(Community Matters) During discussions about the White House & DOMA, Jim Neal, a colleague in LGBT advocacy & a former candidate for the US Senate from S. Carolina, mentioned a Friday night conversation with Dr. Pat Sullivan, a fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for Afro-American Research at Harvard University. Dr. Sullivan writes and lectures on the South and the 20th century civil rights movement.
She chided me- and you . . . . for passivity. Bluntly, sharply she criticized LGBTs as soft pushovers. An ardent supporter of the President, she said
“why the hell are you waiting for him. Turn up the God damn heat if you want equality; you need to give Obama political cover by challenging the Congress and the administration. Don’t take for granted that you’re entitled to your rights- you’re going to have get gritty and push back hard. Why are gay people serving in the military? Quit- that’s what John Franklin would have
done (actually, he refused to serve as a menial negro potato-peeler and faced imprisonment.) I’ve seen nothing to suggest there’s the will to do so. You’re too comfortable and scared.“
I have to say, this is not the first time I’ve heard from allies that we are unrealistic about our expectations that others will carry our water – whether presidents, congressmen or other civil rights organizations.
And, the exasperated calls citing frustration & most often citing all the money donated to the president, don’t necessarily come from those who give/gave. This isn’t to say the rest of us haven’t been raising hell about this latest issue – or that those who didn’t give or raise haven’t worked their asses off for years. Just observations.
Community Matters 