(no subject)

[rm]

While there are a hundred reasons why straight people openly specifying that they are straight and also support the rights of GBLTQ people to marry their partners is a useful thing, think of the power of this:

Just saying that you support it. Without mentioning your own damn orientation.

Because I know it's not always or even often distancing when someone says, "I'm straight but I support gay rights," but trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me, when I tell you that's what it can feel like from over here.

Just try saying it without qualification. Picture _that_ as an LJ meme. You know?

Comments

[askeladden.livejournal.com]

Hm. There's definitely truth in what you say, but for me the "I'm not gay, I swear" factor is trumped by the "you pick on my friend, you answer to me" factor. Assertions of rights are doubly strong if they're made by both interested and disinterested parties. If you're not sure what you think about the issue and you only hear gay people (or people you assume are gay because they don't state otherwise) saying, "Give me what's mine", it's easy to write it off by saying, "Well, of course they're going to say that, but what do normal people think?" When advocacy is coming from all sides, it's harder to dismiss out of hand. The converse of this is seen in disability issues, where frequently self-advocacy was overshadowed by external advocacy. Disability rights leaders rightly adopted the "nothing about us without us" creed, which made sure that external advocacy wasn't their only recourse, but without rejecting it altogether. With respect to gay rights, I think it's important not to project too insular a front, and I think letting our straight allies identify themselves only strengthens the message. It all comes down to Niemoller for me. I don't think acknowledging difference is the root of the problem. What we need is a universal precept that would overrule perceptions of difference when necessary to preserve human rights, but which would otherwise allow for as much diversity as possible.