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01/12/2009
Stonewall 2.0? Try Stonewall Everyday.Sustained!
After Prop 8, the Internet meme was all about Stonewall 2.0. Now, with a new year and a bitter winter chill in the air, the narrative is somewhat changing:
Stonewall 2.0 -- sizzle or fizzle [PHB]
Activism Slipping? [Queerty]
Is "Stonewall 2.0" Fizzling? [Signorile]
Diminishing Impact [Slog]
Join the (Diminishing) Impact [Poz blog]
Now, we certainly agree -- the impact, in terms of the officially branded Join The Impact, is lessening somewhat. There were a few events that were less of an impact and more of a whimper (hi, Day Without a Gay), and others that have had mixed results. People are still turning out, but, from our own personal experience, in much smaller numbers. And since these events have happened on such a public scale (with, as Queerty notes, so much press coverage), we agree with Dan Savage that this can look like a negative in terms of movement galvanization.
The truth is that fight takes a commitment from individuals to raise their own consciousnesses about the matters of the day, take their newfound education and apply it to life, and then motivate those within their own sphere of influence to also take action. We know all too well how difficult it can be to inspire people to invest time and mental energy to LGBT concerns. It's depressing. It's weighty. "American Idol" is coming back. We've heard all the excuses for why it's easier to deal with celebrity gossip than the gay/anti-gay "culture war." But every LGBT person and every ally has a responsibility to be informed about the current proposals we have on the table, as well as the flawed arguments that our opposition is using to deny us of the same. There is only so much any group can do to harvest that motivation. Much of it has to come from within.
But a main problem as we see it: Since Prop 8, way too much public focus has been placed on this one organization, Join The Impact. We find this unfair to both the JTI organization, as well as the vast array of other LGBT activists who are doing really important work. In terms of JTI, it's not right to expect that they can rise up as an organization and quickly start steering this large and diverse ship by themselves. And in terms of the other non-JTI activists, it's not right to focus so much attention onto one small subset of the activist community. It's become an odd mix of (a) organic, power-to-the-people uprising; and (b) almost corporate-like group branding. For us that's led to an odd dichotomy.
Also, in terms of how our community is organized, we have to scratch backs and not just expect that others will willfully scratch our own. One problem we've had with Join The Impact as an organization is the lack of public attempt to reach out to the community at large. Look at their website. Where's the link to this site? To Pam? To Andy? Even to the national organizations? To any of us who have been slogging along on these internets day after day for the past several years trying to rally folks into political action? And where is the attempt to disseminate any of the important information that many of us have been rounding up? Yes, we've received many emails from the organization asking us to promote something (which we've gladly, proudly done); but we've also experienced (both online and at some of the events) what seems, on its surface, a desire from JTI to remain a little too insular. It hasn't upset us, because we totally support their work. And it hasn't lessened our enthusiasm, because their cause is a noble one. However, a piece of advice we would like to give the organization in terms of growth: Open up and expand your public circle a bit.
But the main thing, as we see it, is this: Gay rights activism is not a situation where you can pop in and pop out, expecting quick and immediate results. It is a way of viewing the world. It's a constant learning experience. It's a daily conversation. It's a deep commitment. And if that is fizzling, it's not Join The Impact's fault. We would argue that the fault might be in putting such an unfair proportion of eggs into the JTI basket, with the unreasonable expectation that this one nascent crew would be able to hatch them all by themselves. For the reasons we've stated and more, we think these expectations were inevitably going to be met with a downturn. The question now: How are we going to learn from both the good and the bad to harvest this energy into sustainable action.
Your thoughts
Unfortunately Jeremy, too many people do see lgbt rights activism as just a pop up situation. You have to do more than having just public protests on the streets.
I would like to see more attention focused on what we can accomplish in the Obama Administration by channeling our numbers into emails, phone calls, and talking to our legislators - things like that not only show our numbers but push forth the fact that we are real people ready for business.
Posted by: a. mcewen | Jan 12, 2009 12:26:50 PM
"Unfortunately Jeremy, too many people do see lgbt rights activism as just a pop up situation."
Absolutely. That must change.
Posted by: G-A-Y | Jan 12, 2009 12:48:44 PM
Everyone is waiting for a Second Coming of Harvey Milk to tell us what to do and lead us to victory (as though it was always about just one man). Why, I don't really understand.
Posted by: Brandon h | Jan 13, 2009 7:14:24 AM
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