Organizers have called for December 10, International Human Rights Day, to be A Day Without a Gay. The official website recommends that LGBTQ folks boycott work on Dec. 10 and spend the day volunteering for a social justice cause.
While I'm all for coordinated actions that promote visibility, I have to say I'm a bit ambivalent about this campaign. Perhaps it's the fact that many--perhaps most--American workers don't have the liberty to "call in gay" without some consequences for their jobs in this perilous economic time, and those that do are probably already lucky enough to be in a work environment where diversity is respected. (Interestingly, there is already quite a debate raging on this exact issue on the Day Without a Gay discussion board.) Or perhaps it's that I think *going* to work on Dec. 10 and organizing your friends and co-workers to do something to support the fight for gay rights can be just as useful, if not more so.
So, if you are one of the many people out there who can't skip work for any number of reasons, or, like me, you're a grad student with the economic power of a potato chip, here are five suggestions of alternative/additional actions you can take on Dec. 10 to support gay rights.
1. Go to a protest, organizing meeting, teach-in, etc. if one is being held in your area, and invite some friends to go with you. (I know there is already a demonstration planned for San Francisco; I'm sure there are others I don't know about.)
2. Wear a t-shirt/sticker/button/armband/whatever showing your support for gay rights AND (this is the important part) talk to people about why you're wearing it.
3. Organize your friends/co-workers/classmates/whoever to go to a screening of Milk (but NOT, for crap's sake, at a Cinemark theater). Don't just go see the movie--plan to go out for drinks/food/coffee afterward and talk about what you learned from it.
4. Send a message to California legislators to support State Senate Resolution 7 (Leno) and Assembly Resolution 5 (Ammiano),which would make it official state policy to invalidate Prop 8.
5. If you're gay, come out to someone new. (If you're wondering why I included this, see #3 first.)
Great ideas Laura, thank you.
ReplyDeleteIn my community, we are encouraging supporters to go to work and, after signing it themselves, to encourage two of their co-workers to sign a petition for the "Common Ground Initiative" which is a set of proposed laws in Utah that would provide civil rights to LGBT people in five different areas.
We will also be doing volunteer service work during the day (for those who work different shifts, are self-employed, are work-at-home moms & dads, etc.) and during the evening.
We are not advocating "don't participate in the economy" because most of the businesses in our community are either gay-friendly or at least neutral. During the worst recession since WWII it doesn't seem wise to hold a nonspecific, one-day boycott.
All the Best,
Mark
I love that plan, Mark. Good luck with your actions!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Where are you writing from?