or GM Ted Thompson fired, buy wow goldchaeap wow goldbuy wow goldcheap wow goldbut it would set a very negative tone for 2009.
posted by °吢愛、, at
9:44 PM
NEW YORK—In what wow gold farmingwow gold guidesell wow goldwow gold priceswow gold hackswow gold guidesmany are calling the most comprehensive study of its kind, Staten Island historians Robert Wilburn and Charles Tinsley have successfully traced the lines of the infamous Wu-Tang Clan all the way back to 1993 A.D.cheap wow gold euwow gold gamemake wow goldwow gold shopwow europe goldwow fishingEnlarge Image HistorianWilburn explains the difficult-to-follow family tree of Ol' Dirty Bastard.The monumental undertaking, which is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the field of hip-hop genealogy, used a series of historical records—including Wu-Tang Forever, Iron Flag, and 8 wow gold tradewow gold makingwow gold onlinewow hackspaladin wowgold in wowwow druidDiagrams—to piece together the group's vast and intricate ancestry."Through our exhaustive research, we have determined not only the wow gold mmowow warlockwow gold tipswow free goldwow gold farmingwow gold uswow instant goldwow mapstart of the Wu-Tang Clan's reign, but also the very moment of its legendary downfall," said Wilburn, who has authored numerous books on the House of RZA. "Indeed, we now have conclusive proof as to why all the other wannabe MCs bowed down to this dynastic force."According to Wilburn, it took trained scholars hundreds of hoursgold seller wowto wow goldvery cheap wow goldwow 1000 goldwow addonswow gold sellerwow golds to parse out Wu-Tang's complex lineage, with experts in nearly every discipline studying the group's dope oral traditions, as well as its customary and often fresh style of dress.Enlarge Image Staten Island MallThere was a time when the clan could look across the Staten Island horizon and know that all of it was theirs."It was an immense project," said Tinsley, who coauthored the 450-page genealogical report. "For instance, it took us months to conclude that Ol'buy gold for wowwow eu goldwow europewow forumswow gold exchangewow gold fastwow gold paypalwow guides Dirty Bastard, Dirt McGirt, Big Baby Jesus, Osirus, Dirt Dog, and Peanut the Kidnapper were all the same person.""Still, a number of exciting new discoveries were made," Tinsley continued. "We learned that RZA does in fact come from the same royal bloodline as Prince Rakim, and that Method Man, as many have suspected in the past, always holds the mic sideways when bustin'."In all, nearly 300 descendants of the Wu-Tang Clan were identified and cataloged by the two historians, including Buddha Monk,cheap gold for wowselling wow goldwow gold guidewow gold pricewow gold sellingwow private serverbest wow goldgold on wow Hook Ninja, K-Blunt, Tommy Whispers, Kryme Life, and Trife Da God.Tinsley was quick to note, however, that the total number of Wu-Tang descendants was impossible to calculate, and could very well reach into the tens of thousands."While the Clan is generally associated with tales of conquest, slaughter, and 'bringing da motherfuckin' ruckus,' it must also be noted that its members were prolific lovers who expanded the empire by sowing their seed all across the country," Tinsley said. "Who knows, perhaps my very own children are direct descendants of Ghostface Killah."Emerging from the slums of Shaolinof wow goldwow characterwow gold onwow gold andhow to wowwow gold for salewow patchbuy cheap wow goldlocated near Wudang Mountain in Park Hill, Staten Island—the Wu-Tang Clan went on to form the largest contiguous rap empire of the late 20th century. The Clan flourished under the rule of RZA, who led his lyrical assassins into a number of heated freestyle battles, and introduced them to a string of new influences,buy wow gold cheapbuying wow goldwow cd keywow gold salebuy wow accountsgold for wowwow farmingwow gold for including Kung Fu films and silver-age Iron Man comics."During its height, the Wu-Tang Clan acquired a great deal of wealth and notoriety," Wilburn said. "One need only look at Ol' Dirty Bastard's dental records to get a sense of the incredible treasures they possessed."Despite conquering nearly 80 percent of the rap world, Wilburn said that the Clan's downfall was inevitable. Seeking even greater riches, and fueled by internal feuds,wow guidesell wow goldguild wars gold key members such as GZA, Raekwon, Masta Killa, U-God, and Inspectah Deck soon set out on their own.This dynastic split, Wilburn claimed, is what makes the Wu-Tang Clan's lineage so hard to piece together."Tracing the exact origin of descendants like Lord Superb, Maddam Scheez, Free Murda, and June Lova is nearly impossible,cheapest gold wowcheapest wow gold as only a small percentage of their personal records were ever released and firsthand accounts often differ greatly," Wilburn said. "However, our greatest challenge may be that many of the artifacts from this era have been completely lost to time.""Many believe that the location of the original 36 Chambers is buried somewhere beneath what today wow accountwow accountsis the Staten Island Mall," Wilburn continued. "Unfortunately, unless that T.J. Maxx shuts down, and the mall's food court goes out of business, we may never know the truth.Still, wow pvpone thing remains certain," Wilburn added. "The Wu-Tang Clan was nothing to fuck with."
posted by °吢愛、, at
9:45 PM
ello!
very nice post... enjoyed it very much.
Thank you
http://www.best-tutor.com
http://best-tutor.com"
good site
tutor
tutor
posted by best-tutor, at
12:52 PM
<< Home
