April 25, 2006: As my listeners and readers know, I was a big fan of the planned attendance of LGBT families at the White House Easter Egg Roll. I thought it was important that we show America that our families are out there, and that we want and do the same “normal” things that they want and do. 

But I’ve been surprised that there’s been some criticism of the event by some LGBT people. (Although, interestingly, I haven’t heard any of that criticism coming from LGBT parents). Here’s an example of this viewpoint from Karel (just one name - like Cher!), posted at the Advocate.com.  Click the link to read the whole article.

That night I was on air at KGO-AM 810 San Francisco. It’s where I work. The show was going fine until a caller asked my opinion on the gay and lesbian families that showed up en masse at the White House for the annual Easter Egg roll. The caller, of course, thought I’d be gushing with positive emotions about this show of solidarity.

Say it with me: poppycock.

I thought it was the most ridiculous, unnecessary, and counterproductive show of unity that I had heard of in the past few years. It’s not that I didn’t want the families there. On the contrary, I thought gay and lesbian families were always there. I’ve read as much as I can on the Web and I could not find any “ban” on gay families from the egg roll in the past. Given that I thought we were incorporated into the masses like everyone else. I guess I was wrong; or if we were, I guess it wasn’t good enough.

Karel goes on to say, rather harshly, that “Using your kid to make a statement at the White House is downright despicable, and I for one would feel more shame than pride in doing that.”

“Despicable!” That’s a terrible charge to level at LGBT parents who - whatever Karel’s opinion might be - are raising their children in a sometimes hostile world and doing the best they can to make that world a better place.

I think Karel’s comments are mean-spirited and miss the point. Gay families make a statement everytime we go to the supermarket, the pediatrician or the park.  Karel suggests that instead of having some “big event” that the press was alerted to, that the LGBT families should have just shown up and talked to other parents who were there.

But those of us who are LGBT parents know that we sometimes do have to make big gestures and risk the condemnation of some to make progress. We’re not “using” our children anymore than African-American parents who sent their children on the first buses to all-white schools were “using” theirs. We love our children and we’re standing beside them to ensure that their families and families like theirs will have an easier time of things. That won’t happen by “blending in” or being afraid to stand up and be counted. Or by being afraid to roll eggs at the White House while calling attention to our families and the injustices visited upon us. Social justice doesn’t just “happen.” Oppressed minorities need to make it happen. I applaud the organizers of the event and the parents and children who attended.

(And I’m still mad about that “despicable!”)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 26th, 2006 at 12:59 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.