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 GAYS
AND PATRIOTISM:
A VOLATILE RELATIONSHIP
by Jed Ryan
The events on September 11, 2001, have left the gay, lesbian,
bisexual,and transgendered community in the United States
wondering where we fit in. Two months later, the initial shock
has worn off. Now what? For many of us, the increased patriotism
which has swept the nation is a wonderful thing. However,
as a community, despite our modest gains, we have had a history
of-- and still have-- a volatile relationship with American
government and the rest of American society. Our country has
had a long and not always noble tradition of treating us like
second class citizens. At the very least, we are not afforded
the same basic rights as straight people enjoy, including--
but not limited to-- the right to legally marry, the right
to serve openly in the military, and equal rights protections
under the law. At worst, we've had a long history of violence,
anger, and hostility aimed at us. No matter how you look at
it, it's abuse, plain and simple. And it runs the gamut from
elected or appointed leaders who remain silent on unequal
treatment of gay/lesbian citizens, to the the more blatantly
anti-gay politicians who promote homophobia through anti-gay
legislation. Within many members of our community, there's
a personal conflict between wanting to support our President
and our country, and the feelings of living as a member of
a minority group which is often disrespected. Can our feelings
of gay pride and American patriotism live side by side? Should
they?
As I've mentioned before, the New York City and Long Island
GLBT communities have unquestionably been at the forefront
of the efforts to rebuild New York and to support those
who
have suffered from the September 11th events. Examples of
this are innumerable. On Long Island, many of us just
needed
someone to talk to, positive reassurance, or some advice
on how they could help. The day after the attack, Long
Island
diva Venise
Charles sent a passionate e-mail via the L.I.
Pride eGroup (li-pride@yahoogroups.com)
to the group's many members, extending her prayers and support.
Venise stated, "This is the first time that I'm totally speechless."
Sr. Lynette A. Curley, CSW, of St.
Julian's Old Catholic Parish, also extended prayers, sympathy
and support when many people were anxiously glued to the Web
for up-to-the-minute developments. Walter
Ratuchny of CHOLI
(Community House of Long Island) reminded everybody about
the urgent need for blood donations, while local activist
Alana Samuels was quick in compiling a much-needed list of
resources for anyone who wanted to help. John
Schimmel, LIPP's male 2001 Volunteer of the Year,
and husband Greg, were among the first to extend their support
to the community, sending an e-mail of support to all those
in their extensive on-line address book. In Manhattan, the
gay community seemed to have a sweeping call to action. Greenwich
Village and Chelsea, two gay neighborhoods which are already
as "colorful" as it gets, became even more so as rainbow flags
waved side by side the omnipresent American flags. The gay
community has always at the forefront of fashion, and now
the season's new colors are unquestionably red, white, and
blue. In addition to displays of American pride, the gay community
raised money for charity in the best way it knows how: throwing
a party! According to HX
Magazine, the free weekly gay entertainment newspaper,
the landmark nightclub Roxy was empty for the first time in
ages on the Saturday night following the attack. However,
at the advice of Guiliani and in the spirit of New Yorkers,
people didn't stay home long. That Sunday, Manhattan nightlife
producer John Blair donated all the proceeds from Drama!,
the Sunday night party at the Limelight, to relief funds.
After it was established that New Yorkers weren't ready to
give up partying, it seemed like EVERY gay nightspot--
large or small-- was having a benefit. (This should open the
eyes of those uptight folks in our community who dismiss the
value of gay bars and clubs in our culture.) Splash, the quintessential
Chelsea nightspot, had a party called "United We Dance,"
a benefit for the September 11th Fund. The party, MC'd by
Felipe Rose of the Village People(!) and Norma Jean of Chic
(!) attracted an eclectic bunch of New York celebrities including
singers Abigail, Amber, TKA, and Sandy B. Over $11,000 was
raised. Smaller clubs, bars, and nightly parties joined the
effort, examples being three of my favorite spots: Pop Rocks
(Thursday night at 219 Flamingo), the lounge Blu in Chelsea,
and New York's downtown leather club The Lure, who had collection
jars throughout the bar and donated 50% of the door fee to
the September 11th Fireman's Fund. On October 18, the Empire
State Pride Agenda held its 10th Annual Fall Dinner at
the Sheraton in Midtown Manhattan.  To
raise additional money for a relief fund, there was an auction
for a walk-on part in "Queer
As Folk." One generous guy offered 200 K (!) to the
effort-- if Mayor Rudy Giuliani would appear in drag on the
show! Well, as many of you know, Mr. G agreed. Better hurry
up and get Showtime! Giuliani was honored at the event, as
was Governor Pataki (who addressed the gay community for the
first time in his seven years in office), as well as the lesbian
and gay members of the NYPD and FDNY. As a side note, Marlo
Thomas ("That Girl") was also there!
As many people pointed out, September 11th united all Americans,
regardless of sexual orientation, race, gender, age, religion,
or political orientation. The terrorists did not target one
specific group of Americans. Do I support the war effort?
Absolutely. Do I support President Bush while we are at war?
Absolutely. We are, after all, fighting for freedom. However,
for many members of our community, the question is not how
much we can support America, but rather: Will America realize
that the GLBT community deserves reciprocal support and respect?
Gay men and lesbians can volunteer at Ground Zero,
raise and donate money for charity, risk their lives as police
officers and firefighters, and even die as heroes  (such
as the late Mark Bingham), but in the eyes of much of our
government and many fellow Americans, we don't deserve equality
so-called "blind patriotism" is NEVER a good thing.
Supporting the war effort, supporting our men and women in
the military, and doing our part to stimulate the economy
is one thing. But ignoring the injustices of our nation, even
in times of crisis, is NEVER a good idea. Being observant
and, when necessary, critical of America's social, economic,
or political situations is, in my opinion, a responsibility
of being American. However, my own feelings of patriotism
were challenged after a series of events which took place.
One of them was when a gay Long Island acquaintance of mine
ignorantly suggested in an e-mail discussion, that as gay
men and lesbians, we should put "our own needs" (presumably
meaning the fight for gay rights) aside, at the "risk of looking
selfish." Another participant chimed in, "Now is not the time
to engage in argument about gay rights." I understood, to
a point, what they were getting at. However, I couldn't disagree
more. Certainly, common human compassion would dictate that
our first priority must be to give support (ranging from a
hand on the shoulder and words of comfort, to financial donations
to the right charity) to someone who has lost a loved one,
or lost their job. But damn, does this mean we should halt
or reverse over 30 years of the fight for equality? David
Kilmnick, Executive Director of LIGALY
(Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth) and one of the Founders
of the Long
Island Pride Parade, also brought up examples of two injustices
which further challenged gay America's patriotism: (1) Men
cannot donate blood if they've had sex with a man since 1977;
and (2) gay men and lesbians who have lost loved ones in the
attack would most likely be shortchanged in terms of benefits
and mutual property, due to the lack of official recognition
of our relationships. David commented that several of the
young gay men involved with LIGALY, who grew up with safe
sex being "the norm," were surprised and felt humiliated when
they were rejected from giving blood. Some members of our
community were more blunt and rightfully angry: one member
of the L.I. Pride eGroup
stated that gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered
people are terrorized every day, from discrimination to gay-bashing.
Indeed, the national tragedy and attack on the Free World
didn't stop two of the most virulent gay-bashers of the Far
Right, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, from slowing down
their hateful efforts. On Pat Robertson's "700 Club,"
Falwell stated that homosexuals (in addition to certain civil
rights groups, feminists, and abortion rights advocates) were
partially responsible for the WTC bombing, because we turned
God's anger against America or something like that.  Robertson
agreed. It's pretty clear what these two wanted to do. They
hoped to capitalize on America's fear and anger to advance
their own narrow political/cultural agenda. The free weekly
New York magazine Next
called Falwell's remarks "laughable and pathetic"-- which
would be true except that based upon his and Robertson's track
record, the statements were typical of the two men and too
vicious to dismiss. Bill Borman, Chairman of the Nassau
County Gay and Lesbian Democrats, called the remarks "almost
as difficult to believe as the attack itself." While these
two blowhards were sitting in their air conditioned offices
in Virginia blaming America's own citizens for the attack,
the real heroes, among others, were the NYPD and FDNY who
were sweating at Ground Zero during the rescue mission.
To President Bush's credit, a White House spokesperson called
Falwell's and Robertson's remarks "inappropriate" and stated
that "The President does not share these views." Even right
wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who is clearly NOT
our ally, criticized the two so-called "religious leaders"
for their theatrics.
Advocates for our rights have been working nonstop to ensure
that gay men and lesbians will be treated fairly in the aftermath
of September 11, with some good results. Senator Hillary Clinton
has been one of our most loyal spokespersons for equality
and fairness. George Pataki has declared that gay and lesbian
partners of those killed in the WTC attack will qualify for
state assistance. The American
Red Cross is providing benefits for same-sex partners
of the deceased. We've even had a few unlikely allies. Former
 President
Gerald Ford, now 88, stated in an interview that he believes
that the federal government should treat gay and lesbian couples
the same as married couples, including equal access to Social
Security benefits and tax benefits. He supports federal legislation
to outlaw anti-gay discrimination. These views make Ford the
highest-ranking Republican to ever endorse equal treatment
for gay couples. Even our President, who had many of us fretting
when he (finally) won the election, has shown to be more supportive
of gay equality than many had suspected. George W. Bush has
retained the Executive order which Bill Clinton had issued
to ensure equal treatment for gays in the Federal work force.
He also appointed two openly gay men: (1) Scott Evertz, Director
of the Office of National AIDS Policy, and (2) Michael Guest,
Ambassador to Romania. (Has anybody ever visited that country?
E-mail me if you have--
I'm curious.) These are the highest appointments ever for
uncloseted gay men in any Republican administration.
Before donating money to any charity, QUESTION the
organization's policies towards gays and lesbians. On the
subject of the survivors of gay and lesbian victims of the
WTC bombing, remember that the emergency funds are only "first
aid." Many questions remain unanswered. What if the surviving
partner or victim was closeted? What about adoption rights
if the biological parent of a child in a gay relationship
died? And most importantly, what about "far reaching funds"--
Social Security, pensions, and workers' compensation? These
are still unavailable to gay and lesbian partners If there's
one thing that should be blatantly obvious about this tragedy
insofar as gay rights are concerned, the need for legal recognition
of our marriages becomes even more of a priority.
So, is it possible to have gay pride and be patriotic at the
same time? Absolutely! We face challenges to our pride on
a daily basis-- unequal treatment by the law and government,
attacks by right-wing big mouths, and a society which can
be at the least, uncompassionate and at worst, hateful. However,
the United States of America is the greatest country in the
world. And, I admit, I'm biased, but I believe that New York
is the greatest city in the world as well. We can and should
be patriotic-- but we must NEVER falter at our pride
in being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered. I think
that HX Magazine
said it best: "Isn't a sassy, irreverent gay magazine
like 'HX' a perfect example of American freedom?" What can
we do? Be aware of local, state, and national politics. Support
gay-owned, gay-friendly, and gay-supportive bars, clubs, and
other businesses. Attend local community events. Get out there
and vote (OK, OK, I know this message came a little late!).
And keep those rainbow flags waving! The more America becomes
committed to equality for EVERYBODY, the more pride
we will have in being American. I wanted to put an American
flag bumper sticker on the back of my car, but I felt their
was something else that it needed to make it complete. Then,
I found it: on the other side of the license plate, I put...
yes, a rainbow
flag bumper sticker!
See
Related Articles:
 Barbarians
at the Gate: An Epiphany
The
Day Lady Liberty Cried
Our
Community Responds...
"OUT"
Rage to Outrage
Thoughts
on the Aftermath of (the) Tragedy at WTC
 
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