Strong But Accurate Words from a Surprising Source

As we hunker down watching the snow continue to fall - we have about a foot now in Charlottesville - I have been Internet surfing as we watch TV and talk (and the boyfriend bakes cookies and makes pasta sauce). In the process I was surprised to come across an opinion piece on The Advocate written by porn impresario Michael Lucas (pictured at left) - P.S. for the record, I have not watched any of his company's films.

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Much of what Lucas has to say is right on point and sounds much like what I and others have been writing about for sometime: the lack of a true leader in the gay rights struggle and the failure of many self-anointed gay rights organizations to play hardball with politicians who talk a good game and then do little or nothing to further LGBT equality. Indeed, Lucas sounds alot like David Mixner or Lady Gaga at the National Equality March last October or Pam Spaulding in the way he call for a new approach to demanding that politicians deliver on their promises. Here are some highlights:
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Michael Lucas looks for the country’s gay Martin Luther King Jr., and finds little to celebrate. . . . While it’s true that we have made great progress in some states, on the national level, we are stalled. This is particularly embarrassing considering that Democrats—our supposed friends—are in control of both Houses of Congress and the White House. With all these Democrats running around Washington, I don’t understand how we’re unable to achieve the rights we’ve been fighting for in the 18 years since Bill Clinton was elected, namely, overruling “don’t ask, don’t tell” and gaining the right to marry. I thought gay activists told us that putting Democrats in power would solve all of our problems.
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Our so-called leaders won’t acknowledge this. They’re not really leaders but extremely wealthy fundraisers whose desires have nothing to do with fighting for our rights. They use their status and fundraising campaigns for their own personal agendas. It seems that their goal is to be invited to the White House and have pictures taken with the Obamas and the Clintons. But these “leaders” are not interested in demanding action from the powerful people with whom they’re partying. They’re afraid to upset the powerful. We raise money to fight, not to kiss ass. The purpose of giving money to political campaigns is to get results, not to host lavish fundraisers and parties.
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We need leaders and organizations that are not intimidated by anyone, not even by our most eloquent president. To be perfectly honest, I don’t see much difference between our current Democratic president and George W. Bush. And I don’t think McCain would have been much different from Obama, either. Indeed, McCain’s wife, Cindy, just came out in favor of gay marriage and did a photo shoot for the NOH8 campaign. Where is Michelle?
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I don’t judge by words. I judge by actions. Politicians take gay votes for granted, and who can blame them? They probably should take our votes for granted because we don’t ask for anything from them in return. Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act and gay people still gave him their votes. Indeed, they cheer him whenever he speaks before a gay organization. So maybe we don’t deserve a real fighter. Gays are looking for fashionable icons and nothing more than that.
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At this point Obama is just a liar who makes a lot of promises. He took our money, the overwhelming majority of gay people gave him support, and a year into his presidency he has given us practically nothing back aside from lifting the HIV travel ban and hate crimes legislation. It doesn’t do us any good for the president to go to a gay fundraiser and say that he’s with us and tell us how great and wonderful we are. There’s a big difference in giving a speech at an event which only rich homosexuals can attend (these events are not televised or known to anyone outside a small set of the gay community), and saying the same things to the American people.
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The president just delivered his first State of the Union Address, and millions of straight Americans watched. He hardly said anything about us, except one sentence promising to repeal "don’t ask, don’t tell." He could have told the people of Maine—before the vote to revoke marriage equality there—that they should make the right choice and not take back our civil rights. But he didn’t. . . . Hillary Clinton has condemned anti-gay violence, but our president has not. How hard would it have been for him to show solidarity with our gay brothers and sisters living in some of the darkest places in the world?
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As we can’t depend on straight Democrats, we need a gay Martin Luther King, Jr., to fight for us. Someone who will face arrest, enact civil disobedience, and raise a ruckus on our behalf. We need to choose a leader who cares about us and not just him or herself. Those are the actions for which MLK is so admired today. But gays seem to think that giving lots of money to political candidates is all that needs to be done. Making political donations is important, but it has to produce results to be effective. The people who deliver our money to the president should not just be delivery boys; they should be fighters, they should be crusaders. Why are we content to have them merely rub shoulders with the powerful?