Gay rights were a dominant topic in the news this weekend, as tens of thousands gathered in Washington for a march, and as President Obama spoke to a thousand people attending HRC's black-tie gala.
Two themes stand out from all the coverage: the visibility of a new generation of activists who turned out for the march, and general disagreement over how President Obama is -- or is not -- dealing with gay issues such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Passing the Torch.
According to Corey Johnson, and activist and blogger for Towleroad.com, and reported by the New York Times, "...the march represents a passing of the torch. The points of power are no longer in the halls of Washington or large metropolitan areas. It's decentralized now."
Yes, a torch has been passed, to be sure. InsideHigherEd.com reported today, "Students from as far away as the University of Southern California and as close as George Washington University put down their books, rescheduled midterm exams and skipped team practices to bring student voices to the calls for same-sex marriage and an end to the military’s ban on openly gay service members."
That's the way it should be. Marches and mass demonstrations are often about younger activists. I attended the 1987 March on Washington at age 25 and barely out of the closet. Mass gatherings are often an entry-level way for people to get involved with any movement.
These large-scale events serve a purpose. They show strength and force. They can get media coverage, as this weekend's march certainly did.
But do they the real power to influence the people with the real power? I'm not so sure.
Where's the Power?
I both agree and disagree with Mr. Johnson's comments.
Yes, this was a passing of the torch to today's twenty-somethings. And yes, some of the work is decentralized. There's a lot happening at the local level, as I'm coming to appreciate with my recent pro-bono work for SAVE Dade, a human rights organization in Miami. This is important work, because meaningful change happens slowly and incrementally. And locally.
(One of the criticisms of the march, actually, was that it was diverting resources from local campaigns around the country. While I understand the power that a march can have, we're in the worst environment for fundraising. Local groups of all stripes are struggling, and I'm not sure money spent on a national march, at this time, was necessarily the right thing to do.)
Where I disagree with Mr. Johnson is the idea that points of power are no longer in Washington or large cities.
While local efforts have influence, let's not be nieve. Legislative change is only going to happen in Washington. That takes money. And where's the money? It was in the Washington Convention Center, where HRC held its dinner Saturday night. It will be at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach this Saturday when the Lesbian & Gay Task Force holds it's annual dinner.
If you took a look at the registration list for that dinner on Saturday, I bet you would find that most of the attendees live in Washington, New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami...you get the picture.
There's money in them thar hills.
The reality is that any movement needs many strategies. It needs younger activists taking to the streets, just as many people did in the early years of the AIDS crisis. It takes people joining HRC or the Task Force or SAVE Dade, or hundreds of other groups. And it takes the people who can make -- or enable -- large campaign contributions to politicians.
Let's face it: like it or not, money talks.
Giving the President a Pass?
The other central theme of the weekend was the president's (perceived) immobility on gay rights issues.
Everyone expected Obama to kill DADT within days of arriving in the White House. Clinton tried changing the military's policy early in his administration. The deplorable policy we're now trying to overturn was the result.
The new-car smell of Obama's presidency is fading and people are going after him on many issues. It was to be expected. He's not the Messiah, for heaven's sake. He has a terrific mess left by the Village Idiot who lived in the White House for eight years. It's going to take him more than a year to clean it up.
The president took the stage on Saturday night reiterating his pledge to overturn Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But he didn't offer a timetable, and that's what has a lot of people's knickers in a twist.
Frankly, I don't blame him. He's got a train wreck of an economy he's trying to fix. People are out of work and losing their homes. He's doing battle against the entrenched medical community by attempting to overhaul the health care system.
He's trying to repair world opinion of the US (OK, I think the Nobel was a tad premature). He's trying to get us out of Iraq, while at the same time make thoughtful decisions about escalating our involvement in Afganistan. Iran and North Korea are reading to aim nukes at anyone and everything.
And if that's not enough, he's got the rabid Fox News attacking him at every turn.
Would I like to see him tackle gay issues right now? Sure. But I don't think he's wrong about taking action. He's got a lot -- probably too much -- on his plate at the moment.
This is my president. I voted for him a year ago and would vote for him again today. He's smarter than I, so I have to trust that he eventually do what he promises.
I agree with HRC president Joe Solmonese's call that we take this president at is word. As his letter to supporters said, "It's not January 19, 2017."