Memphis: Anti-gay hate or a call out against gay militarism?

[bcbm]

The big story (http://blog.pflag.org/2009/09/memphis-billboard-destroyed-by-vandals.html) for the past 2 months in the Memphis gay “community” and local mainstream media, has been the supposed “anti-gay” vandalizing of an assimilationist gay billboard (http://www.outandaboutnewspaper.com/article/3699) put up in a poor POC neighborhood outside of downtown Memphis.

The billboard read “I’m gay and I protected your freedom,” and featured a white, straight-presenting man in uniform, was put up by the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center and cost an estimated $3500.00 . The so-called “homophobic vandals” ripped up the billboard, leaving no trace it had ever even been there. Leaving only the pieces of a fabulous Patti Labelle advertisement in its place.



http://i50.tinypic.com/nd35g9.jpg


The gay “community” was so “outraged”, of course they had to do something;staged a prayer vigil (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/05/gay-rights-advocates-raise-voices/) on National Coming Out Day, to pray for the individual(s) who carried out this “gruesome act of homophobia” (http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=memphis+coming+out+day+youtube&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=XtIBS82NG4zSngeO7-EQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBAQqwQwAA#), as well as throwing in some veiled racist remarks that hinted that “the black community hates the gay comminity”; as if they are mutually exclusive.
I’m here to dispute the claim that this action was an anti-gay act.

First, sending gays to be military fodder is NOT pro-gay or conclusive whatsoever to gay liberation. State militarism only reinforces the dominant structures, and the racism/heterosexism they perpetuate, as well as reducing the number of gay people in the world (both those in Amerikkka and the countries Amerikkka is colonizing/conquering).

Second, we accuse the MGLCC of being flat out racist/anti-queer/anti-trans; and we furiously question how that the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center can squander $3500 on military billboards, when Memphis has the highest trans-murder rate (http://likeawhisper.wordpress.com/2009/06/02/another-trans-woman-of-color-shot-in-memphis/) (11 trans women of color, 1 white transwoman and 1 transman of color), as well as one of the highest queer youth homeless rates in the nation, and how they can justify putting a pro-military billboard in the overwhelmingly POC neighborhood of Morris Park, when the poor Black community in Morris Park is disporportionately preyed upon by the military (through the court system’s “prison or military service” rule for minor felonies as well as recruiters’ false promises of otherwise impossible economic/education opportunities)?
http://bashbacknews.wordpress.com/

[h0m0revolutionary]

I love bashback.
That is all. :wub:

[Mather]

It is the same over here in Britain.

All of the large 'mainstream' LGBT lobby groups have long been co-opted by the state and the ruling system. All of the top directors of these lobby groups are on six figure salaries, have extensive contacts with the political elite and emphasise corporate style lobbying and backroom dealing with the state and political elite over activism, direct action and solidarity.

As for any class politics in the 'mainstream' gay movement, forget it.



as well as throwing in some veiled racist remarks that hinted that “the black community hates the gay comminity”; as if they are mutually exclusive.

Based from my own personal experiences as a gay man, I would say that this trend of increased racism has grown in the gay community, again maybe a consequence of the breakdown and decrease of solidarity and political awareness amongst the gay community, which the 'mainstream' lobbying groups have played a part in.


First, sending gays to be military fodder is NOT pro-gay or conclusive whatsoever to gay liberation. State militarism only reinforces the dominant structures, and the racism/heterosexism they perpetuate, as well as reducing the number of gay people in the world (both those in Amerikkka and the countries Amerikkka is colonizing/conquering).


and how they can justify putting a pro-military billboard in the overwhelmingly POC neighborhood of Morris Park, when the poor Black community in Morris Park is disporportionately preyed upon by the military (through the court system’s “prison or military service” rule for minor felonies as well as recruiters’ false promises of otherwise impossible economic/education opportunities)?

It's the same over here, at all the 'official' LGBT events like Pride, festivals, cultural shows etc, it's now common to see recruitment stalls for the armed forces and sometimes the police too.

The ruling idea now dominant is that LGBT people are to be absorbed into the 'mainstream' and to be as equally oppressed, exploited and used as the rest in society.

[Mather]

What is the state of class based LGBT/queer movements in the USA?

[h0m0revolutionary]

What is the state of class based LGBT/queer movements in the USA?

Just as dire as our own situation.

Over there there are two main actors, the Human Rights Campaign and and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - both of which are comparible to Stonewall over here, expect they don't have as much influence on Government Policy, however much they try and accomodate homophobia and transphobia.

Perhaps as a direct responce to the amount of homophobia in the states however, we do see large 'gay areas' such as Wilton Manors in Florida and West Hollywood in Los Angeles - both of which have a radical tradition, but a tradition which was once derserved. But now they've become white, higher-income gentrified zones, where anyone outside of the atypical gay male and the token cis-gendered lesbian aren't welcomed.

The beacon of light comes from groups such as BaskBack, who in places like Chicago have managed to form little pockets of resistance, resisting both the homophobia, endemic in American political rhetoric and, equally as important, the attempts by the Human Rights Campaign and their allies to erase what sexual and gender fluidity and hybridity has to offer a heterosexual society and instead focus on achieveing the rights for gay businessmen to fire staff, the right of gay landlords to evict and the right of two queers to walk down the aisle and have the state officially endorce their ownsership over one another.

[Demogorgon]

While I support anything that promotes gay people as ordinary people not in any way separate from the rest of the community and recognise stuff like this plays well in the American south, stuff like that poster annoys me every bit as much as homophobia. It is jingoistic crap that keeps the lie of "soldiers fight for our freedom" alive and well and the fact that it is also pro-gay is in no way mitigation.

[h0m0revolutionary]

While I support anything that promotes gay people as ordinary people not in any way separate from the rest of the community and recognise stuff like this plays well in the American south, stuff like that poster annoys me every bit as much as homophobia. It is jingoistic crap that keeps the lie of "soldiers fight for our freedom" alive and well and the fact that it is also pro-gay is in no way mitigation.


i tihnk you misunderstand what happened. It was gay activists, or rather Queer activists who (probably) tore down that poster. Bash Back for example often go along with the slogan "war is not GAY", which as shit slogan as it is, illustrates a growing trend in queer conscousness that militariam is completely incompatible with sexual liberation and that every Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer individual should have nothing to do with war. Why would we want to defend a society that represses our sexual freedom?

Of course LGBTQ people should be alienated by the military no more than anyone else, but our oppression by that very same military industrial complex is a little more overt.

I agree with you that that sign is awful. Infact that sign epitomises exactly what is wrong witht he mainstream gay rights orginisations the world over. They're trying to tail backward and reaction instituions, erase LGBTQ idetity and make us invisibly blend into straight society, instead of celebrating sexual and gender diversity. It's sickening and yes, pro-war.

[Patchd]

I love bashback.
That is all. :wub:
Yes, but do they have to use the same spelling as MIM? :tt2:

[h0m0revolutionary]

Yes, but do they have to use the same spelling as MIM? :tt2:

Who?

[Sean]

Who?
Ba$hbaKKK. The MIM $$$tyle of writing often attacks the united $nakes of Amerikkka by writing like 1337 H4X0RZ

[Yehuda Stern]

In Israel the mainstream leadership of the LGBT community is Zionist, very explicitly anti-Arab and anti-Muslim. So I understand the sentiment. They fought a while back against religious reactionaries to hold a parade in Jerusalem, and I remember that we were somewhat torn between our support of the LGBT struggle and the patriotic and somewhat racist (anti-orthodox Jews) way in which the struggle was conducted.