A Comment on U.S. and Global LGBTQI Activism

By Melanie Nathan, August 22, 2013.

While we fight for our civil rights and equality in the United State of America, LGBTI people in 76 Countries fight for their lives – they fight not to be beaten – not to be killed – not to be imprisoned for being Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, gender non-conforming or Intersex.

We as an American LGBT community tend to be “America-centric.” We are very individualistic in our approach to life – hence our activism, advocacy and what impacts us often seems so self-centered. As Americans we tend to be noisy when it hurts us as individuals.

For example – Imagine if the amount of people who show up to party at Pride would have shown up to protest outside the Courts when we as a community were impacted by the various Prop 8 court hearings? Instead there was more media than activists – each and every time – and the same 30 people showed up outside the Courts to show solidarity with our cause.

Imagine if we could have shut down the streets at that time? Just like we do when we party for Pride? Just like we did when we finally got to SCOTUS? We won and we will continue to win. However we may have won bigger than we did.

Why am I saying this now? Because I am begging American gays –LGBTQI to wake up for this – round 2 of the fight for our basic rights here in the U.S.A and the global fight that is just beginning, for those who may not live to see tomorrow simply because they are LGBTQI.

For these next few weeks, it will be about the GLOBAL anti-gay fever – now dominating Russia, and of course Africa and some Middle Eastern Countries, with an emphasis on Russia for now. If we fight for Russia we are fighting for ourselves and for all of us around the world.

I hope that we can see more LGBT and allied Americans come out to protest anti-gay laws worldwide and NOW!!!! Especially that we are finally headed toward our own full equality. It is now that we MUST speak out for the world at large. And it will come back to help our own quest for full equality.

Note tiny Denmark had 10,000 people show up and the UK over a thousand for recent protests against Russia’s anti-gay so called “propaganda laws. We can do it too!

So please keep your eyes peeled for a series of actions that will be taking place over the next few weeks around the USA and globally– starting with This Sunday in the Castro

Where: St Nicholas Cathedral

Location: 2005 – 15th Street, between Church and Market Streets

Date: Sunday, August 25, 2013

When: 11:00 AM – see announcement here –

https://oblogdeeoblogda.me/2013/08/21/san-francisco-castro-to-protest-russian-anti-gay-laws/

*Thank you to Matt Fikse-Verkerk for the artwork

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