A Day Without Gay

The gay community is not going down without a fight.

From Boston Phoenix:

...On December 10 — International Human Rights Day — gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and their straight allies are encouraged to turn off their computers, shut down their businesses, and call in "gay" from work. Additionally, participants are asked to refrain from making purchases or spending money in any way, so as not to contribute to the economy. (Yes, the economy is about as stable as radioactive decay, but a single day of fiscal cockblocking isn't likely to plunge us further into collective financial distress. It's about making a political statement, not screwing the entire country out of fistfuls of Benjamins.)

In the wake of the Election Day Prop 8 debacle, and the subsequent worldwide protests over the yanking of marriage rights from under the feet of LGBT West Coasters, "A Day Without Gays" organizer Sean Hetherington is hoping that the efforts behind his strike/boycott will exhibit a blanketed stance against homophobic legislation, and anti-gay attitudes in general.

Instead of just reveling in a gay day off, Hetherington, a stand-up comedian and personal trainer who conceived of the protest day with his boyfriend, Aaron Hartzler, is urging supporters to participate in charity and volunteer work on December 10.

"When people stay home from work and don't spend money, like it's a gay Yom Kippur, that's sitting in gay shame," he says. "We thought, what if we show America how much service gay people can provide and we re-mobilize our community though volunteer work and service?"...

Well, I'm more interested in what some in the gay community will do for "community service." I hope some of the people taking the day off next week will actually use their time in a useful manner. Hey, here's a novel idea: maybe the gay community should actually spend their time reaching out to African Americans about their strong objection to gay marriage. Or even better, the white gay community should spend the day reaching out to LGBT people of color for once. Sponsoring a town hall meeting with gays and blacks in the same room. It probably would have been more useful if the gay community did this before the vote.

I mean, you know, its just a thought...