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July 16, 2021 - View Point by Richard J. Rosendall

Insurrection and Queer Intersections


In politics, if you characterize someone else’s concern in the most extreme and provocative manner, you can stir partisan passions and undermine serious discussion of the subject. It is a way to divide people and prevent solutions to our nation’s most pressing issues.


A lot of noise has been made by Republicans looking for a wedge issue over whether history teachers should be able to teach the truth about race in American history. Gay conservative Andrew Sullivan has made a huge fuss over Critical Race Theory (CRT), though he says it should be exposed and not suppressed. But decrying CRT when few understand it much less teach it is like panicking over Sharia law in Wisconsin. It is all heat and no light.


The same is true of efforts to ban trans girls from participating in girls’ sports, efforts that stir a lot of dangerous trans phobia without any evidence of an actual problem.


These bogus controversies are directed at minorities including African Americans, Asians, Jews, Latinos, and the LGBTQ community, especially transgender people. So it shouldn’t be hard to figure out which side self-respecting queers (whatever we call ourselves) should be on.


The Republican Party has become the party of treason, insurrection, and sedition. If there were any doubt of this after January 6, when a Trump-incited mob tried to prevent certification of the presidential election results and threatened to murder Vice President Pence and Speaker Pelosi, that doubt was removed by subsequent actions. The aggressive rewriting of history, the determination to preserve power by any means necessary, and the Confederate Lost Cause revivalism offer no solace to racial, ethnic, or sexual minorities.


I had the honor of speaking at the Black Voters Matter rally on the Mall near the US Capitol on June 26 in support of voting rights and DC Statehood. The rally capped off the eight-day Freedom Ride for Voting Rights.


I spoke briefly: “I am a native Washingtonian and a longtime LGBTQ rights activist. I have worked in coalitions for policing reform and marriage equality in this city. I support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the For the People Act, and DC Statehood.


“DC’s population is larger than those of Vermont and Wyoming. We pay federal taxes. We serve disproportionately in America’s wars. Yet we are denied voting representation in Congress. We deserve Statehood, and we will not get it from the insurrectionists.


“In our responses to hate crimes, racist policing, and vote suppression and nullification, there is a stark and telling contrast between the aspirational ‘This is not who we are’ and the observational ‘Here is further evidence that this is exactly who we are.’


“Our Constitution and values are under assault. We need to change our laws. We need to litigate and electioneer like never before. We need to tell the truth. We need to support one another. We need to take firm, smart, and concerted action against those who attack democracy in state legislatures, at the US Capitol, and on the floor of the Senate.


“Like our ancestors, we struggle for a more perfect union. We are the bulwark against autocracy and the poison of racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Let us defeat the division and disinformation, as Dr. King urged us, by working and fighting ‘until justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’


“We can do this.”


I got the invitation to speak because I have worked with rally emcee Mark Thompson for a quarter century. Mark was political director of the DC branch of NAACP in 1997 when he organized the DC Police Task Force (of which I was a member representing DC’s Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, which marks its 50th anniversary this year) to reestablish independent police review in DC. Mark, a radio talk show host, has emceed many civil rights rallies.


In other words, my presence on that stage was about more than me getting a great publicity shot. It represents just the sort of coalition building that was championed by Harvey Milk more than four decades ago. The LGBTQ community crosses every demographic; that is the essence of intersectionality.


The main reason I can think of to oppose participation in coalitions like the one reflected on the Mall on June 26 is if you are a white, cisgender, conservative male who feels immune from political scapegoating. To paraphrase Pastor Martin Niemöller, once the fascists have gone after all the other usual scapegoats, who will be left to defend you? ▼


Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist at rrosendall@me.com.

‹ July 16, 2021 - Theatre Is Back by Michael Gilles up July 16, 2021 - Visiting View by D'Anne Witkowski ›

Past Issues

Issues Index

  • December 17, 2021 - Issue Index
  • November 19, 2021 - Issue Index
  • October 22, 2021 - Issue Index
  • September 24, 2021 - Issue Index
  • August 20, 2021 - Issue Index
  • July 16, 2021 - Issue Index
    • July 16, 2021 - Cover to Cover with Issuu
    • July 16, 2021 - The Way I See It by Beth Shockley
    • July 16, 2021 - In Brief
    • July 16, 2021 - Out in Delaware by David Mariner
    • July 16, 2021 - Intentionally Inclusive by Wesley Combs
    • July 16, 2021 - CAMPNews
    • July 16, 2021 - SUN FESTIVAL 2021
    • July 16, 2021 - It's My Life by Michael Thomas Ford
    • July 16, 2021 - Community News
    • July 16, 2021 - Volunteer Spotlight by Karen Laitman
    • July 16, 2021 - Summer Treats by Fay Jacobs
    • July 16, 2021 - Words Matter by Clarence Fluker
    • July 16, 2021 - Membership Matters by Marj Shannon
    • July 16, 2021 - Who's That?.... That's CAMP! by Anita Broccolino
    • July 16, 2021 - Health and Wellness by Marj Shannon
    • July 16, 2021 - Health & Wellness Classes
    • July 16, 2021 - COVID-19 & HIV by Ashley Innes
    • July 16, 2021 - Out & About by Eric C. Peterson
    • July 16, 2021 - LGBTQ+ YA Column by Ella Walker
    • July 16, 2021 - Candidate Forum
    • July 16, 2021 - Dining Out by Fay Jacobs
    • July 16, 2021 - Out & Proud by Stefani Deoul
    • July 16, 2021 - CAMP Houses by Rich Barnett
    • July 16, 2021 - Celebrity Interview by Fay Jacobs
    • July 16, 2021 - Music from the Heart by Matty Brown
    • July 16, 2021 - Cover Story: Historic Poodle Beach by Fay Jacobs
    • July 16, 2021 - Straight Talk by David Garrett
    • July 16, 2021 - CAMPShots
    • July 16, 2021 - Summer Treats by Michael Gilles
    • July 16, 2021 - Booked Solid by Terri Schlichenmeyer
    • July 16, 2021 - Historical Headliners by Ann Aptaker
    • July 16, 2021 - Spotlight on the Arts by Doug Yetter
    • July 16, 2021 - Summer Treats by Ed Castelli
    • July 16, 2021 - The Real Dirt by Eric W. Wahl
    • July 16, 2021 - Theatre Is Back by Michael Gilles
    • July 16, 2021 - View Point by Richard J. Rosendall
    • July 16, 2021 - Visiting View by D'Anne Witkowski
    • July 16, 2021 - We Remember
  • June 18, 2021 - Issue Index
  • May 14, 2021 - Issue Index
  • April 16, 2021 - Issue Index
  • March 19, 2021 - Issue Index
  • February 19th, 2021 - Issue Index

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