Moving Past Homophobia
Most of the local newspapers covered the story of a break in at the administrative offices of the gay community center in Kingston. The facts were spelled out crisply and the damage was not underplayed.
My reaction to finding that our temporary office space had been vandalized was anything but straightforward. After all these years in the movement I didn’t expect the feelings it evoked. Every homophobic assault I had ever experienced or witnessed came back in a surge of anger, shock and sadness.
Some would have us believe that such acts are isolated incidents, that homophobia is clearly waning in our communities. If that’s true, it is in part, the result of local community groups working on a grass roots level with their neighbors, their schools, businesses, and local agencies. Such work is powerful and efforts to sustain that work must be supported.
However, our best efforts are yet to be realized when confronted with the hostile political climate we face today.
Take, for instance, recent election cycles and the amplified rehetoric that accompanies them.
The President and nearly half of the Congress will continue to play the gay card. They would have the country believe that the very foundation of the Republic will collapse under the strain of same sex marriage.
The reaction of many is to see the ploy for what it is. The reaction of some is to perceive that they have permission to take action against our community. The public statement against the Federal Marriage Amendment issued by the parents of Matthew Shepherd made a direct link between the kind of anti gay rhetoric of national leadership and anti gay violence that took the life of their son.
Our Pride celebrations are over, the vandalized office space is restored, and the work of providing a Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center has been energized. Maybe homophobia is waning in our communities. Whether it is or it isn’t, we must continue to educate until it is eliminated. We must provide safe spaces for our young people who know, first hand, that ignorance is a bully. We must build bridges to agencies that have, for too long, ignored the unique needs of our community. We need be able to come together in a common space to celebrate our rich and diverse culture. We have learned too well that the human spirit cannot survive and flourish in the shadow of discrimination and homophobic outbursts.
That being said, we can look back with pride but we must also look ahead with the determination to build a Center worthy of our strengths and responsive to our needs. Δ
- Ginny Apuzzo