I have gay friends! The political version
Oct. 22nd, 2009 01:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkindarknessThere’s been something bothering me lately. I’ve seen a common thread:
New foreign minister for Germany will be a gay man!
Obama appoints gay man as ambassador for New Zealand!
Tories have Gay front bench MPs!!!
And yes, this is a good thing, It’s good that GBLT people, people who not very long ago were arrested in many of these nations for daring to be gay, are now able to walk the halls of power. This is an amazing accomplishment, and I am ecstatic that it CAN happen and it gives me hope that we do have a place and that our sexuality is not seen as a bar.
But, your GBLT (or, let’s face it, gay man. Where’s our bi, lesbian and trans brothers and sisters?) colleague does not instantly put you in the pro-gay camp. It doesn’t make you an ally. It doesn’t make you a friend. And when you decide to wave him around at all critics yelling “we can’t be homophobes! We got ourselves a gay!” Because getting yourself a gay is right up there with making pretty speeches, attending nice GBLT rallies and pride parades and meeting with the “leaders” (*gag*) of the GBLT community.
They’re very nice gestures.
As this very good rant says enough with the token gestures already.
If you want to be a GBLT ally, if you want to show that you truly care about GBLT rights, about homophobia, about equality, about justice then you need to actually do something - especially if you’re in power
The gestures are nice - hell they’re really nice. They do show you’re paying attention to us. They show you care what we think. It shows you have some regard for what we say and believe and think and do. But if gestures is ALL you have then it shows you’re trying to fob us off, placate us, deceive us, patronise us and generally make us shut up, play nice and do what you want. You want to win our loyalty and earn some pro-gay points but you’re not actually DOING ANYTHING to earn it. You completely ignore GBLT rights and issues - issues that are vital to our lives - and then wave a rainbow flag, prop up a nice gay puppet and go say something nice to the Stonewall or Outrage folks. You think this makes you an ally? You think we should be GRATEFUL for that?
And this is triply disgusting when you’re homophobic and are waving your token gay around to pretend you aren’t. No amount of token gays or parties in gay bars will change how hard you fight against everything we are.
And to my GBLT (again, let’s face it, gay men) brothers and sisters who are being used this way. Some of you are doing a great job working within the system to work for us, protect us and promote us. More power to you and may you have good luck in doing so.
And some of you are filthy traitors. Pure and simple. Any arsehole GBLT Tory MP saying “My presence proves the Tories aren’t homophobes” is stabbing us in the back (That would be you, Nick Herbert). Anyone allowing themselves to be waves like some kind of rainbow flag to cover up homophobia is betraying us. You’re as bad as the self-hating homophobes who write ridiculous ant-homosexual laws then go trawling for gay sex on the side. You are being used by the haters - and you’re being used against yourself and all GBLT people. You are one of the greatest weapons in their arsenal. You do more good for the homophobes than any amount of frothing, crazy preachers. You’re throwing all of us under the bus for your own benefit. I do not even begin to understand how you can sit in a room full of MPs that voted 100% against EVERY gay right provision that has ever come past and then let them use your presence as a defence against homophobia.
Those “good homo” cookies they give you must be damned sweet to counter the taste of the vileness around you.
New foreign minister for Germany will be a gay man!
Obama appoints gay man as ambassador for New Zealand!
Tories have Gay front bench MPs!!!
And yes, this is a good thing, It’s good that GBLT people, people who not very long ago were arrested in many of these nations for daring to be gay, are now able to walk the halls of power. This is an amazing accomplishment, and I am ecstatic that it CAN happen and it gives me hope that we do have a place and that our sexuality is not seen as a bar.
But, your GBLT (or, let’s face it, gay man. Where’s our bi, lesbian and trans brothers and sisters?) colleague does not instantly put you in the pro-gay camp. It doesn’t make you an ally. It doesn’t make you a friend. And when you decide to wave him around at all critics yelling “we can’t be homophobes! We got ourselves a gay!” Because getting yourself a gay is right up there with making pretty speeches, attending nice GBLT rallies and pride parades and meeting with the “leaders” (*gag*) of the GBLT community.
They’re very nice gestures.
As this very good rant says enough with the token gestures already.
If you want to be a GBLT ally, if you want to show that you truly care about GBLT rights, about homophobia, about equality, about justice then you need to actually do something - especially if you’re in power
The gestures are nice - hell they’re really nice. They do show you’re paying attention to us. They show you care what we think. It shows you have some regard for what we say and believe and think and do. But if gestures is ALL you have then it shows you’re trying to fob us off, placate us, deceive us, patronise us and generally make us shut up, play nice and do what you want. You want to win our loyalty and earn some pro-gay points but you’re not actually DOING ANYTHING to earn it. You completely ignore GBLT rights and issues - issues that are vital to our lives - and then wave a rainbow flag, prop up a nice gay puppet and go say something nice to the Stonewall or Outrage folks. You think this makes you an ally? You think we should be GRATEFUL for that?
And this is triply disgusting when you’re homophobic and are waving your token gay around to pretend you aren’t. No amount of token gays or parties in gay bars will change how hard you fight against everything we are.
And to my GBLT (again, let’s face it, gay men) brothers and sisters who are being used this way. Some of you are doing a great job working within the system to work for us, protect us and promote us. More power to you and may you have good luck in doing so.
And some of you are filthy traitors. Pure and simple. Any arsehole GBLT Tory MP saying “My presence proves the Tories aren’t homophobes” is stabbing us in the back (That would be you, Nick Herbert). Anyone allowing themselves to be waves like some kind of rainbow flag to cover up homophobia is betraying us. You’re as bad as the self-hating homophobes who write ridiculous ant-homosexual laws then go trawling for gay sex on the side. You are being used by the haters - and you’re being used against yourself and all GBLT people. You are one of the greatest weapons in their arsenal. You do more good for the homophobes than any amount of frothing, crazy preachers. You’re throwing all of us under the bus for your own benefit. I do not even begin to understand how you can sit in a room full of MPs that voted 100% against EVERY gay right provision that has ever come past and then let them use your presence as a defence against homophobia.
Those “good homo” cookies they give you must be damned sweet to counter the taste of the vileness around you.