OnLine With Zoe

I am a sanctuary person, you are safe with me.

I have not talked about it much. It is not something I felt like amplifying. It would not help me or anyone. So from November 8 through last week, my light was flickering. I suppose I don’t like talking about things which have no whisper of a solution.

February 1st, I dragged myself to hear Rev. Dr. Barber. I have written about him, watched him, love him; never heard him in person.

Occasionally, the spirit just takes over, makes the healthy decision which is a clear demonstration that it is still in there. It is still oiled and ready to go. It may be asleep but not dead.  And so I got on the freeway and hoped.

Going in, I felt that there was nothing I could do about the changed direction of government, about the demolition of human rights, about the backlash.  I felt that at age 68, the equality, the equity, the balance I had invested everything in was vanishing.  It was an unmanageable loss.  It was so much larger than the loss of Sec. Clinton.  In fact it was a growing deadly virus that was unleashed and unpredictable.

You would think after all these years of meditation and study, that the fundamentals of Buddhist practice would have kept me afloat.  It is exactly that seeming failure that made recovery feel impossible.  I wanted to reassemble.  I wanted to get new lamps, fill them with new oil and begin anew as it seemed the old had disappeared, fallen to the trash heap, never to recover and serve again. 

And so it began.  He brought his axe and pick.  He dug in. 

As I told the Long Beach City Council, ~

Last week I had the immeasurable good fortune to hear Rev Dr. William Barber speak.
He was here from North Carolina to receive an honorary doctorate from Occidental College.
He is one of the founders of Moral Mondays, The Forward Together Movement and Repairers of the Breach.

He lives and breathes on the acute intersection of social justice and examined Christianity.
He told us many things that night.
He even got me to sing and clap.     He is irresistible. 

First he captured my mind with his deep understanding of how this moment in history predictably unfurled.
Then he nourished my soul with a call to care for the poor, disenfranchised and marginalized.

But most importantly, he lifted me from a spiritual dark despair by explaining that ~
This is not democrats vs GOP
This is not rich vs poor
This is not thugs vs righteous people

This is a crisis
This is a moral crisis
This is a moral crisis that has been born over centuries and lives in systemic racism, classism and sexism.

Today we are called to mind the light.
Today we are called to be the light.
This is the ultimate call to be a moral society, a moral people, beginning by being a moral person.

This is the moment when we demand morality from ourselves and let that morality pour forward as a beacon to light the way for others to find safety with us.  

Being a sanctuary city is the very least we can do.
To be a Sanctuary City does not just mean protection of those at risk.
To be a Sanctuary City is not just a public statement that we can proudly bear. 

To offer sanctuary to all who love freedom and liberty,
Opens our hearts,
Restores our souls,
It lifts our intentions and prayers above the law
And begins to repair our broken spirit. 

Let us be a sanctuary city.
Let us be a sanctuary to one another.
Let us be a sanctuary to ourselves.

To start, I am a sanctuary person, you are safe with me.

Raise the Rainbow Anaheim City Council June 21, 2016

I moved to Orange County in 1976.
I built a little bookstore in Cannery Village.
It was the time of John Briggs and Prop 6 (the state proposition to not allow gays to teach)
It was the time of the shooting of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone

At that time there were very few places where gay people knew they were safe.
Gay bookstores, Gay Bars and Gay only AA meetings.
These were the places to share lives, to speak openly, party privately.

You knew you would not be bullied.
You knew you would not be at risk.
They often had unmarked doors to keep their location secret.

In 1983-4 I was the Director of the Orange County Free Clinic which was here in Anaheim. 
We served gay people without question. 

In the 70s a young soldier from Kansas, while stationed in San Francisco, became friends with Harvey Milk.  He learned to sew and worked at the Paramount Flag Co. Harvey asked him to design a flag for Gay Pride.  It is suspected that flag maker, Gilbert Baker drew on the Wizard of Oz, Over the Rainbow as Judy Garland had just died.  Gilbert designed the striped flag we know today.

What happens to me when I see a rainbow flag?
My shoulders relax, I can breathe better, I see that there are compassionate people who are waving a message of unity and love.
I have one flying on my house.
When I see the rainbow flag in a civic setting, I know that the city leadership recognizes that this segment of society is at a particular risk and deserves a special symbol of welcome and celebration. 

On Sunday June 12,
49 of my children were murdered
They were your children
They were children of God
They were murdered because of who they loved.
They were dancing, I would guess a lot better then you or me.
But more importantly, they were in a safe space where they shake their tail feather, shimmy like their sister Kate, salsa like Ricky Martin, and just be themselves. 

Raising the rainbow flag means you see them. 
You have empathy.  AND you have PRIDE.
Maybe you don’t know but we have ways of signaling safety. 
When I see a civic space with Rainbow flags, I know that city values my safety.
I welcome you to feel this PRIDE with me. 

Fly the Rainbow Flag
49 Angels will be proud. 

Love Letter to Long Beach 2015

It was so alarming I could not take pictures. May 2, 2 P.M., 50 boxes were on the ground with nowhere to go. Two principle 6’ bookshelves had no wall space. No kitchen cupboards, no washer & dryer, no sofa. The sun was going down, a dozen people were trying to pile in whatever they could and an unrelenting inner voice kept whispering, “put it in the garage.” A bounding inner voice shouted, “there is no garage, there is no fence, there is no backyard.” The only smart stroke was that the gigantic poodle was overnight at her godmother’s house.

On the other column was that there were ten people organizing my new home. Before the moving truck arrived, one person had all of the technology up and running and two artists had delivered and arranged my mini-garden. Miracles began piling up in the form of things fitting within one inch or less; the desk, the Ikea shelves, the hangers, the shoes, the dishes, etc. Neighbors said hello as they walked up and down the street. Dogs and bikes. People speaking other than English and people who were not white. This was not the isolated island of xenophobes with Prop 8 lawn signs that was in my rearview mirror. This was Long Beach, this was Rose Park, this was the 2^nd most diverse city in the US.

In the course of a day, you might hear six disparate sirens. In the course of a month, you would meet 20+ people. In the month of July, you will hear 31 nights of fireworks. Locking doors is how it is done. Saying hello is the minimum. On a Saturday afternoon, you can hear 8 different music tracks reflecting the community. AND you can get the best Mexican food without crossing a street, right around the corner. As my friend Jean said, “This is truly urban living.”

Possibly the epitome happened in June. A man on a bike hollered into the house, “Hey can I buy one of your statues?” I stood on my porch and said no, they are not for sale. He said his mother liked them and wants one. I said, sorry, they are not for sale. The next day he came back and hollered in again. I went to see what’s what. He had a silver spray painted Buddha. He gave it to me explaining that he found it and thought I would like it. When I relayed this story to 2 local friends, they said, “That’s so Long Beach.” And now, after 8 months, I am accustomed to saying that to myself constantly, as friendliness rises up from the sidewalks, That is SO Long Beach. 

All new streets with the only familiar orientation being the ocean. The rising and setting sun assured me that I could not get too terribly lost. My GPS was my best friend. After a few google searches I noticed a pattern; nothing I wanted was more than 6 minutes away. The LGBTQ Center is 4.5 minutes. City Hall is 6 minutes. Vons and Ralphs are under 6 minutes and the master blaster was on a HOTTTT August day, there was a paleta shop 6 minutes from my house. Fifty flavors and no one spoke English. I got to stumble with my Buenos Dias, Muchos Gracias and Adios. It is no accident that the Museum of Latin American Art is 5.5 minutes, however the opening of the Frida Kahlo show was beyond an oyster’s pearl.

During Pride all of the statues wore rainbow leis. For the Dalai Lama’s birthday, I hung a Tibetan flag. Months later a woman introduced herself to me saying that she knew she wanted to know the woman in that house. You will find it hard to believe that she was saying it to a man who put up my flag pole and was my high school student in 1972. And just imagine, my letter carrier dressed as Dexter for Halloween delivery. The introductions began so fast and often that I had to admit I will never remember them all.

It’s a long, beautiful drive from Dana Rohrabacher to Alan Lowenthal. It’s a leap from posting support on facebook for $15 minimum wages to sitting at a city council meeting listening to workers stories of raising kids on $9 an hour. It is beyond my expectation that I know people running for City Council in my district and they know my name. I am bursting with national expectation over Hillary #45 but celebrating that now, for me, politics is local and I am engaged.

I did a couple of really interesting things in my new city and county. I went to a different church every week and I said yes to every meeting invitation for 5 months.

I have never had access to so many people who share many of the causes, ideas, and politics I hold. An organizer asked me to coffee which might have seemed normal to her but to me it was unheard of. I have stood in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel in protest, I have been on the Bluffs on World AIDS Day, I prayed in front of the courthouse for gun control. I read a poem at an open mic and spoke of an activist longevity at the Grrrl Collective. I have been welcomed at a Black Lives Matter meeting and talked on a panel on the Whitewashing of Stonewall. I have argued vehemently that transwomen are women and discovered that my lifelong friend is a living hero here in Long Beach.

 

My journey through the churches was equally rich and surprising. After one service on integration, I suggested to a woman that they might offer a Sunday service in Spanish, to be told that no one in the area speaks Spanish and that is why people live there. After the shooting in South Carolina, I took flowers to a service at the Grant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church to experience song and community as I have never seen. 
Surreptitiously, even to myself, I was searching to see if there was a place to begin public ministry teaching Engaged Buddhism. Almost unbelievably, the perfect multi-faith church is on the next block where I walk the dog most days.

All of this leaves me with two big unknowns. My new friend Kenny and I talk about it often. There is so much going on, how can one choose and where is the greatest opportunity for service. We want to do them all.

Primarily, Long Beach needs affordable housing for Queers; seniors and the homeless. I want to be a part of that long-overdue ground breaking. Personally, I want to use my fifty years of activism to inspire and advise high-risk militant change-makers.

Finally, I want to remember the names of dozens of people who know mine. Just today, as I was walking my dog, a neighbor shouted from the back of her house, “Merry Christmas, Zoe.”
Merry Christmas, Dusty.
Merry Christmas, Long Beach. 

We Are Just Getting Started

I am getting kind of excited about the LGBTQ Movement now.  Over the next few years, some shit is gonna break loose and humanity is going to advance a bit.  We go slowly.  Evolution is a slow go.  

There is a lot of hoopla with the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Marriage Equality judged federally legal.  Seems that the conservative het world is feeling a bit threatened.  So far backlash has been as unconventional as they can create which is, by their own default position, conventional.  None of the prophesied immolations or mass exoduses have occurred.  There seems to be a few dust-ups about pro-gay Walmart and Diet Coke ads but nothing like what the future portends.

So far all we have asked to do is behave within the conventional guidelines.  “Can we be just like you, sir?” 

Now we can bear arms against the enemy if we shoehorn into the men’s and women’s uniform and barracks.  We can kill whoever Congress or a President tells us to.  We can drive tanks, throw grenades, shoot flames, fly bombers and bring democracy to the world.  We can die and our graves at Arlington can be marked with a rainbow flag.

Now we can live two by two in track houses with our kids.  We can visit one another in the hospital, file taxes jointly, leave pensions and benefits to our spouses.  We can order a cake, put same sex toys on top and file for divorce in 4 years like everybody else.  Now we can have two husbands in a house or two wives can buy a family membership at the local gym.  We are practically normal. 

Sweet relief, now that we got the simple easy things done, we can get to the real work.  Now we want to demolish all things binary.  If you see anything binary ~ it’s got to go.  No more Male/Female radio buttons on an online survey, no more longeeeerrr lines at the women’s room at the sports arena, no more embedded constitutional bias excluding half the population. 

Now we want to assure full rights for people no matter their Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation or how often it changes.  Now we want to work, live, age, thrive no matter what pronoun we choose (yes, choose, not have assigned in the first 2 seconds of the incarnation).  We want to have consensual sex without imposed social precedence. 

Here’s the REALLY scary part, we are taking hets with us because their simplistic two pronged divisions are on the way out.  Now it’s getting interesting.  Yes, today we can behave within established social structures.  We can color inside the lines.  Tomorrow we want to erase the lines. 

Pray That Exodus is Over

Tonight I watched my friend Michael Bussee and my facebook friend, Sean Sala on Lisa Ling's Our America.

I am so fortunate that never, not for a single second, did I think that my attraction to women was a sin. Never did I think that it was wrong or sick. Now I want to tell every kid, every parent, everyone who will listen that it is a simple, wholesome, valuable expression within humanity. I believe with every breath that one day it will be globally accepted and seamlessly integrated. In the meantime, lets do all we can to speed that up.

I don't know Alan Chambers. I do know that he cannot change until words are outweighed by deeds. I wish him well.

Finally, I hope that SCOTUS will tell the nation and the world that all Americans have full access to all human and civil rights.

The Self Interview Unchained

I am not a fan of chain mail, email, posts.  I don’t respond in five minutes with six people I want to hug or send angels to rescue.  I don’t want to tell you my last meal choice, the one word to describe you or post what ten words I would say if you called for bail.  But ask me about writing, about my books, about “Intellectual Activism” in the words of Patricia Hill Collins and I will clear my desk. 

This fine morning Shannon Drury, The Radical Housewife, included me in a facebook post.  She had been enlisted by Sonya Huber, who asked about The Next Big Thing.   Sonya says, “Basically, I get to answer these questions and then tag five writers who I think are the Next Big Thing. Very cool!”  I concur.

What is the title of your book? 
The Engaged Heart ~ An Activist’s Life. 

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
How did I get from there to here? 

What genre does your book fall under?
Political Memoir
(I want to use Lerner’s phrase, Political Autobiography but Frey robbed us all of using the word autobiography and, frankly, memoir leaves a lot more latitude) 

Where did the idea come from for the book?
My practice is Engaged Buddhism.  I think the best way to talk about it is through the demonstration of a life.  I hope that my life, my story, my passion, as manifest in my political activism, will inspire, inform and possibly ignite a few activists who just cannot stop.  No, you can’t when it is your calling.  Lucky you.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
Microsoft Word took care of that, 1,410 hours at the keyboard and about the same amount of time sorting through my life.  I looked at every photo, every document, every Filofax 1985 – 2012 and all 515 blogs I had written over the last 14 years.  I made a 25 page-  two column outline of events of my life and then began to color outside the lines, off the page and on the walls. 
The most interesting thing was watching the events stream by like cars in a train, passing through some type of selection machine, awarding or discarding importance.  At 64 I was constantly surprised with what was significant and what was entirely forgettable.  Many things  I thought valuable deserved no remark and were flicked away forever.  Like sorting the attic, I organized my life.  It was industrial strength roto-rooter self-discovery.  I highly recommend it.     

Who or what inspired you to write this book? 
Doris Stevens, Lillian Hellman, Beatrix Potter, M.K.Gandhi, Paulo Friere, so many, so many.  But more honestly the answer is the tragedy, the broken heartedness of wanting to read a person’s own life story to find there is none.  What did SHE think about this or that.  How did She manage that disappointment?  Where did SHE find the courage to continue when nothing was working?  How did SHE not give up? 
The most incendiary thing for me was the movie, Iron Jawed Angels.  How could anyone represent Alice Paul as such an insipid fool?  And the movie, Milk which portrays Harvey as a single faceted human being when he was infinitely more.  The true story is always so much better than some watered down, product-placed piece of cheery fiction.  I don’t want to see the newly released acclaimed Lincoln once I read that the Black characters are slivers of their true selves. 
I want to know that Alice hid a copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry in her skirt when taken to jail and threw it at a window in the suffocating dining hall for a bit of air.  What was to be gained in showing her throwing a shoe as done in the movie.  Why invent a boyfriend?  Was Hollywood so unable to make a movie about a woman without a boyfriend?  Where is your political memoir, Alice?    

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
In 2001 I submitted my book about fasting for the ratification of the ERA.  I have a file of 28 rejection letters which all say the same thing, Dear Ms. Nicholson, Thank you for all you have done for the ERA and this wonderful book.  We could not sell a book on feminism in the current market.  Wish you all the best.  I did what I always do, what I like a lot about me – I did it myself.  I learned all I could about the professional production of books and started my own publishing company, Lune Soleil Press.  LSP is publishing The Engaged Heart. 

What other works would you compare this book to within your genre?  (I would amend this to say books that inspire)
Fireweed, A Political Autobiography
My Experiments with Truth
Autobiography of a Yogi
The Sun at Midnight
Cave in the Snow

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
I would so prefer a documentary, like the Times of Harvey Milk or Last Call at Maud’s.  But if I had to choose, it would be Rosie O’Donnell.  Maybe she could gain some weight for the role. 

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
The provenance of change is what consumes me.  How does it occur?   What pushes it forward and why does it stall or reverse?  Since change occurs from the inside out, the only way to see how it happens is to look inside.  I have dug deeply, told the truth and never opted to sweeten a telling. The goal was to excavate how a mind and heart change. 

Who or What are your Next Big Things?  
Wilder than any rollercoaster – I am a wreck waiting for it to come out.  I handed my pdf off to the designer, finished a successful Kickstarter campaign to finance it and contacted my printer.  Readers, reviews, who’s pissed because I did or did not talk about them.  Yikes! February it will be out in paper.  It is currently available in Kindle.

Now I am working on a new presentation, The Provenance of Change.  We need to understand change and consciously join with it.  Reproductive Autonomy, Full Federal Equality, Gender Equity and political representation = change at the speed of light rushing through the intergalactic Wi-Fi.  What a time to be alive. 

YOU - you are the next big thing.  What are you going to do now?  I want to see and cheer.  What is going to happen to women who want full access to political process?  What is going to happen as LGBT are visible in all segments of society?  What is the oppressor going to do as the oppressed are finding one another and uniting to say, ENOUGH is ENOUGH?  YOU are the Next big and best thing! 

Kickstarter Campaign to take The Engaged Heart to Print

Writing for a year, actually 1,410 hours, my 4th book is done.  Over 500 pages with 120+ pictures, The Engaged Heart is my whole life memoir.

When I started, I thought I would write it and offer it only on kindle.  The Hungry Heart and The Passionate Heart are available on kindle now. 

Then people started asking for a signed paper edition of the new one. They said they wanted to hold it, write in the margins, stuff it in a suitcase. 

I don't have the money for my designer to format for print (very different from kindle), a big print run or storage.  I investigated a bit and found out that my printer, Worzalla, offers both Print on Demand and recycled paper.  I can order in small affordable increments and will not have the problem of climate-controlled storage. 

Watching campaigns on kickstarter inspired me to give it a go.  With quotes from both my graphic designer and printer, $4,000 would assure The Engaged Heart would go to print.  I hope you will consider becoming a backer.  There are lots of rewards; signed books, postcards, movie screenings. 

Maybe you don't know what kickstarter is.  It is a collective funder which vets a project, posts serious ones, and only pays out if the goal is met.  In fact, if the goal not met, no one is charged for their pledge.  Stop by, pick out a reward and make a pledge. 

This is a wild ride but I already made my commitment.  Seems I made it a long time ago!  Thanks for pitching in and being a part of this latest adventure.     

I am the B in LGBT

ambiguous
ambivalent
changeable
confused
controvertible
doubtful
dubious
equivocal
hesitant
iffy
in question
inconclusiveness
indecisive
indefinite
indeterminate
indistinct
open to discussion
random
tentative
uncertain
unclear
undecided
undetermined
unsettled
unsure
vague

This is no accident
There is no quandary
I am not in a muddle
This is not a phase

When I am with a man I am not straight
When I am with a woman I am not lesbian
I am always bisexual
I am always queer

I love Paris
I love Mexico
I love New York
I know my mind
I am bisexual

I like Obama
I don’t like Romney
I demand federal equality
I deserve full civil rights
I am somebody
I am bisexual

I love red
I love sterling silver
I love Frida Kahlo
I wish I spoke Spanish
Soy bisexual

I like watching young men dive off the high dive
And young women play volleyball on the sand
I am the B in LGBT
I am bisexual

I am certain,
clear
decisiveness
definite
exact
resolute
sure
straightforward
don’t make me tell you again
I am bisexual

HAPPY BISEXUALITY DAY!

Radicals Need Some Rules to be Effective

I suppose there is some irony in the title, Rules for Radicals.  The public opinion is that radical changemakers are rebels, spontaneous, sometimes reckless.  Possibly it is best to leave it that way for the oppressors, put them off their game a bit, but for those of us who are truly dedicated to making change and pushing through the limits of convention, not having a real understanding of the paradigm of oppression, the ways change occurs, the internal game plan ~ there is much to be lost. 

There are always two parallel movements in USA Social Justice; the healing of the oppressed and the integration into society of the minority.  It is easily seen in the LGBTQAI movement.  As we work to end the oppressive laws and cultural prohibitions, we are called to care for those who have suffered at the hand of the oppressor; i.e. youth homes, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, anti-bullying campaigns.  In the VAW movement, we are working against H.R. 4970 which excludes protections for the women of First Nation, First Immigration, Queer Nation; but within the movement we have to care for one another with clinics, shelters and legal protections.  These are two very distinct movements that are forever intertwined and must run simultaneously.

As the movement speeds up, slows down, breathes through time; we rest, we march, we dance, we mourn, we fall in and out of love, we move, we want others to move, we can’t wait another minute and, yet, another year passes with no advances.  That is how it is.  That is the way it works.  People jump in and out, take a break to refuel, raise the flag and walk the talk. 

The question I am struggling with today is what is the best use of our precious energy, the true robust demonstration of our demands, the strongest push in the labor of this inevitable birth.  Losing the thread, emphasizing the unimportant, diminishing the gravity of oppression, excluding those most harmed, building too narrow a path for all of us to travel. This last week, two cherished minorities made some choices that I cannot resist addressing.

Dan Cathy, owner of Chick Fil A, made a strong anti-marriage equality statement.  It was a huge opportunity to demonstrate that the disenfranchised Queer Nation is working on establishing Marriage Equality for the entire USA.  The point of focus was conveniently all over the country, with open doors and long hours and good weather.  It was a real wealth of protest possibilities.  I stood on a sidewalk myself, supporting local groups and cheering on non-violent direct action.  Jon Stewart to Brian Williams all covered the cause. 

But it was within that coverage that the point of oppression physically changed.  The oppressor changed from Dan Cathy’s ideas to the media’s trivialization of his impact.  As the family values people lined up for some sandwiches, the media let the spin cement dry that this was about Dan’s limp sentence.  It was then that the radicals, the protests, the entire Queer Nation needed to move our powerful spotlight to the money.  Follow the money!  Aim that search light on the Money.  Dan Cathy’s power increased as we kissed on his doorway and had a fun time because the media was not following the CFA Foundation, his money, his alliances. 

Years ago I took Aikido lessons.  (true)  The best part for me was that the Sensei always showed us “right way.”  I am going to try that here.  I wish the changemakers had gotten the message after the opponents had lunch and moved the demonstrations to major media outlets.  Petitions, email, sit-ins, lines of fake money, articles about the CFA Foundation, highlight that Secretary Clinton was on her way to Kampala, Uganda to honor LGBT leaders, endless possibilities to hone in on the point of oppression: misinformation.  I believe that most Americans have no idea about the money line from their waffle fries to a noose – it is a very difficult association, as it should be.  It is the duty of the oppressed to make that visible.  As radicals (those who want change at the root) we have to be ready to move like quicksilver with the demonstrable issues. 

The second event that occurred this last week was Slutwalk L.A.  Reading the posts on Facebook, it seems like everyone had a great time.  It was a real push to pull off this event; permits pulled, location changes, limited parking, leadership shifting right up to the last few days.  It was a heroic effort for all involved. 

Like the Aikido teacher’s method, I want to share my dream slutwalk.  As my poem of 2011 reflected, all people who say no, mean no ~ have the right to say no.  All people, whose no is disregarded, are at risk.  The Toronto officer announced that those who are violated asked for it in some way and are responsible for their outcome.  My estimation of who that includes would be people in prison, hospitals, retirement homes, mentally challenged, children, anyone in an unequal relationship.  It is further illustrated by the US House of Representatives identifying several groups they want to exclude from the Violence Against Women Act; immigrants, LGBT, Native Americans.  And, one of the most at risk, women in the military. 

In the Slutwalk of my dreams, there would be women and men representing all of the identifiable high risk groups.  The reason being that it would demonstrate the parameter of humanity that is violated through the weapon of rape and sexual assault.  I think that we already got the idea that duct tape on nipples, torn fishnets, wearing crime scene tape is a fine representation of one group of people at risk – but it is a lost opportunity to not show the viewers – the breadth of those who are violated.  A contingency of seniors, of workers, of children, of military, of First Nation, of Dreamers, of LGBT all standing in unmistakable unity, as they are unified by their shared oppression, that is part one of MY DREAM SLUTWALK.  That would clearly identify who actually falls into the category of SLUT and how outrageous and immoral victim blaming is.  Secondly, there is no movement without allies, without converts, without bridges.  I really would love to see each person who is a champion of consensual sex walking and talking with a peace officer, an official, a health worker, a care provider, a legislator. 

There are rules for radicals.  A few that apply here:
Rule #1 demonstrate the oppression.
Rule #2 shine the light on the oppressor
Rule #3 move with the points of oppression
Rule #4 expand the circle of understanding and information
Rule #5 protect the oppressed as you wish the oppressor would do

CFA Foundation is supporting the criminalization of homosexuality
Media is talking about kissing and lines of pro-family-values eaters
Slut means anyone who is not in power whose consent is disposable

How do we as Human Rights Activists DEMONSTRATE this.

What the ERA Campaign Can Learn from the LGBT Movement

While the media and citizens are celebrating the lightning speed of the accomplishments of the LGBT Movement the ERA Campaign has a lot to gain by noting some key elements which contributed to this historically high-speed success.  Since I have walked both these lanes of the social justice movement for 40 years and in the last 10 come to the reckoning that all roads of oppression intersect, I have a few experienced insights I want to share.        

As I have heard and repeated so many times, social movements take over 150 years, the LGBT Movement broke through that barrier.  They really put their heads down and conquered the internet allowing them to create a true sense of urgency.  It has cut broadcast time, organizing effort and fundraising immeasurably.  However in the ERA campaign, many of our strongest supporters do not use facebook, youtube or Twitter.  Even more of an obstacle is that many pro-ERA people do not regularly use email which leaves them not only out of the information stream entirely but, even worse, thinking there is no ERA interest whatsoever.  This is a serious problem which carries a residual toxin of intergenerational division. In the future this will not be a problem, as in 10 years everyone will be using electronic communication but there is a lot of untapped strength and artificial unraveling right now hidden in the midst of this cultural shift. 

Second, LGBT mobilized internally on all cylinders; from liberal bureaucrats to street radicals - every level pushed the status quo with focus on particular issues.  Within the movement there was internal criticism about civil disobedience, arrest actions, marches, conferences all the way to loud disapproval of those orgs that wanted to slow down and build patient alliances with the White House.  All that rabble rousing collectively created energy.  

Third, the LGBT movement began paying attention and soliciting all avenues of support; corporations, members of Congress and the White House itself.  Relentless, sometimes illegal and sometimes elegant pressure, from Alonzo Mourning’s house to black tie dinners, the President was pressed with no end in sight.  It is well documented that his “evolution” was partially motivated by it. 

Fourth, they recollected their history which brought the movement heroes, gravitas, weight, pride.  It has had a tremendous effect.  Young people take pride in the Queens of Stonewall and the Daughters of Bilitis all the way to Lady Gaga and Lt Dan Choi.  Inspiring historic characters have been celebrated and movies made.  Layer upon layer, like the Names Quilt itself, have contributed to radical change-making.  History, from Stonewall to the White House Fence to hundreds of renown people coming out or announcing their advocacy, built an alliance and lineage.  

Fifth is the current day tragedies.  Terrible suicides and murders set hearts on fire but I would argue that every day that women are not in the US Constitution women and children die from inadequate wages, healthcare, loss of the comprehensive VAWA, too many things to list.  What is different is that LGBT brought issues into focus, connected dots and, though there was never agreement on how, there was always agreement on the goal.  

The ERA Campaign has so many things to our advantage; the ERA is already on the Democrat Party Platform, two strategies in play with bills in Congress (69, 21, 47, 39), stated support by members of Congress and the White House.  To our disadvantage we do not have singular focus, many of our women’s organizations do not dedicate any work on this issue.  2011, NWPC unanimously voted to have an ERA Liaison but does not have one, NOW does not have a lead solely dedicated to the ERA.  While it might be perceived as too thorny to take on because of different strategies, it is really quite easy – fully support them both - all as do Carolyn Maloney and Tammy Baldwin, authors of each. 

As a known champion of the ERA I am asked constantly, what is happening? Who is working it?  Why isn’t NOW making it front and center?  I think that the real question is why isn’t the entire country, which supports it by a margin of over 70%, on fire about this country advancing its position of women In leadership (ranking 72^nd globally) and constitutional inclusion.  While we invade other countries and insist on women quotas in elected seats and inclusive constitutions, USA merely writes her intention in a platform, on bills in every congress since 1948 and knows that we will never force the issue, that would be too messy.  Women haven’t stormed the White House Fence for the ERA since 1981.  We have not increased the number of women in Congress since then either. 

While I am not a fan of the phrase, War on Women, I would say their most effective weapon is they are certain nothing will actually guarantee women’s rights but full constitutional equality and that remains allusive, out of focus and sounds like some history lesson.  While women and liberation activists are busy trying to make every dollar = two, there is little time for such trivialities as the ERA.  I can say with total honesty, the LGBT movement never allowed such a notion to dissuade them. 

The LGBT movement had two pinpoint demands; repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Marriage Equality.  The opponent showed the reach of his hand with the passage of Prop 8.  That was the tipping point and, even though it was only about California, the entire Queer Nation rallied and in less than a year, held a national march on Coming Out Day.  Maybe the fact that it was California, incorrectly deemed the most progressive state, combined with removing a right already exercised by 1,800 couples, set all engines on warp speed.  I ask, what could be more inciting than the litany of egregious attacks on US women, from family planning to wages to seniors to education, etc. the worst of it is we are being attacked by a Gatling gun, dispersing any vision we should be holding precisely.     

To try to do my part, I am posting entries from my 1982 diary every day for 37 days here.  I do feel a mission to make sure this time is not forgotten. Though we did not win the ERA at the time, some extraordinary women and men contributed to the unfolding of Gender Equality.  It was a proud time when we truly practiced ALL HANDS ON DECK. There were fasters and civil disobedience and grassroots and legislative and bureaucrats and orgs and clergy and unity. It is a very inspiring time. Women and girls today deserve to know about it.  The current day women's movement needs to know about the radiant activism that has occurred along this long arduous path to equality. What you are doing now is in direct lineage, it is cumulative, Equality is on the way.