Gay Power

This post commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City.  I'm a day early, but what the hell.  Considering there's a dinner for us tonight to wish us farewell as we head to the U.S., I doubt I'll be in much shape to post anything coherent tomorrow. 

Like so many others, I am amazed at how fast and how far we have advanced in the U.S. when it comes to gay rights.  Yes, it may seem like the pace could be quicker, but we live in an age of impatience, fueled by technology, consumerism and an increasing fear of ennui. 

When you compare our struggle with that of other disenfranchised demographic groups throughout history, you see that we have indeed come a long way baby, and within a relatively short amount of time.  I, too, get bogged down in the struggle, but I say let's rejoice in the fact that we are advancing.  It may be a game of checkers, but we're making headway.

But back to Stonewall.  I was recently directed toward a remarkable letter written by the well-known author Edmund White to a couple of his friends only weeks after the riots took place.  It provides a shimmering glimpse at the beginning of one of the most historic and heroic "call to arms" we have seen in the modern era.  Below is an excerpt.  The full letter can be seen here.  I encourage you to read it. 

Saturday night, the pink panthers are back full force. The cops form a flying wedge at the Greenwich Avenue end of Christopher and drive the kids down towards Sheridan Square. The panthers, however, run down Waverly, up Gay Street, and come out behind the cops, kicking in a chorus line, taunting, screaming. Dreary middle-class East Side queens stand around disapproving but fascinated, unable to go home, as though torn between their class loyalties, their desire to be respectable, and their longing for freedom. Sheridan Square is cordoned off by the cops. The United Cigar store closes, Riker's closes, the deli closes. No one can pass through the square; to walk up Seventh Avenue, you must detour all the way to Bleeker.

Comments

[urspo]

it takes a long time to change a culture, but change it will - step by step, year from year. I have Hope.