In a random act of kindness, someone apparently redecorated the DC headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign.
The moment the Pope of Hope's Big Gay Speech at the HRC ended, the mainstream gay drones--as if on cue-- began sniveling, "Can you imagine the profound impact Obama's HRC speech must have had on that lonely, closeted gay teen in rural America?"
***crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets***
Yes, we should all be grateful that Obama's speech kept Billy from Kansas (I suspect they are envisioning a 16 year old white gay cis boy who is the quarterback of Topeka High School's football team) from slitting his closeted gay wrists just long enough to get drafted into the military after Obama repeals DADT. Instead of dying the shameful death of a suicidal teen faggot, Billy will now have the honor of dying a manly hero's death on the streets of Kabul, his corn-fed entrails strewn about the sidewalk like confetti, rotting beneath the relentless Afghan sun.
Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of HRC-sexuals marched defiantly along their permitted protest route in DC, bravely chanting truth to power and striking terror--peacefully, mind you-- into the hearts of the politicians who have the audacity to deny them the right to a similar fate. Then half of them went clubbing because DC has a fabulous nightlife.***crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets crickets***
The non-event reached its climax as the fearless demonstrators boldly demanded that a law be passed making it like, really illegal to murder gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and the .04% of Americans who were actually paying attention started nodding off. Just as the historic non-event was about to be forgotten before it was even over, a group of queer and transgender superheroes swooped in to save the day.
In a valiant and successful effort to beautify the HRC, the superheroes from Queers Against Assimilation also managed to send perhaps the only message that will be remembered from this entire weekend...to the HRC! In a selfless act of glamdalism, they left a colorful reminder to the members of the ruling white homotocracy all over the entrance to the HRC headquarters that read: "Quit Leaving Queers Behind!" As if there was a need for even more fabulousity, Queers Against Assimilation also managed to stimulate the economy by creating more jobs in 10 minutes than Obama has created all year:
Here is the communique they released following their exterior design project for the HRC (a service they provided free of charge, incidentally):
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Communique from the Forgotten:
HRC headquarters was rocked by an act of glamdalism last night by a crew of radical queer and allied folks armed with pink and black paint and glitter grenades. Beside the front entrance and the inscribed mission statement now reads a tag, “Quit leaving queers behind.”
The HRC is not a democratic or inclusive institution, especially for the people who they claim to represent. Just like society today, the HRC is run by a few wealthy elites who are in bed with corporate sponsors who proliferate militarism, heteronormativity, and capitalist exploitation. The sweatshops (Nike), war crimes (Lockheed Martin), assaults on working class people (Bank of America, Deloitte, Chase Bank, Citi Group, Wachovia Bank) and patriarchy (American Apparel) caused by their sponsors is a hypocrisy for an organization with “human rights” in their name.
The queer liberation movement has been misrepresented and co-opted by the HRC. The HRC marginalizes us into a limited struggle for aspiring homosexual elites to regain the privilege that they’ve lost and climb the social ladder towards becoming bourgeoisie.
Last night, Obama spoke at the HRC fundraising gala and currently the HRC website declares, “President Obama underlines his unwavering support for LGBT Americans.” The vast amount of organizing resources the HRC wastes on their false alliance with the Democratic party leaves radical queers on the margins to fend for themselves. Our struggle has always had to resist the repression of conservative tendencies in government and society to gain liberation in our lives.
The gourmet affair was sponsored by 48 corporations including giants Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, and Wachovia Bank. At $250 dollars a plate the HRC served our movement a rich, white, heteronormative atmosphere that purposefully excludes working class queer folks.
REMEMBER THE STONEWALL RIOTS! On the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, pigs raided a queer bar in Texas, arrested and beat our friends, and we looked towards politicians and lawyers to protect us. This mentality is what keeps the money flowing to the HRC and their pet Democrats, and keeps our fists in our pockets.
Most of all we disagree that collective liberation will be granted by the state or its institutions like prisons, marriage, and the military. We need to escalate our struggle, or it will collapse.
~~Love and Solidarity~~
HRC headquarters was rocked by an act of glamdalism last night by a crew of radical queer and allied folks armed with pink and black paint and glitter grenades. Beside the front entrance and the inscribed mission statement now reads a tag, “Quit leaving queers behind.”
The HRC is not a democratic or inclusive institution, especially for the people who they claim to represent. Just like society today, the HRC is run by a few wealthy elites who are in bed with corporate sponsors who proliferate militarism, heteronormativity, and capitalist exploitation. The sweatshops (Nike), war crimes (Lockheed Martin), assaults on working class people (Bank of America, Deloitte, Chase Bank, Citi Group, Wachovia Bank) and patriarchy (American Apparel) caused by their sponsors is a hypocrisy for an organization with “human rights” in their name.
The queer liberation movement has been misrepresented and co-opted by the HRC. The HRC marginalizes us into a limited struggle for aspiring homosexual elites to regain the privilege that they’ve lost and climb the social ladder towards becoming bourgeoisie.
Last night, Obama spoke at the HRC fundraising gala and currently the HRC website declares, “President Obama underlines his unwavering support for LGBT Americans.” The vast amount of organizing resources the HRC wastes on their false alliance with the Democratic party leaves radical queers on the margins to fend for themselves. Our struggle has always had to resist the repression of conservative tendencies in government and society to gain liberation in our lives.
The gourmet affair was sponsored by 48 corporations including giants Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, and Wachovia Bank. At $250 dollars a plate the HRC served our movement a rich, white, heteronormative atmosphere that purposefully excludes working class queer folks.
REMEMBER THE STONEWALL RIOTS! On the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, pigs raided a queer bar in Texas, arrested and beat our friends, and we looked towards politicians and lawyers to protect us. This mentality is what keeps the money flowing to the HRC and their pet Democrats, and keeps our fists in our pockets.
Most of all we disagree that collective liberation will be granted by the state or its institutions like prisons, marriage, and the military. We need to escalate our struggle, or it will collapse.
~~Love and Solidarity~~
---------------------
THANK YOU!
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6 COMMENTS:
Great coverage!
I did a post the other day..
Barney Frank & The Innocuous Memes – Hey, Is That A Good Name For A Band?
Thanks!
Barney Frank and the Innocuous Memes...Hmmm...I envision a band with a New Wave-revival meets mid-90's crushcore aesthetic (with just a hint of anti-folk sensibility).
It also sounds like the name of a fictional band that would be in one of Araki's doom generation films...I'm specifically thinking about the movie Nowhere... Guillermo Diaz was in a band that opened for some other band called Sandy Duncan's Eye.
What I can't help but wonder is whether or not Queers Against Assmilation actually managed to achieve their goal?
Sure, they vandalized the HRC's headquarters and made their opinion known...to the select group of people who managed to get their before it was washed away. I was in DC the day of the March and hadn't heard anything about it. Even a few days after I still hadn't heard anything. The way I found out was through a little thing on the HCR's wikipedia page, other than that there was almost no coverage from what I could tell.
So did it work? Did it even matter that they did such a thing when it seems efforts have been taken over to keep it hidden from public view?
Tabatha,
I think that the answer to your first question, "whether or not Queers Against Assmilation actually managed to achieve their goal", lies in the question itself.
What WAS their goal?
If their goal was to send a message to the HRC--which seems to be at least partially the case-- then they clearly achieved their goal. A lot of queers do in fact feel that the HRC is "leaving them behind", and that message was sent to the HRC loud and clear.
Did it matter? If by "matter" you mean "cause the HRC to change its behavior", I'd have to say "no". However, if by "matter" you mean "spread awareness among marginalized queers and transgender people that they are not alone & that LGBTQ people do not all share the HRC hive mind", then I would say that it did matter. A lot.
You are correct that there was limited (if any) coverage by the mainstream media...yet the message DID get out despite tremendous efforts to cover it up. After all, here you are commenting about it, no?
Now, compare this action (presumably carried out by a small group of people) with the NEM. Sure, the NEM received some coverage in the so-called liberal media, but CNN's coverage of the NEM--a permitted protest with tens of thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands?)--was so underwhelming that it became the butt of a joke for the Daily Show. The White House then openly yawned at--and many would say "mocked"--the people at the NEM. The NEM was then promptly forgotten. Now, think about the relative amount of mainstream media coverage devoted to the comparatively few teabaggers at their town hall protests vs. the NEM. Seems a bit skewed, doesn't it?
So, after taking into account the obviously massive disparity between the numbers of people who participated in the NEM and the numbers of people who participated in the Queers Against Assimilation action- how would you rate each action's "success" in terms of disseminating a particular message and achieving its respective goals?
And glamour doesn't come for free all that often -- thanks for posting!
Love --
mattilda
Amen, Mattilda.
¡De nada!
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