Comments on: Gay rights activist calls for march on Washington

By: CHUCK HURLEY

CHUCK HURLEY — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:57:16 +0000

you are an inspiration for all gay people i will be there marching and being proud of who i am no more will be in shame, no more will i hide, IM HERE IM QUEER AND THERES NOTHING THEY CAN DO

By: Anne Dohrenwend

Anne Dohrenwend — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:14:01 +0000

Obama is making a march a requirement. We have to march. That is clear now.

By: Exor L Cote'

Exor L Cote' — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:55:40 +0000

PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED! WE NEED A TIME TO MARCH AND THIS IS THE TIME WHEN WE SHOULD PUT OUR DIFFERENCES ASIDE AND JOIN AS ONE (lgbt) ORGANIZATION! KEEP THE MARKETING INFORMATION COMING SO MORE PEOPLE CAN ATTEND AND BE COUNTED IN THIS LIFE EVENT.
KEEP UP THE MOMENTUM, LET US SEE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE MARCHING FOR EQUALITY!

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:35:14 +0000

>For all the naysayers – marches do impact the public and they unify the groups marching. It has been 40 years since Stonewall this month – we have momentum with the vile Prop 8 ruling, we have been trying peacefully for 40 years to “talk to our neighbors”

You’ve got it completely backward. The early post Stonewall effort was to live in ghettos and use marches. The “talk to your neighbor” part is fairly recent. When you watch “The Times of Harvey Milk” or “Milk,” notice how radical his suggestion was to go to Orange County to campaign and to participate in the debates in Orange County.

I never really thought about this before, but during all the heat and intensity of the fight to win marriage here in Massachusetts, there weren’t a lot of marches (non that I participated in). What I remember was a *lot* of Internet activity, writing to legislators, “bring your family to the state house” days, targeting our opponents and working actively for their defeat, actively working for people who voted with us, and…yes…talking to our neighbors.

It’s a lot like the Obama campaign. Yes, there were big crowds, and they looked pretty on TV. But almost everyone credits the Internet campaign, the way they didn’t micromanage individuals who ran local campaigning efforts, and the Howard Dean strategy of campaigning way ahead of time in Red states (similar to Harvey Milk’s idea to take it to Orange County).

The marches are such a small part of how things work. Have your march, but don’t neglect the other things…build a bridge to those other things.

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:21:00 +0000

>Marches on Washington do do something. They get us counted by the federal government. They energize the people. And they give those who never marched before a chance to feel connected to gays the country wide.

Yeah, I’ve heard this before.

Remember that we used this rhetoric a lot before the Internet phenomenon, when people could more easily connect across geography…like we’re doing right NOW! And, I don’t know about you, but my wallet being $300 lighter made me feel fairly connected to the California LGBT folks around Prop 8. The marches aren’t the best way to rally people anymore, IMO.

I’m mainly concerned that people go to this event, march, party like crazy, feel as if they’ve done something, and not translate it to further action. Kind of like sending someone a “lil plant” on Facebook and thinking that they’re actually doing something to stop global warming. If you can build in some mechanism to help people to tap into local organizations and efforts once they get home, I could get behind it and call it a “worthwhile party.”

By: John in Austin

John in Austin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:30:18 +0000

ITS TIME TO MARCH!!! Set a date….get HRC involved, get the marriage equality groups involved, get gay.com and the advocate involved. Set a date and book the mall – AND LETS DO THIS!!!!

By: Ted Larson

Ted Larson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:14:10 +0000

I just happen to agree with @Jazz11 and @mdc.philly that if, and I say if there should be a march on DC we must look like your average Joe and Jane. I would have been at the march at Independence Hall back on July 4, 1965 wearing a suit and tie, even though I would have loved to have marched in my Navy uniform, but Uncle Sam had other plans for me that day.
Would a march in this day and age be effective? I don’t have the answer. I do feel that if the numbers were larger than any other march of any kind previously, it just might do some much needed good. If the numbers are low, it will look like we can’t even get our own act together. A strong key point is solidarity and unity. Yes, there is strength in numbers.

By: btinc

btinc — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:49:08 +0000

What a waste of energy. Does Cleve really think in this economic environment that hoards of the LGBT and friends community really have the wherewithal to fly to and stay in one of the most expensive cities in the nation? I participated in the last two marches, but this one is ill-conceived. The money would be much better spent in localized grassroots action than in a poorly-attended national march.

By: Lincoln

Lincoln — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:48:00 +0000

I agree with the comment about Drag Queens and Dykes on Bikes. While I enjoy a great Drag show and leather, it is not what we need to present to the public when we are trying to make a statement. All the public ever sees from PRIDE is the more colorful and off beat nature of our population. This can be and is a turn off to str8s. What we NEED is a HUGE crowd of average looking people and their families fighting for the right to be the average American. It is hard to be taken serious when we look like a bunch of party animals.

By: anon by force

anon by force — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:11:32 +0000

Well, it’ll be a long walk. I’d better go find some sneakers.