Nothing in our collective struggle since 1969 has been more
dispiriting than the need some gays have had to deprecate the
initiatives of others seeking the same ends. The rage-filled
experience of the Gay Liberation Front in New York 1969-1971, whose
members emotionally terrorized each other, cautions that one should
criticize other LGBT rights initiatives and activists only where the
rebuke will serve the greater good. Put-downs don’t do any good in any
respect, in contrast to volunteering for Maine if that’s what you think
should happen.
I share the conviction that Maine is the top priority in the near
term, especially for New England neighbors of the folks Down East. Even
so our movement needs to regenerate for the long-term. Movement 2.0
that started with Proposition 8 and the movie Milk is real and is
drawing a new layer of activists into the struggle begun at Stonewall.
These emerging Millennial Generation LGBT leaders will bring the dream
of equality in all 50 states to fruition in this century.
In collaboration with our friends in Mass Equality, Join the Impact
MA aims to recruit a new wave of activists who can help out the No on 1
campaign in the crucial final weeks. And win or lose in Maine, our
movement will soldier forward toward the objective of full equality in
all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states, as long as it takes.
