A little history lesson

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I'm currently appearing in a production of Jon Maran's play, The Temperamentals about five of the founders of the Mattachine Society.

Many people date the gay rights movement in North America from Stonewall. And while the Sacred Throwing of the Parking Meter (tm) was, indeed a nexus in our history, fully twenty years before Stonewall, on the other side of the country, other people were organizing politically as well.

So, sometime when you have a few minutes, do a little reading about our history before Stonewall:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Human_Rights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattachine_Society
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daughters_of_Bilitis

If you have more time, look through the files that the FBI have released concerning the Mattachine Society:

http://vault.fbi.gov/mattachine-society

I think the reason Stonewall is regarded as sparking the gay rights movement is because it was the first time we actually got aggressive and in-your-face with our tactics. Plus, it began during a time when other social groups were organizing and protesting for their rights, so they probably felt more motivated to do the same.

The play sounds interesting. Keep us up to date with it, okay?

Stonewall was not the first time of 'family' getting aggressive and 'in-your-face' any more than the 'bra-burning' incident was the first time 'radical' measure were used for strides in feminism goals, any more than the Montgomery 'Freedom' bus ride was the first time in fighting to secure rights for 'black' people, or any more than the defeat of Custer had been the first 'real' effort Native Americans had made towards retaining their very lives. The enhanced attention/'common-news' aspect of these events are the results of media choices and manipulations (and, yes, even if somewhat more 'grassroots' than today's 'media machine', media manipulation was in full force even that 'long' ago).

'Media' includes such things as what's taught in the schools and colleges (not just the television news, magazines, newspapers, today's Internet, etc.) in the efforts of 'manipulation'. How else would there be entire chapters (even entire books) dedicated to the 'Columbus discovered America' myth (when such a traveling has been proven as having occurred before he ever even entered the 'scene' -- and without the error of thinking docking was taking place at India!) when efforts at those times were actually geared toward empire-making? How else would so little mainstream educative effort be put into so-called 'Women's' issues (probably more accurate to term them "Human" issues than the too-often mislabeling of these items as 'alternative') in comparison to what's been deemed 'important', 'relevant', or 'appropriate' to 'family'?

I've made these comments to point out the folly of believing historical pictures that're engendered and informed by 'media' mechanisms and mentality (we are NOT getting 'the truth...the whole truth...nothing but the truth'). One such historical picture is the Stonewall event. Common sense alone would tell us that there's no way in hell Stonewall would have included people following through for the first time on the behavior attributed to Stonewall (i.e. 'aggressive', etc.). 'Fighting back' most definitely would have happened (and indeed DID) much sooner than that event ('our people' are as spirited, angry, repressed, diminished, furious, outraged, rebellious, concerned about each other, change-hungry...in other words: as MOTIVATED as any other group has been/is to improve quality of life). It's important to know that such a history didn't just start at that point - our history is MUCH, much older, more in-depth, more tumultuous, and has many more victories (as well as grievous 'failures') than just the occasional 'sidenote' that Stonewall represents. And any literature that states Stonewall was the 'first' in anything at all...is an attempt (conscious or not) to cut readers off from their extended history. I, for one, know that my 'sisters' and 'brothers' did not sacrifice 'passivity' ONLY within/right before my own lifetime. That has great significance to me and, if I allowed someone to influence my thinking into believing Stonewall was the first time for anything re the 'gay movement', I would have a rather hollow feeling inside me...thinking that 'my people' haven't been developed/cultured for much of a period of time. - Not a good feeling, not a good 'thing' to allow.