Gay Place

GETTING ALONG WITH THE BULLIES ISN'T REALLY GETTING ALONG Ahh, sometimes words over rice can yield such insight. Grains of wisdom from the young. Andy Campbell and I were having a post-workout nosh, and he said that very thing. A vigorous nod in agreement was had. A vigorous yet sad nod. For as far as compromise and conciliation go, it really is struggle and insistence that have dug us out of the dark ages of homophobic hegemony, not kissing the bully's ass. And yes, we could certainly go on at length about how this could be applied locally, but we'll save that for another time. Nationally, we've got our hands full, now don't we, gays? And the "let's play pretty" folks have proven that tack to be nothing more than a way to broker their own watered-down influence, power, and gain while keeping the noisy queers in line. It sucks how much we oppress our own. Equality Across America is taking shape. Born out of the post-Prop 8 Join the Impact and the National Equality March, the activist hub has one single demand: Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. The local arm of the group is having planning meetings every Monday through mid-May. Join them? (See Monday.)

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