Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bullying, counter-protest, discrimination, It Gets Better, Westboro Baptist Church, youth
It’s National Coming Out Day, and although I don’t normally celebrate any special days, official or unofficial, I wanted to share a song that has been incredibly important to the development of my attitudes toward my own queerness, as well as queerness in general.
Fagatron is a queercore band from Arizona, and their feisty attitude was something I immediately gravitated toward. That attitude has been something I’ve been feeling a lot lately, particularly during discussions with acquaintances about an upcoming visit to our community from the Westboro Baptist Church, which is infamous for its rabid anti-queer picketing.
I’ve also been talking a lot about the It Gets Better project, which I think is an amazing and noteworthy effort (see one of those videos below). While I appreciate the perspective and effort put into these videos, and while I feel this encouragement is something many – if not all – queer youth desperately need, the videos leave me somewhat disappointed. Rather than encouraging direct response and confrontation – which, granted, isn’t condoned by most parents or any school districts – they reinforce a passive stance toward bigoted aggressors. Standing up against bullies is scary, particularly when you don’t have a support network. But recognizing that it’s okay to fight back, that you are not the one at fault for defending yourself, and that no one should have to bow their heads and meekly endure a horrendous high school experience simply because they want to keep peace is an option that’s not recognized in any mainstream effort to reach out to queer youth. Taking matters into your own hands and defending your personhood simply isn’t mentioned.
So, here’s the song. Here’s some information about local counter-protests to the WBC crew on October 21 (and yeah, we’re taking them seriously, because in spite of the fact that they’re totally bat shit crazy there’s a significant and powerful chunk of the American public that agrees with the ideas they’re expressing). And here is a little piece written by my partner in further explanation of our combative attitude.
http://www.porkchopsandapplesauce.org/fagatron.mp3
Mikhael’s rant!
I back anyone who wants to hold a sign, stand at a protest, blow kisses, throw rocks, throw fists or shoot guns at these people. Whether you use “peaceful” protest or desire a much stronger and more effective way of eliminating these people, I support you. I do however think you are a fucking imbecile or just incredibly naive to think that ignoring the WBC is going to solve this issue or make them “go away.” Your moralism and obvious distance from their attacks personally makes it easy for you to believe in some sort of higher ground, but in the struggle to exist and exist freely and equally, there is no moralism. There’s only a desire to exist and that means doing any and every possible thing to do so. Telling anyone what they should or shouldn’t DO is the position and the words of someone who is not involved in that struggle or has been brainwashed by those who are not. Your choice to do nothing is your choice, as it was for everyone who chose to ignore the first Israeli settlers who started kicking Palestinians off their lands and the synagogues that supported it, or any number of other situtations. You might think the WBC won’t gain any power like that, but you have to understand that the many religious fundamentalists, Christian and otherwise, that occupy the U.S. already believe that homosexuality is a sin and disgusting. The main reason the WBC is really disliked is because they hate America and soldiers. You are blind to character of the majority and their inability to think for themselves. You have too much faith in people, and you will find my lack of faith appalling. I hate to break it to you, but I’d rather kill a bigot than take your shit seriously. Even Ghandi beat his wife. Your ideas are ignorant, ineffective and naive.
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UndercoverQueer 
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