Stonewall - Forty Years After

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Shirleypal
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Post by Shirleypal » 06-27-2009 10:57 AM

Most people here on The Fantastic Forum do not like the subjects that I choose to discuss, do not like what I say about them, and do not like the way in which I say them. This has been obvious to me, for years now. But I continue to stay and continue to write for those who do like the topics I pick, who do want to know what I may think about them (even if they don't end up agreeing with me on them), and who respect the way in which I phrase myself.

I don't believe that for one moment Joe, the reasons they don't get involved in the controversial simply may be they don't want to admit that they just might agree or worse are in denial. The truth is the truth no matter how it is presented...of course some people just don't give a damn, they somehow think that by acknowledging that someone else may not have rights that they just aren't equal, the ultimate selfishness.

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Post by Psychicwolf » 06-27-2009 11:00 AM

Shirleypal wrote: I don't believe that for one moment Joe, the reasons they don't get involved in the controversial simply may be they don't want to admit that they just might agree or worse are in denial. The truth is the truth no matter how it is presented...of course some people just don't give a damn, they somehow think that by acknowledging that someone else may not have rights that they just aren't equal, the ultimate selfishness.
+100 ;)
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Post by Shirleypal » 06-27-2009 03:12 PM

"Gay people are still fighting to be seen as full human beings and want someone to have and to hold."

Friday, June 26, 2009 12:27 PDT
Gay Pride (in the name of love)
This weekend is Gay Pride weekend, and activists have a lot to celebrate: This time last year, only one U.S. state -- Massachusetts -- allowed same-sex marriage. But in the past several months, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Iowa have all passed legislation allowing gay couples to wed. At the same time, California became the first state to revoke existing marriage right, and progress on LGBT issues seems to have stalled on the federal level, as advocates criticize President Obama for backpedaling on his promise to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and failing to take action on Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Along with bittersweet current events, celebrants will also be commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. On June 28, 1969, patrons of New York's Stonewall Inn fought back, for the first time, as police violently raided the bar. Their courageous stand sparked the modern gay rights movement.

Unfortunately, not all of Stonewall's wounds have been healed, even after four decades. As The Advocate reports, 89-year-old Seymour Pine, the NYPD deputy inspector who led the raid, continues to defend the attack. "I don’t think not liking gay people had anything to do with it," he said on WNYC-FM's "Brian Lehrer Show." Later, in response to a direct question about whether the police should have invaded Stonewall, Pine replied, "When we took the action that we took that night, we were on the side of right. We never would have done something without supervision from the federal authorities and the state authorities. They were involved with this just as well as we were."

Meanwhile, a NY Daily News article interviews veterans of the early gay rights movement. The men rhapsodize about their Stonewall experience."You felt protected there," 61-year-old Tony Lanigan-Schmidt told the paper. "It became a place that I was able to be myself." Ellen Shumsky, 68, returned to New York from Paris to come out of the closet and join the nascent Gay Liberation Front. "I had kind of an epiphany," she said. "It felt like this organization was going to heal my torn self. I came rushing back." And while activists quoted in the article praise how far the movement has come, Lanigan-Schmidt laments that "gay people are still fighting to be seen as full human beings and want someone to have and to hold."

Friday's New York Times includes another reminiscence of Stonewall, by Lucian K. Truscott IV, the writer who stumbled upon the riots and reported on them. "I was perhaps the unlikeliest person in the world to cover the Stonewall riots for The Village Voice," he writes. In the piece, Truscott reveals a few little-known facts about Stonewall: A famous photo taken the night of the raid was posed. Sadly, the author also feels the need to denigrate participants in the riots:
A prominent Stonewall myth holds that the riots were an uprising by the gay community against decades of oppression. This would be true if the "gay community" consisted of Stonewall patrons. The bar’s regulars, though, were mostly teenagers from Queens, Long Island and New Jersey, with a few young drag queens and homeless youths who squatted in abandoned tenements on the Lower East Side.
Now, perhaps Stonewall patrons weren't representative of the "gay community" as a whole (and I'd challenge Truscott to find a bar that does contain a real cross-section), but does this devalue the contributions of "drag queens" and "homeless youths"? After all, the group assembled at the bar that night did still manage to galvanize one of the most powerful and successful civil rights movements ever. With that in mind, this weekend's revelers would do well to keep this history in mind: As Ann at Feministing points out, homeless and low-income members of the LGBT community still face harassment and violence. She urges gays visiting New York to "commemorate Stonewall with activism, not tourism." While Ann's point is well taken, I think those who are working so hard for LGBT rights richly deserve a few days of hard partying. Gay Pride weekend is about celebrating victories; lamenting losses and fighting obstacles can wait for Monday. That's why I want to leave you with the sweetest story I've come across today. Meet Eric Marcoux and Eugene Woodworth, a couple that has been together for 56 years. They spoke to Portland's Willamette Week about their radicalization in the years after Stonewall, as well as their continuing activism for marriage equality in Oregon. "Marriage is an archetypal word," Marcoux told the paper. "It speaks right to the heart of people and says something about our place in society, it incorporates us into family. There is emotional context." Have a wonderful Pride weekend, everyone! And then, after we sober up, let's get back to work so that we have even more triumphs to celebrate this time next year.
¯ Judy Berman
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Post by Kaztronic » 06-28-2009 12:52 AM

Today is Gay Pride day & there is a little part of me that has a hopeful feeling/hunch that our Prez will make some sort of annoucement today about DADT, or even DOMA - you never know(speeches I can do without though - more often than not they are just words designed to make supporters happy/content).

I hate setting myself up for disappointment, but can't shake the feeling (this guy loves to time things, and other than yesterday, the day before, and the day before that, when would be a better time?) that their will be good news today.

Here's hoping it does happen.

If not, well, we move on and keep working. We're no worse off today than we were yesterday :)
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Post by Joolz » 06-28-2009 01:47 AM

Kaztronic wrote: If not, well, we move on and keep working. We're no worse off today than we were yesterday :)

Yes. Keep working. It WILL happen, whether it comes tomorrow or next week or next month or next year or the year after that. I just hope it happens SOON. For all of us. So that we really can "move on." :)
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Post by Joolz » 06-28-2009 01:53 AM

Oh, and thanks for the reminder that tomorrow (for me, today for you ;) ) is Gay Pride Day. I'll keep that in mind as I go about my day, in honor of my brother (whom I miss very much), and you, and all the rest of the LGBT community (some of whom are dear friends). My heart is with you.
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Post by racehorse » 06-28-2009 02:03 AM

Kaztronic wrote:

Here's hoping it does happen.


It will, Kaz.

I think sooner than most people expect.
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Post by joequinn » 06-28-2009 06:44 PM

I'm confused. Can somebody straighten me out?

If it be true that Gawd hates fagz (as the Good Book tells us --- repeatedly! --- that He does), then why did He give the gays such a fine pride weekend, weather-wise, in the New York City area? Did Gawd tie one on at the local bar Friday night, pass out on the bar stool, and forget to order the volcanos and earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, fire and brimstone? Or did He decide to let the gays have one nice weekend, since they are going to burn forever in the fires of hell? Or, worst of all, has Gawd decided to change His mind about gay people since He dictated his everlasting word to the world through his Elect? Perish the thought!

Help! My faith is in danger! Please advise... :D :D :D
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Post by Shirleypal » 06-28-2009 07:26 PM

If it be true that Gawd hates fagz (as the Good Book tells us --- repeatedly!


My God never said that.

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Post by Psychicwolf » 06-28-2009 07:30 PM

joequinn wrote: I'm confused. Can somebody straighten me out?

If it be true that Gawd hates fagz (as the Good Book tells us --- repeatedly! --- that He does), then why did He give the gays such a fine pride weekend, weather-wise, in the New York City area? Did Gawd tie one on at the local bar Friday night, pass out on the bar stool, and forget to order the volcanos and earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, fire and brimstone? Or did He decide to let the gays have one nice weekend, since they are going to burn forever in the fires of hell? Or, worst of all, has Gawd decided to change His mind about gay people since He dictated his everlasting word to the world through his Elect? Perish the thought!

Help! My faith is in danger! Please advise... :D :D :D


Well, my faith puts it's faith in the natural world. So, I guess my Gods (note the plural:D ) think that obviously everything is in balance and as it should this weekend. We too are having splendid weather.
Now if your Gawd and my Gods could just see fit to give the whole freakin' nation a fence bustin' gullywasher NEXT weekend (July 4th) so that every blasted firework in the damn country fizzles that would be terrific.
That way all the dogs and kitties, horses, woodland creatures, birds and all our Gawd/Godz' critters could have a quiet, blessed weekend instead of having to deal with peoples selfish need to set off their boom-booms.
Thank you.:D
Last edited by Psychicwolf on 06-28-2009 09:11 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Joolz » 06-28-2009 08:06 PM

joequinn wrote: I'm confused. Can somebody straighten me out?

If it be true that Gawd hates fagz (as the Good Book tells us --- repeatedly! --- that He does), then why did He give the gays such a fine pride weekend, weather-wise, in the New York City area? Did Gawd tie one on at the local bar Friday night, pass out on the bar stool, and forget to order the volcanos and earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, fire and brimstone? Or did He decide to let the gays have one nice weekend, since they are going to burn forever in the fires of hell? Or, worst of all, has Gawd decided to change His mind about gay people since He dictated his everlasting word to the world through his Elect? Perish the thought!

Help! My faith is in danger! Please advise... :D :D :D

Well, I'm glad it's a 'fine weekend' there in the NYC area. :D Out here in Calleeforneya, it was 109 degrees today where I am. :eek: I'm sure it was MUCH cooler down in the Castro in the City, though. ;)
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Post by Linnea » 06-29-2009 01:16 AM

One. Million. People. in the streets in San Francisco today in support of Gay Pride and to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Gay Activism.

This is awesome!

:cool:

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Post by Shirleypal » 06-29-2009 01:20 AM

Amazing isn't it, think the population of San Francisco is around 750,000 so people were coming from far and wide..I have attended 4 Gay Pride Parades in S.F. and the turn out as always been huge but don't think quite this big..

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Post by Waverider » 06-29-2009 03:58 AM

What a wonderful educational thread...
I've learned so much..

Thank you Joe and all that have contributed to this.

Now I know why they put me in that mental hospital 40 years ago!
:D

Funny... It's only taken forty years to figure it out!

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Post by joequinn » 06-29-2009 07:27 AM

Well, 2009 Pride Weekend is over, so I guess that it's time to put this thread to bed (until next year, of course!). Thanks for all the interest in this thread. I hope that it taught you a thing or two: it taught me a lot!

:D :D :D
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