EDITORS NOTE: Prior to the National Equality March, I had the honor of a one on one phone conversation with Dan Choi and I found him both inspiring and truly wanting to make a difference in the lives of future LGBT generations. In my view, I wish we had more such motivated activists.*
It is no secret to readers of this blog that I have little patience and even less respect for some of the self-anointed "leaders" of the LGBT civil rights movement. Leading that list is HRC, followed by a number of organizations that constantly seek monetary contributions, but are missing in action when hard hitting activism is involved. Recently, Dan Choi, a West Point graduate discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, stepped up the rhetoric and moved from an HRC event and took the protest demanding the repeal of DADT to the gates of the White House. This bold action of civil disobedience landed Lt. Choi and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo in jail overnight. Now, Choi has done an exclusive interview with Newsweek and his commentary on the national LGBT advocacy groups is less than flattering. Here are some highlights:
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Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and fluent Arabist being discharged from the Army for being openly gay, was arrested last week along with former Army captain Jim Pietrangelo II, after handcuffing themselves to the White House gate in protest of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They were handcuffed with the help of Robin McGehee, a former PTA president turned activist who last week cofounded GetEQUAL, an LGBT activism group inspired by civil-rights organizations and gains made through civil disobedience. "We've held marches, lobbied, manned the phone banks," says McGehee. "The last resort is to rumble."
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In his first interview after the arrest, Choi spoke with NEWSWEEK's Eve Conant about what drove him to act, the schism within the gay movement, and why those in support of gay rights need to be prepared to make personal sacrifices in the quest for full federal equality. Excerpts:
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Q. Critics of last week's civil disobedience at the White House and Nancy Pelosi’s office say this is not the time for actions like this. They argue that the gay-equality movement is so close to progress, why risk it all now?
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Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and fluent Arabist being discharged from the Army for being openly gay, was arrested last week along with former Army captain Jim Pietrangelo II, after handcuffing themselves to the White House gate in protest of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. They were handcuffed with the help of Robin McGehee, a former PTA president turned activist who last week cofounded GetEQUAL, an LGBT activism group inspired by civil-rights organizations and gains made through civil disobedience. "We've held marches, lobbied, manned the phone banks," says McGehee. "The last resort is to rumble."
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In his first interview after the arrest, Choi spoke with NEWSWEEK's Eve Conant about what drove him to act, the schism within the gay movement, and why those in support of gay rights need to be prepared to make personal sacrifices in the quest for full federal equality. Excerpts:
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Q. Critics of last week's civil disobedience at the White House and Nancy Pelosi’s office say this is not the time for actions like this. They argue that the gay-equality movement is so close to progress, why risk it all now?
A. Why not now? Within the gay community so many leaders want acceptance from polite society. I think there's been a betrayal of what is down inside of us in order to achieve what looks popular, what looks enviable. The movement seems to be centered around how to become an elite. There is a deep schism [in the gay-rights movement], everyone knows this. . . . We are tired of being stereotyped as privileged, bourgeois elites. Is someone willing to give up their career, their relationships with powerful people, their Rolodex, or their parents' love to stand up for who they are? I'm giving up my military rank, my unit—which to me is a family—my veterans' benefits, my health care, so what are you willing to sacrifice? They say freedom is not free, but it doesn't have to cost anything either.
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Q. When did you decide to take this step, to go beyond talking and do something like chain yourself to the White House gate?
A. Why now? Because you get tired of talking. [Over the past two years] I've done 50 live interviews, a hundred other interviews, how much more talk am I expected to produce? When I heard Kathy Griffin was going to be a spokeswoman for Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I wondered about that. I have great respect for her as an advocate. But if [the Human Rights Campaign] thinks that having a rally at Freedom Plaza with a comedienne is the right approach, I have to wonder. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not a joking matter to me. To be at Freedom Plaza and not at the White House or Congress? Who are they trying to influence? I felt like they were just trying to speak to themselves. If that's the best the lobbying groups and HRC can do, then I don't know how these powerful groups are supposed to represent our community.
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Obama told us at the HRC dinner last year, you need to put pressure on me. I was there at that dinner, in uniform. So this is my mission; the president said to pressure him and I heard that as a warning order.
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Meanwhile, blogger friend Pam Spaulding was prodded to vent when she heard that HRC's Joe Solmonese has made Washington Life Magazine's 2010 Fashion Awards. I guess it's should not be a surprise given Somlonese's tidy six figure salary at HRC. A salary that to me is a ridiculous waste of funds. A true activist would do far more constructive work for half or less the money. But I digress. Here are some of Pam's thoughts that I completely endorse:
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I really don't know how to react to this. To me it's a sign of what "activism" has come down to in the land of TEH GAY. Isn't it an interesting juxtaposition to see that HRC's Joe Solmonese has made Washington Life Magazine's 2010 Fashion Awards ("We salute 35 men and women who bring that je ne sais quoi to the ballrooms and boardrooms of Washington"). ELEGANT ACTIVIST: Joe Solmonese. The president of the Human Rights Campaign favors designers Ann Demeulemeester, Billy Reid, and Dolce and Gabbana.
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It's pretty clear the HRC brand doesn't scream "grassroots" activism in the least; does it need to? I mean take a look at this invitation received by the Blend. This is how money is raised - we're not talking targeting small-dollar donations from someone at risk for being fired from the Dairy Queen in a Red State for being gay.
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Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this. I'm just thinking out loud here, not really editing my thoughts, because this really isn't about waging class warfare so much as trying to figure out what the identity of our movement should be embodied by in terms of branding and representation. A movement that exudes confidence -- can it be represented in a less material way? Does more ostentatious branding hurt because it projects that the group in question, LGBTs, aren't really suffering in terms of civil rights and therefore don't require urgent action by the President or Congress.
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I guess my question is are we all fighting the same fight from very different points of view that make it difficult to understand what a logical, sane strategy for success is when it comes to our movement's branding?
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Q. When did you decide to take this step, to go beyond talking and do something like chain yourself to the White House gate?
A. Why now? Because you get tired of talking. [Over the past two years] I've done 50 live interviews, a hundred other interviews, how much more talk am I expected to produce? When I heard Kathy Griffin was going to be a spokeswoman for Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I wondered about that. I have great respect for her as an advocate. But if [the Human Rights Campaign] thinks that having a rally at Freedom Plaza with a comedienne is the right approach, I have to wonder. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not a joking matter to me. To be at Freedom Plaza and not at the White House or Congress? Who are they trying to influence? I felt like they were just trying to speak to themselves. If that's the best the lobbying groups and HRC can do, then I don't know how these powerful groups are supposed to represent our community.
*
Obama told us at the HRC dinner last year, you need to put pressure on me. I was there at that dinner, in uniform. So this is my mission; the president said to pressure him and I heard that as a warning order.
*
Meanwhile, blogger friend Pam Spaulding was prodded to vent when she heard that HRC's Joe Solmonese has made Washington Life Magazine's 2010 Fashion Awards. I guess it's should not be a surprise given Somlonese's tidy six figure salary at HRC. A salary that to me is a ridiculous waste of funds. A true activist would do far more constructive work for half or less the money. But I digress. Here are some of Pam's thoughts that I completely endorse:
*
I really don't know how to react to this. To me it's a sign of what "activism" has come down to in the land of TEH GAY. Isn't it an interesting juxtaposition to see that HRC's Joe Solmonese has made Washington Life Magazine's 2010 Fashion Awards ("We salute 35 men and women who bring that je ne sais quoi to the ballrooms and boardrooms of Washington"). ELEGANT ACTIVIST: Joe Solmonese. The president of the Human Rights Campaign favors designers Ann Demeulemeester, Billy Reid, and Dolce and Gabbana.
*
It's pretty clear the HRC brand doesn't scream "grassroots" activism in the least; does it need to? I mean take a look at this invitation received by the Blend. This is how money is raised - we're not talking targeting small-dollar donations from someone at risk for being fired from the Dairy Queen in a Red State for being gay.
*
Maybe I'm thinking too hard about this. I'm just thinking out loud here, not really editing my thoughts, because this really isn't about waging class warfare so much as trying to figure out what the identity of our movement should be embodied by in terms of branding and representation. A movement that exudes confidence -- can it be represented in a less material way? Does more ostentatious branding hurt because it projects that the group in question, LGBTs, aren't really suffering in terms of civil rights and therefore don't require urgent action by the President or Congress.
*
I guess my question is are we all fighting the same fight from very different points of view that make it difficult to understand what a logical, sane strategy for success is when it comes to our movement's branding?
Unfortunately, I suspect that those like Solmonese have no clue as to what life is like in an anti-gay state like Virginia or the sense of urgency felt by closeted members of the military who live in daily fear of outing and an end to their careers, loss of retirement, and other dire effects and consequences. This is our lives we are talking about - even as Solmonese and those "leaders" of his ilk move on to the next cocktail party or black tie dinner event. The lack of urgency truly drives me crazy.
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