CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR
Going Public
(reprinted, with permission, from Everybody's News, Issue 558, May 28, 1999)
by Michael Blankenship
This issue of Everybody's News marks my first anniversary as the Conscientious Objector columnist, and a year's foray back into the queer/progressive political scene after a few years on the artsy-fartsy sidelines. Is that too much? Well, maybe it is. Is there a conflict of interest? No. The interests for me are all interlocking.
Most of us respond to what affects us personally. If you can write about it, or talk about it, or sing about it, express it in visual terms or action, and can share these expressions with others, you feel like you're accomplishing something. If enough people feel the same way as you, there's a real chance you could. But first you've got to go ahead and throw those raw ideas out there. And there's a good chance your ideas may need to be refined. That's the risk of a public life.
You'll get responses back. There are some people who will not agree. Big surprise. There are some people who will love everything you do, and others who will hate anything you do. And to get anything done requires a good dose of democracy, with a booster shot of Stalinism. Finding a balance of both is "The Art of the Possible."
It's pretty easy to just sit back and bitch about what's wrong, or what's not being done. Writers do that all the time. Activists are supposed to go the next step. To have any public credibility you need to transform negative words into positive action. And that's when you enter the physical realm of politics. If nothing is happening, then what are you willing to do to change that? If you don't like the choices available (there's a good chance many others agree), then what option can you present?
Many times we don't know how we really feel about something until we actually have to put it into words. We'll stumble through an underbrush of different approaches before we detect the faint traces of our path for a clear statement. Then we may be surprised at how it sounds. If you can articulate something the "right" way, it resonates. Now you're not just thinking for yourself, but considering the perceptions of others. The politician uses his theories of the perceptions of others as a way to build a base for political intent; by necessity the artist must do the same. While political parties and activists seek to mold and invent perceptions, and carefully control them, the artist is out to shatter them, or re-invent them.
Words can do all kinds of wonderful things that actions can't. A simple catch-phrase like "Support Our Troops" conveniently skips over those who would protest the policies that might have brought about the need for those troops, and instant solidarity is created, what Noam Chomsky called "the manufacture of consent."
But words can also have nasty edges to them that somehow always manage to cut someone no matter how much you might try to dull them down. High school kids today will use the term "queer" nonchalantly to identify themselves, and use the term "gay" derisively to point out something silly or ridiculous, saying, "Oh, that's so gay!" Quite a shock to a whole generation of men who had invested so much of themselves in the obliteration of the word "queer," and in the idea of being "openly gay."
And in the "gay community," there is no end to the little mine-fields or booby traps just under the surface. We don't want to jeopardize our private privileges for public responsibilities, and would sabotage the efforts of those who would place such privileges at risk. Most activists who venture here don't last for long, and after a couple of concussions they're usually on their way. Unfortunately, that's about to happen again. I understand Lycette Nelson will be leaving Stonewall Cincinnati in July.
Lycette has been one of the bright spots in our community, and while I have not always found myself in Stonewall's cheering section, she has been one of the most capable, understanding and approachable executive directors the organization has had in recent memory. Her presence there will be missed. It is a considerable task for Stonewall to find someone equally capable of the demands the job entails. It is also a time for Stonewall to re-assess itself, and decide its image and style for the next few years, instead of relying on it to be provided for them. Whoever's going in there should have some understanding of what's expected of them, and what they can expect in terms of shaping policy.
There is certainly no shortage of wannabe policy wonks in this town, and so perhaps it is also time for the more voracious varieties in this stagnant, queer little backwater town we call Cincinnati to rise to the surface and present themselves as the community leaders they would have us believe them to be. Most of the time they'll swim out to the flats, just to thrash about, kick up a cloud of mud, and then return to the comfort of their favorite rock. Or pick at an old carcass drifting near the shallows. But having critics isn't all that bad. Their points of view provide perspective for navigation. And you never know what strange looking bottom sucker might have swallowed a pearl.
