11/11: Welcoming Change!!!

http://www.ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=letters
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From The Bay Area Reporter, November 10,2005
San Francisco

Gay Shame SF: Bad choice of target, Marys

I am a believer and participant in direct action and civil disobedience. I also agree with much of the political agenda of Gay Shame SF, confronting LGBT communities' consumerism; thoughtless participation in gentrification; propagation of fascist body image stereotypes and gender roles; and pandering to corporations and politicians who act inhumanely. But the current call to action on its Web site (http://www.gayshamesf.org), promoting "infiltration, sabotage, redecoration, performance, disruption, transformation, and anything else your delicious imagination concocts," at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force�s (NGLTF) Creating Change conference, being held this week in Oakland, is ill-conceived, poorly communicated, and just a really foolish choice of targets.

First, their tactics. Redecoration? By all means, beautify. Performance? Make it memorable. Transformation? We hope. And delicious imagination is a necessity for today's civilly disobedient organizer. But infiltration, sabotage, and disruption are tactics reserved for unfriendly non-negotiating targets. Neither NGLTF nor those attending Creating Change are our enemies.

Proposing these tactics is not fabulous. It is disrespectful and reckless. Amongst very potential converts and allies they will engender mistrust and closed ears. And if the actions are carried out I predict Gay Shamers will be left with no soapbox on which to stand.

Creating Change has a long history of folks demanding issues be heard and discussed. Issues including movement corporatization and multi-issue organizing. Issues Gay Shame SF purports to address. The conference gathers some 2,000 LGBT organizers and their allies, including many volunteers, creating an important and productive space. At my first Creating Change, those of us in the youth intensive scrapped our schedule to demand change for young people, both immediate and longer-term, within the conference and organization. We organized in ways that were challenging and creative, but not destructive. The first thing we did was create a list of positive action demands. Where is Gay Shame SF's list?

There's no need to respond to every point trying to be made in their rambling tirade. Statements such as, "Each year, Creating Change recruits hundreds of fresh faces for corporate nonprofit jobs," are ridiculous. Are they kidding? What jobs are these? I only wish there was funding for "hundreds" of new progressive LGBT organizing jobs every year. And my personal favorite, "We're sick of the Creating Change money machine," is laughable. I would hope for better from a group with as lofty ideals as Gay Shame. Quick to the high horse is one thing. Quicker to the oversimplification and pot shots is another.

Finally, I find this call from Gay Shame SF the height of elitism. How dare these admittedly mostly white boys call for sabotage and disruption of a gathering that: ensures the leadership by and the participation of (many via scholarship) people of diverse ages, abilities, ethnicities, genders, and class backgrounds by practicing affirmative action; incorporates dialogue on race, class, and gender throughout; and introduces LGBT and ally organizers to progressive issues and organizing models.

Gay Shame SF's diatribe ends with, "[Creating Change] needs to concentrate on building radical alternatives." Right on. But where are their ideas for radical alternatives? Not in this call for sabotage and disruption. Not elsewhere on their Web site. Although I agree with much of Gay Shame SF's politics, their cries of "tear it down" without plans for coalition and rebuilding aren't going to cut it. If Shamers show up at Creating Change, they may very well be met with cries of "shame" directed at them.

Ken Carl

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

i spoke to sue hyde when we were passing out our zines on direct action. sue hyde told me that she really loved our zine and thought it was great work and really appreciated it (the typical liberal response). i asked her if she would want to promote utilizing direct action for the next conference. she was struck dumb. i suggested, you know, maybe not charging people to attend. i mentioned queeruption (which is kind of a bad example since queeruption is kind of a party with a slight political element-- but maybe they're a little more comparable than i think, since creating change is a corporate job fair with an LGBT element) which is an international event that is hosted with zero corporate sponsorship. people organize housing via squatting, free food from donations and dumpsterdiving, and attendance is free free free-- the only drawback are travel experiences, which i'm still having a hard time fathoming since most of the attendees manage to pass as poor enough to need to squat and dumpsterdive... sue nodded, looked at her walkie-talkie and walked away.

great story line

http://utah.indymedia.org/news/2006/02/13082.php