First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to everyone for taking part in Dec. 10, whatever form that took. There is some mixed coverage of the event in the media and I thought it was important to share these thoughts:

1. The fact that there was some confusion of what exactly we should do that day does not reflect a long-term weakness of our movement. On the contrary. In one sense, it's good for the rank-and-file who make up a mass movement not to feel constricted by their leaders. Second, it reflects the healthiness of our movement, the fact that initiative is coming from below. The traditional gay rights organizations are not the only ones dominating the movement. And the fact that many thousands of people DID participate shows we ARE looking for every opportunity to act and win.

2. We were not going to have an ECONOMIC impact with our boycott the way immigrants are able to, simply because immigrants form the basis of our economy in a way that LGBT people don't. However, our goal was NOT simply economic: it was (1) to show the LGBT movement is inspired by another recent genuine mass movement, the movement for immigrant rights in spring 2006, and (2) to assert to our family, friends, and co-workers we ARE gay, asserting our equality and raising awareness - similar to the "coming out" campaigns promoted by Milk and others.

3. Next time, let's couple a national coordinated action with rallies. People are less capable of taking bold initiative when they feel they're asked to do so individually. We need to feel our power in numbers. When the Court hears legal arguments during the spring, let's mobilize thousands from across the state to rally at the Court and have an economic shutdown that day by LGBTs and our supporters.

- Ronald Cruz, Berkeley Law student, an organizer with the antiracist group BAMN which organized rallies in the Bay Area to overturn Prop 8 and win the Dream Act. BAMN.com/undoprop8

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