I really enjoyed the Equality Virginia Activist Conference today in Richmond. The gathering was quite large and included people from all over the Commowealth of Virginia, from Bristol in the far southwest, to Northern Virginia to Tidewater in the far southeast corner of the state. In addition to various workshops, including the one I presented on wills, trusts and other legal documents that LGBT couples need to have in place in a non-gay friendly state such as Virginia, there was a key note speech given by Suzanne Pharr, a long time activist and organizer who once was a professor at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg. She provided great food for thought and also an interesting view of haw the Far Right, including the Christian Right came to power. and the divisive tactics that have been used. Pharr has written some books. Here are highlights from one on the Right's rise to power (which accurately looks at the way gays have been stereotyped and demonized):
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How did the Right bring about this revolution? For any group to gain power, people must give them access to power, either knowingly or unknowingly. The rise to power does not occur in a vacuum; large numbers of people are usually complicit with it, either through action or inaction, through support or silence. The Right has gained power by placing wedges along the existing societal faultlines of race, class, gender, and sexuality and expanding them into larger divisions. The Right has gained power because it has found a fertile place to grow in the current beliefs and attitudes of the people of this land. . . . Dominator. Colonizer. Supremacist. Oppressor. Imperialist. These names are interrelated. They describe individuals, groups, and countries that seek power and control over the lives of others.
How did the Right bring about this revolution? For any group to gain power, people must give them access to power, either knowingly or unknowingly. The rise to power does not occur in a vacuum; large numbers of people are usually complicit with it, either through action or inaction, through support or silence. The Right has gained power by placing wedges along the existing societal faultlines of race, class, gender, and sexuality and expanding them into larger divisions. The Right has gained power because it has found a fertile place to grow in the current beliefs and attitudes of the people of this land. . . . Dominator. Colonizer. Supremacist. Oppressor. Imperialist. These names are interrelated. They describe individuals, groups, and countries that seek power and control over the lives of others.
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Those who exploit and oppress need ways to justify their actions. They need a rationale that shows they are in the right, that the majority both agrees and cooperates with them, and that people get what they deserve through their own merit or lack of merit. Economic and social injustice must become part of a framework of morality, complete with rewards and punishments, with exploitation and oppression entrenched. The superiority of the white race, of men, of Christians, of heterosexuals, of the rich becomes a given, a divine right to rule and dominate.
Those who exploit and oppress need ways to justify their actions. They need a rationale that shows they are in the right, that the majority both agrees and cooperates with them, and that people get what they deserve through their own merit or lack of merit. Economic and social injustice must become part of a framework of morality, complete with rewards and punishments, with exploitation and oppression entrenched. The superiority of the white race, of men, of Christians, of heterosexuals, of the rich becomes a given, a divine right to rule and dominate.
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[T]here have to be ways to divert attention from the root causes of social and economic problems; to focus instead on symptoms; to shift blame from the perpetrators to the targets of social and economic injustice—and to pit the latter against each other instead of against the perpetrators. Here are some of those methods of diverting attention, shifting blame, and dividing people who should be allied with each other in the effort to end oppression. Stereotyping. Through stereotyping, groups of people (according to economic status, religion, gender, race, sexual identity, etc.) are thought of as one, and individual characteristics are overlooked or dis-missed.
[T]here have to be ways to divert attention from the root causes of social and economic problems; to focus instead on symptoms; to shift blame from the perpetrators to the targets of social and economic injustice—and to pit the latter against each other instead of against the perpetrators. Here are some of those methods of diverting attention, shifting blame, and dividing people who should be allied with each other in the effort to end oppression. Stereotyping. Through stereotyping, groups of people (according to economic status, religion, gender, race, sexual identity, etc.) are thought of as one, and individual characteristics are overlooked or dis-missed.
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Lesbians and gay men recruit children because they can’t have any. They sexually abuse children. “They carry disease. They eat feces. Gay men act like women. Lesbians hate men because they have had a bad experience with them or they want to be men. They are perverted and militant. They all have sex in public.
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One workshop that I also fond of great interest was one that looked at ways to work with faith communities to achieve positive gains for gay inclusiveness. Two of the moderators were former Baptist ministers who had gay sons and, as a result, had to rethink their beliefs and church affiliations. All in all, I left feeling somewhat positive in that the troops are there to carry the work for change for the better all across the Commonwealth. It was also noteworthy that Tidewater where I am from had a very good representation in the crowd.
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As for my presentation, it seemed to go well and I believe I and my fellow presenters had useful and practical information which others will take back to their respective parts of the state. I may even gain a few clients.
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