THE FEAR FACTOR

While I've never been an advocate of violence (although Sarah Palin does inspire some very dark thoughts), I firmly believe that the possibility of violence and it's associated fear factor is an essential ingredient in the fight for civil rights.  Think civil rights version of "The Nuclear Deterrent".

History and Washington have whitewashed--you should pardon the expression--the American Civil Rights movement with iconic images of Gandhi-inspired Martin Luther King peacefully marching through the streets of Memphis, Selma and Washington.  But as anyone who lived through that era will tell you, as important as King most certainly was, he was but one of several important soldiers in the movement, and most of the others were anything but pacifists.  And part of King's attraction and popularity was the alternative he presented to a very angry and militant scenario.

Malcolm X, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton and Angela Davis were among the many crusaders for civil rights who were not pacifists and in fact instilled the American people, the FBI, the White House and Congress with the fear factor; and although we've recast American Civil Rights history as a pacifist, non-violent movement  to suit the myth makers of both races, the truth is that violence and, more importantly, fear of violence did as much if not more than "non-violence" to further the cause.

Not even a Civil War achieved the degree of progress enjoyed by Black Americans after the race riots of the mid-20th Century.  It was a strategic tactic that well serves the Black community even until today.  Barack Obama would not have achieved what he has thus far achieved if not for the fear factor.  The warm fuzzy subservience of Stepin Fetchit. Mammy and Aunt Jemima would never have enabled an African American Presidential candidate.

Just sixty years ago, the Jewish people changed their status overnight as citizens of the world.  Two thousand years of persecution, running and genocide ended in a matter of hours when in 1948 the downtrodden and nearly extinct Jews of post-Holocaust Europe turned themselves into what eventually became the most respected military force of the 20th Century.  United in rage, an unimaginable Jewish army crushed the combined military might of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Yemen in a matter of days.  The Arab League called for the final extermination of  Jewish people; the Arabs believed they would finish the job begun by Hitler.  But by the end of World War II, the Jews had learned their lesson, no more negotiations, no more pacifism, no more quiet prayers.

And then came fear factor, the deluxe edition, the Jewish Bomb; and let me tell, that fear factor is mostly what stands between a global and thriving Jewish community and yet another Holocaust.  Never again, the clarion cry.

So here's a thought.  Is the fear factor of what to wear to the next HRC gala really going to deliver equality, even under a President Obama?

The fear factor is the bridge, in my humble opinion, that  would span the endless divide between second class citizenship and equality for gay Americans.

So it was with great envy and frustration that I read the news out of France this week that French police have placed radical gay militants under surveillance ahead of tomorrow's visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the land of barricades and revolutions.

French queers have tapped into the Fear Factor and good for them.

Eager to avoid a repeat of the condom shower that greeted the Pope in Sydney, Australia, in July, certain gay activist groups such as Act Up are being closely watched in the run-up to the visit.

French security officers will be placed on maximum alert during the Pope's stay in Paris and the pilgrimage site of Lourdes.  Sure, this is also out of fear for what mythic Al Qaeda might do, but fear of queers is also on the table.

Some 6,000 police and other security forces will be covering the event in Paris and during the Pope's visit to Lourdes, an AWACS aircraft, fighter-jets and anti-missile batteries will seal off airspace extending some 20 kilometers around the city.  Of course, this is also very much due to fears of attacks from radical Muslims and Al Qaeda-linked loons, but the very idea that French security forces associate the same Fear Factor with queers and Osama's minions represents, in my view, a major advance in the fight for equality and rights.

If you actually believe that hobnobbing with Cynthia Nixon and top shelf booze is going to counter the likes of Sarah Palin, you also likely believe that slavery was a safe and Christian place for simple-minded darkies.

So will this essay put me on the FBI Watch List?  I hope so.

I can think of no honor greater than to be on a list with American Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos who gained international notoriety at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games when they delivered the Black-fisted Black Power salute on the podium during an awards ceremony, leading to their expulsion from the games and their inclusion on the FBI Watch List.  Smith and Carlos became iconic symbols of the Fear Factor.  Where are our Fear Factor icons, providing the angry images that will make homophobes think twice?

Comments

[Alan down in Florida]

I have no answer to your question though I agree it is an appropriate even necessary one for the asking.

I think what it comes down to is a question of economic class. The majority of our current (self-appointed) leaders are from an economic class which offers them the opportunity to work for gay causes whereas the average GLBT community member needs to toil at the kinds of ordinary low to middle paying jobs that have no employment security in the greater majority of states. These people are too busy trying to keep food on their tables than looking for a place at THE table. Too busy trying to live their lives than wanting to live THE life.

[Rex]

You and Denny got it right. I was one of the peaceful white demonstrators in the 60s and it wasn't until the emergence of the Black Panthers and riots following Kings assasination that the majority of white folks realized that if they didn't address the problem it was going to get far worse for them than for people of color. Trouble is the neighborhoods we've spent all our spare time restoring, remodeling, bringing back to life are not for burning! And the suburbs where most of the enemy lives are better protected than our homes. Vigilanties seem to be making a come back right now what with all the citizens on patrol groups springing up in every city. Maybe we could do the same thing. We are citizens and the statistics are there proving we need to protect ourselves. Of course we aren't going to get any support from the upper middle class organizations we already have. They are the pacifists. We shall have to start one city at a time, one weapons and defense training class at a time. One patrol group on the streets every night of the week. With all the ex-military people we have in our culture we should be able to find the human resources to put it together. Anger we got. But Action requires more than emotion.

[Joe]

I would say this group is a perfect example of a gay militant civil rights organization that isn't going to take the BS any longer -http://www.pinkpistols.org/