THIS IS A SWORN OATH AGAINST THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF OUR BELOVEDS We are gathered here today to lay to rest the fear we feel daily, to be proud and to remember our fallen and to continue our struggle. We remember where gay pride originated, as a commemoration of Stonewall. We remember Stonewall as it was: a police riot, with our trans family at the front lines. We remember this fierce opposition to the violence suffered by queers and trans survivors at the hands of the police, the state, and as a result of homophobia at large. We have seen since Stonewall an increased political visibility for gay people in the United States, an increase in quality of life and safety for some. But these advantages are extended only to those who choose to affirm the patriarchal institution of marriage, to seek recognition from the state and permission to murder in its name, to remain complacent in the face of capitalism and quiet in the wake of crisis. The good life, LGBT-style, remains out of reach for most poor queer and trans folks, queer and trans people of color, and any queers and trans that refuse assimilation. We insist on commemorating the history of queer and trans struggle against violence, a history of which Stonewall was a watershed, because otherwise we risk turning Pride into a celebration of our domestication. We gather here today not only proud but outraged. We offer this intervention as a lament against the pacification of queerness in a time of unrelenting violence. THIS IS A MALEDICTION AGAINST COMPULSORY HETEROSEXUALITY, AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY, AGAINST PATRIARCHY AND MOST OF ALL AGAINST GAY CAPITALISM: AGAINST A CAMPAIGN LED BY THE LGBT INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX TO ASSIMILATE QUEERS BY IMPOSING IDEALS OF MARRIAGE, MILITARY SERVICE, AND STATE RECOGNITION. THESE IDEALS ARE NOT OUR GOALS. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE NEED AND WANT. WE WANT THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF CAPITALISM, OF TRANSPHOBIA, OF PATRIARCHY, AND OF WHITE SUPREMACY. WE WANT QUEERNESS TO TERRIFY STRAIGHT PEOPLE BECAUSE WE LIVE IN FEAR EVERY DAY. (via Pride intervention « Baltimore Feminist Reading Group)
(via navigatethestream)
