Out in the Mountains

 

Acacia: The Lesson to be Learned

Winston Brathwaite is a gay activist.
He refused to accept the discrimination that
was leveled against him and went public
with his fight for justice. He has spoken
about homosexuality to students in the
classroom and worked to dispel the myths
they might have. He was interviewed in the
campus newspaper, in the Burlington Free
Press, and even in theBoston Globe, letting
the world know that what Acacia did was
wrong and that gay people are good people.
He has become a symbol of courage and
pride for gays and lesbians here in Burling-
ton and around the Northeast.

Not everyone thinks that what Win-
ston did was a good idea. Some complain
that he brought too much attention to the
gay community and that he should have
kept quiet. Others say that while fighting
for ourrightsisimportant, demanding them
from bigoted institutions like fraternities is
a waste of time. Finally, there are those who
feel that while we should try to end bigotry
everywhere, using legal means (i.e. “forc-
ing people”) is counterproductive.

These are valid concerns, but they fail
to see what it is that actions like Winston’s
accomplish. With the first concern it is
obvious why this is so. All of the gains
made by the gay community in recent his-
tory have come about because we fought
for our rights, because we refpsed to keep
quiet. To say now that we should hide and
hope the hets forget about us is to deny our
own progress and jeopardize what gains we
have made.

Ti 9F‘PB'°ED.AY[.i.E°R OUR.
I NEX-gT‘lSSVUE 

    
   

12

The second concern, while telling us
that we shouldn't get our hopes up too high,
is no reason not to try to live whatever kind
of life we want to live. The first black
pledges at all-white fraternities surely
didn’t think they had much of a chance, but
they pledged anyway, and now at last we
have integrated fraternities. During our
lives we might be denied certain opportimi-
ties because of our sexual orientation, but
we shouldn’t do the denying ourselves.
Leave the bigotry for the bigots. Who
knows? We might even be wrong about
them.

The third concern is the most convinc-
ing. Because of this, we must think more
carefully about it before we can see why it
too misses the mark.

In addition to those who wrote for or
against Winston’s actions in UVM’s cam-
pus newspaper, the Cynic, there were those
who tooka more neutral stance to the whole
affair. These students were in favor of
positive social change, but were also con-
cerned that criticism of the fraternity would
be counterproductive. They wanted us to
realize that the individuals were not en-
tirely to blame, and instead see that society
and the times we live in also contributed to
the problem. They asked us to “give it
time,” warned that“forced compliance will
only cause resentment”

While this last point could be true,
what we’d accomplish in the long run by
“giving it time” would really be much less
valuable to us than working with the law
now in order to “force” people to respect
our rights. When we as gays and lesbians
demand justice from people in power (be
they campus administrators or judges and
legislators), the object is not so much to
ascribe blame or guilt to the bigots who
have hurt us. It is not so much to change
people's heads or to make a major political
statement. Instead, its purpose is to end
 Laws can't end prejudice,
but they can stop the prejudiced from hurt-
ing other people. If we are appealing to the
law, that should be our goal.

Now it might be true that demanding
justice is not the most effective way to
educate the straight population, but doing
so is certainly much more attractive than
the alternative of simply igngmtg acts of
bigotry until this group has matured enough
to police itself. Give someone a choice of
thirty years of discrimination during which

they are refused job opportunities, housing,

medical care, and are beaten up every now »

and then and a choice of fifty years of
resentment during which they cannot be
denied any of the above basic rights and
have legal recourse against hate crimes,
and they’ll take the fifty years of resent-
ment.

This is why we shouldn't be afraid of
demanding our rights even though it might
be considered “too pushy” or “politically
untimely.” Education to end prejudice is
important, but not when it’s at the expense
of those who are the victims of that preju-
dice. Justice under the law is our right as
American citizens and we shouldn't treat it
as though we were asking for a favor. This
point is especially important to realize now
as the Gay Rights Bill becomes more and
more of a possibility. The passage of that
bill will mean nothing if no one is willing to
stand up for the rights it will grant us. Many
detractors of the Gay Rights Bill claimed
that we had no need of it - the current laws
were enough, they said. Not to use that Bill
once we have it would prove them right.

Not everyone can be an activist. Many
of us can’t even admit to our families and
friends who we really are; to expect every
member of our communities to stand in
front of a judge demanding equal treatment
is unreasonable. Some of us are in positions
where we eat; actively fight against dis-
crimination. When we are at so much risk of
having our rights violated, it is very danger-
ous not to make use of that position. In a
democracy, we have an obligation to be po-
litical. If we aren’t, we allow those who
already have the power to make the deci-
sions about us for us. And if we allow this,
we get what we deserve - more of the same.

 (from page 4)

rewarding and wonderful as my association
has been with the Boston group, it is justtoo
far away.

If you live in this area (Keene to White
River Junction) and are interested in dis-
cussing the formation of some kind of
Christian community, please call me. We
could discuss the formation of a Dignity
chapter or some other type of formal or-
ganization, or we could simply talk about
how we relate to our own churches and set
up occasional meetings for mutual support.

Charlie, (603) 542-6837