If You Don’t Get It, You Don’t Get It

I suppose it’s easy for some commentators in our community to get caught up in the excitement about the recent advances in marriage in Iowa and Vermont. These were momentous and wonderful decisions to be sure. And they follow a steady drumbeat of positive change at state and local levels. But they also follow a seemingly never-ending chain of negative news that highlights the need for long-term communications and outreach on any number of LGBT issues. Witness Bryan’s post yesterday about the 11-year old boy who killed himself to escape anti-gay taunting. Or Laura's post last spring about anti-gay violence. Or any number of newspaper stories about harassment, threats and even murder of LGBT people across the country.

We may have “won” a few battles, but there’s still a war going on in many places. And we still need communicators and community advocates fighting to ensure that this "war" ends peacefully and soon. Unfortunately, we're not yet at the day when all LGBT people can live, work and be who they are safely and without fear. And as we discuss frequently here, we need to keep the dialogue going if we ever want to get to that point.

So why then would The Washington Post run an op-ed on Sunday railing against the “bloated” LGBT organizations filled with staff who are apparently unable to “move out of a mindset that sees the plight of gay people as one of perpetual struggle.”  Wow. The piece, written by an assistant editor for a well-known national magazine, goes on to assert that all of the changes in the cultural landscape mean that one day “civil rights groups will no longer be necessary.” That’s a valid point, and I hope it is true one day, but making that point now (and in the smug way he did) ignores the reality of the world we live in today and minimizes the importance of the many voices talking with many people to bring that goal to fruition. There are many positive things to say about the current LGBT landscape, but ignoring the negative aspects is akin to wearing blinders while crossing the street.

It's really important to remember that we're not all well-off, white, gay men living in cosmopolitan urban centers. Our community is incredibly diverse. Some of us are less than well-off (particularly in this economy). Others are people of color. Others are lesbian or bisexual or transgender. Others live in suburban or rural areas. Yes, we are everywhere, but it's not always "acceptable" for all of us to live openly everywhere. It may seem that the conversation can stop in some areas because so much good has been accomplished, but it's important to remember that in many places the conversation has only just begun.

We could – and should - argue about the need for LGBT organizations to change their strategies and adjust to the new realities of communication and outreach. We’ve talked about that quite a bit on this blog in the past several months. But the solution to a communcations problem is not to stop communicating, it's to start communicating differently. I agree that many of our communications strategies need to change. I agree that there is room for improvement – and a need for new voices. But I don’t agree that gay and lesbian communications is now – or soon will be – unnecessary because society is so “accepting” of LGBT people. 

For every marriage victory, we should remember that LGBT people are denied more than 1,000 federal rights granted to legally married people by the federal government. For every company that scores a 100 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index, we should acknowledge that the largest employer in the United States openly discriminates against LGBT people. For every positive LGBT storyline in popular entertainment, we should recognize that news outlets, advertisements and popular entertainment regularly impugn, attack and/or make fun of LGBT people simply for being who they are. For every proud out gay man or woman, we must not forget that there are children who feel the tug of shame and decide to kill themselves because they’re so scared to be called “gay.” 

For all of the great work that has been done, there is much more great work still to be done. And we need to, in the words of a spiritual, “lift every voice and sing” to bring that work into the light of day. We need all of our allies, our advocates and our supporters to keep the conversation going. If you think otherwise, you’re just not seeing the real world. 

This op-ed reminds me of one of the previous promotional campaigns for The Washington Post: “if you don’t get, you don’t get it.” 

Indeed.

Share | April 14th, 2009 1 Comment »
Tags: Corporate Engagement · Current Affairs · Media · Social Compact Issues · Workplace Issues