August 7, 2010.
Box Turtle Bulletin has a discussion about Lt. Dan Choi and his work and finances.
As someone who has worked in the movement to gain civil rights for homosexuals in America since 1959, I wonder how many younger people have yet had to deal in the constant attacks from people who do nothing but spend their time looking for excuses to not do anything and to question the competence and ethics of others — namely the few who have actually tried to change things?
As has been said, for other reasons (but that doesn’t change the fact that it is true): A cause has more problems with its “friends” than with its enemies. And Lt. Choi is finding this out.
Who has the right or “need” to question what he is doing, if he is being paid? Do the “questioners” also question the same thing about right-wingers? And what have they done for the cause?
I could. I have done what he is doing, without pay. But where are the thousands of others who, like us, were kicked out of the military? What have they done since? Or the dozens in Los Angeles alone who were kept out of the military, even though they were drafted, because of the work, without pay, of Don Slater and the Homosexual Information Center? We did this based on our work in early Mattachine and ONE, Inc., with help from free attorneys like Herb Selwyn, experts like Dr. Evelyn Hooker, and the support of movement founders Harry Hay, et al.
The people to ask questions of their motive, competence and ethics, are the media, back then and now. Who has heard of the national effort of NACHO, in May of 1966, to force the Armed Forces to deal honestly with this issue of homosexuals in the military? To be fair while the Los Angeles Times ignored, deliberately, our Motorcade though Los Angeles, saying they would cover it only if some harm came, the New York Times, did cover it, with an article by Peter Bart. But the vast majority of media ignored it, as they did until they found a cute guy and thus thought it sexy enough to cover. And that is sadly true of the vast majority of LGBT people, who also ignored the issue until it was covered as entertainment by the media.
Where is the coverage of not only our Committee to Fight Exclusion of Homosexuals From the Armed Forces in 1966, but of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network today? Or the Palm Center at the University of California Santa Barbara? Have you seen those names in even the LGBT media?
But what discussion has there been, in 1966 and now? A little from, guess where, those who disapprove of the current war — then it was Vietnam and now Iraq or Afghanistan. Are LGBT people are so stupid they can’t deal with one issue without confusing it by adding another issue? There is a difference between opposing a war and whether or not homosexuals who choose to should be allowed to serve openly and honorably in the military.
The same nonsense is heard about same-sex marriage. Do you oppose same-sex marriage just because you oppose marriage? That is a different issue. Until we change the legal nature of marriage and get rid of the special rights, there is legitimate reason to get those rights for everyone — including same-sex couples, even those who are not homosexual.
It is time for us to enjoy the entertainment we get now, in movies and on Comedy Central-that is great and educational. But it is not education we must have to know what the real issues are. An example is why we, of all people, are not speaking out against Islamists who kill us. It is not acceptable to just say we need to respect all religions — we are stupid if we don’t see that some religions — even though all harm us — are worse than others.
The people spending their time worrying about Lt. Choi should be spending their time, energy, and money on the important issues — but of course that means they would have to do something besides sitting on the sidelines and finding something to complain about. Those people were writing letters to us at ONE magazine years ago. And were the ones saying Mattachine would never work — while the founders were dreaming of marching down Hollywood Blvd. someday.
I ask those negative losers: How has that worked for you? Or did you grow up and join the march when it happened in 1970?
