Ok, so maybe I can't help but continue to express my ultimate disdain for HRC time and again. They truly are the great evil within the queer community, in my mind. Not even gay Republicans get to me as much as HRC does.
Here's the thing. I liken HRC to the Democratic Party. These are the people who are SUPPOSED to be on our side. And yet, every time there's a major decision to be made, and you just think logically to yourself: "What could the worst possible outcome of this be?" You will always come up with the solution that both of those organizations give. It's exactly how I knew that Cardinal Ratzinger was going to be the next Pope two months before the old Pope died. "Who could possibly be the worst candidate for the papacy?"
Now don't get me wrong on the whole Democrat thing. It's really not like I like the Republicans any better. But to some extent, at least the hardcore right-wing Republicans have a stance that makes sense. You know, it's like ultimate evil. You see somebody running around trying to cause as much damage as they possibly can, and at least you know where they stand, you know? There's no guessing that they ARE, in fact, out to get you. So they have coherent policies and mission statements that are all centered around trying to get you. It makes sense in a logical fashion in that way.
The Democrats, however, don't make any sense to me. Like the fact that, a few years ago, they ceased putting money into outreach programs for the queer community and the black community. They pretty much figured that queers and blacks will vote for the Democratic candidate anyway, so why spend money trying to court their votes? At the same time, they left the fundraising committees doing work in those communities in place. So we're not good enough to be courted for our votes, but yet you'll leave infrastructure in place to take our money? Gee! Why don't I just go and vote for YOU!
My friend David, back in the last election, or maybe it was the one before now. Man, time is really passing by quickly here... Anyway, David had once stated that the Republican party does well because their dialogue is always centered around "energizing their base," which means catering to all of the zealoutrous absolutist Christian nutjobs who, as stated above, are really and truly in politics because that's how they can get at us. In the meantime, the Democratic party has always taken the position, election after election, that "We need to appeal to the center."
I like to think of this as a card tower, if you will. One side of the tower is leaning heavily to the right. Instead of counterbalancing by having the other side lean to the left, it instead ALSO leans to the right. You know, to fill in the middle just a bit. What exactly happens to that tower?
It's why I still continue to see American political discourse shifting consistently and inexorably towards the right. The reason is because there's no leftist political discourse whatsoever. Our positions just aren't being heard, at all, because they've been left on the side as having been deemed irrelevant. But when people such as myself who want to join a political party because we, I don't know, actually want to believe in the actual standpoints and goals of that party, decide to defect from the Democrats and join in with the Green party... Suddenly we're Public Enemy number 1 for the Democrats! Suddenly it's OUR fault that they lost. Because, you know, all of those people in the center who keep on saying "I just didn't like that Democratic guy. I could never tell where he really stood on any issues" weren't giving some sort of indication of where the fault of political discourse within the Democratic agenda lies...
Anyway, done with that analogy. Back to me hating on HRC. And before you get your panties in a bunch saying how biased I am for having been a strong Task Force supporter for so many years, then sure. Of course I'm biased. However, the facts remain the same. How is it that an organization can consistently make poor decisions like making back-room deals to allow for the exclusion of the Trans community in bills like ENDA, and yet face such little financial pushback from our own community? Sadly, it's because of one of two things, either of which is just as scary as the other, from my perspective.
One is that people just really don't know, and perhaps don't care to know, what it is that most of the organizations on the political field today actually DO. They don't really know who HRC is, or who the Task Force is, but since HRC has their own little store and market around their cute little blue-and-gold equal sign that they put on everything, then they win the PR war. The Task Force's color pallet hasn't quite caught up yet.
The other thing is that people know, and yet don't care. Or that they actually believe that the Trans community is disposable enough to be written out of legislation. The whole "let's get ours" crowd. Granted, I'm very far from the idealistic young political queer that I was in college. I don't have that belief in the possibility that we, as queer people, have the opportunity to be better... Well, actually, I do still. I just recognize that the vast majority of the queer community excels at allowing good opportunities to pass them by.
Yes, I know. I'm very jaded. But if you're regularly reading this, then you love me for it. Or this is your last trip to read my blog before you realized that you just really don't want to have anything to do with me. In that case, please take a flyer on the way out, and we have some lovely parting gifts. Wait, what?
The Task Force, in the meantime, definitely takes a lot of heat within the community. Like all of the marriage fanatics who believe the organization should make itself a one-issue wonder and screw all of the rest of the needs of the community. Now I won't go off about marriage right now, but I'm sure that all of you are aware that as a feminist-identified, polyamorous bearish queer father of two girls who I am raising with two lesbians, it's hard for me to see how marriage might really make my life any better. Or anybody else's, really. There are just so many other OPTIONS. But again, who wants options? As I said before, the vast majority of the queer community loves to allow great opportunities to simply pass them by.
Regardless, the reason I wanted to post this blog was because of one very simple realization that just kept hitting me as I attended Pride this year. HRC hasn't changed at all. They're still using the same tactics that they always ever had. And for years, my friends and I would always either joke or complain, depending upon which mood had been striking us, that during Pride season, HRC would round up every little pretty-boy twink that they could muster, and send them out in droves with clipboards. For a very long time, it was quite effective. To some degree, it still is, though much less so lately.
Because here's the thing that I noticed. Ever since the relative mainstreaming of the bear community, I think that HRC's outreach efforts have faltered a little bit. And not just because of the fact that HRC has failed miserably on dealing with overall queer health issues, building self-esteem and pride for different body types, hasn't reached out to all of the bears who are into leather, kink and the like, or any of the other things that have caused the organization to completely ignore the bear community. But mostly, HRC doesn't seem to have its same outreach muster because, throw a goattee onto a twink, and you've still got a twink.
Sorry HRC, but this bear ain't biting...
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