When someone says they are now finally becoming active in politics and helping to get candidates elected because they do not like where the country is, I wonder if they realize that the mess they are reacting to was allowed to become that mess partially because they did nothing to prevent it or to get someone in office who might have done the right thing.
When someone tells me they don’t get involved actively in helping candidates or attending the meetings where their ideas could at least be heard because no one listens any way, they remind me of people who claim they never played the lottery because they have never won.
When someone who has been historically inactive while constantly criticizing those who have at least tried to get the right thing done and now claim they are motivated because in the past others have failed them, as if the active people were somehow working for them as they sat back, I lose all respect for the opinion they expect me to accept merely because they expressed it.
During the opening decade of this century, the “aughts”, the owner and writer of GAYOKC.COM, an Oklahoma City based online GLBT news blog, organized a yearly event called “The State of the Community” at which those individuals and organizations who had fought the previous 12 months to bring about GLBT equality would sum up what had been attempted and how that attempt worked out, or didn’t, and what they intended to do during the coming year.
Most people do not realize that the majority of progress in the fight for GLBT equality does not begin with a donation accepting, national organization, but, rather, an individual who acts where he or she sees the need.
As a result, advocates in most cases are unpaid volunteers whose work benefits others, most of whom they will never meet, and their action is aided by other like-minded volunteers to a greater or lesser degree.
Such was my case when advocating for GLBT students in Oklahoma City.
I am of an age that was in those years familiar with Straight and Gay men and women, bisexual men and women, and, because I had a neighbor in Boston who rented a floor in the brownstone next to mine in the South End, and with whom I had spoken often as we sat on the front steps of my building or hers, I had learned much about Transgender people, and living in Oklahoma had become familiar with Two Spirited People. I was advocating for the inclusion of the words “sexual orientation”, and later “gender identity” as well, in school district policies, assuming that they were inclusive words, inclusive enough to encompass any type of orientation that I might learn about later but was unknown to me at the time.
During the summation of my efforts at the “State of the Community” gathering, I interchanged the word “Gay” with the letters “GLBT”, as that was simpler than listing all the categories in full, after explaining to the audience that I would probably settle on Gay as it was the quickest label, and in doing so I was not leaving anyone out, but just using the shortest descriptive.
In spite of at least half a dozen superintendents, changes in School Board members, a bevy of reprimands, multiple appearances before the Board by many people, at least one connected death, possibly two, some rather strange behavior on the part of administrators, including “Family” members, and some of the most far fetch arguments in opposition, some progress was being made.
After I was done, a hand shot up, and when called on by the moderator a young person lectured me that I was failing at what I was attempting and I was not as inclusive as I pretended to be, after all, I may have said “GLBT” and “sexual orientation”, but I was doing nothing for the group this young person belonged to. I hadn’t once mentioned “Inter-sexed”.
The accusation was that I was not doing my job as I should have been doing.
I first had to explain that I had been advocating for a number of years for something I thought was a no brainer, was easily accessible as I was known in the community, and had spoken at the Young Gay and Lesbian Youth Alliance and other gatherings on a number of occasions, so anyone with a concern had had ample opportunity to speak with me and make suggestions, offer advice, or inform me of anything with which I was not familiar. I then explained that I was not a paid employee who as expected or required to represent everybody especially if I was not aware of a particular group’s existence as I was of an age and all where I, too, was expanding my knowledge of various orientations. I have since learned about non-binary, gender fluid, and gender nonconformity, but at that time those were new and emerging categories that I needed to be educated on.
I further explained that “sexual orientation” was, to me anyway, inclusive, and no one had, up until that point brought up “inter-sexed, and perhaps the person could educate me on the subject.
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He refused because I had already ignored his group, so what good would involvement be anyway, and I never saw him again anywhere after that. And worse, no one elf identified as inter-sexed ever spke to me.
I have to assume he was pleased that he was covered under “gender identity” when that as added to school district policy. but I never found out.
This, to me, i indicative of a major problem.
People sit and watch others trying to influence politics, and in spite of having multiple opportunities to be involved, find excuses to sit back and watch, prepared, however to criticize those who are at least attempting to get things done.
Recently I was told by someone that we progressives needed to get it together for the 2020 presidential elections, and that progressives had to come up with a viable platform, but when I reminded this person that we also need to pay attention to the 2018 mid terms, I was told that he had written them off because he did not believe progressives would have it together by then. I asked if he had attended any of the numerous progressive gatherings in the area, but he was content to explain he had lost any hope in party politics, so, no.
It is people like this who are like those who sit at home yelling at their TV sets during some sporting event as if they can influence the game, and then yell at the coach and players for not listening.
If you are not involved, you give up any right to complain.
And, if you have the opportunity to be involved but choose not to, you have absolutely no right to evaluate the the performance of those who are at least trying to get things done.
I will be honeat. I have no time or respect for these people.
.