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Why 2nd Class Citizens?

There has been much discussion about our suggestion to wear t-shirts that read "2nd Class Citizens" at the upcoming Light Up The Night vigils, so we wanted to explain the reasoning behind why we believe it is an appropriate, impactful message.

We also want to point out that we most definitely do not require that you wear this message at the event...what we do require is that you have peaceful gatherings focused on starting positive conversations about equality. Please weigh in with your thoughts by creating or adding to a thread on this page.

So many people still don’t understand what we are fighting for. Here’s some examples of the “unequal protections under the law” that the LGBTQ community faces:

We can not fight for our country without hiding who we are In many states (like the recent law in Arkansas) We can not adopt a displaced child in need of a home and safety In many states, we can still be fired because we are gay Our rights in Washington do not stand when I cross the border to Idaho. Therefor, if my partner were to fall ill on a cross country trip, she or he would be alone in the hospital and I would be powerless. Partners cannot share insurance in many states In many states, people can be murdered because of their sexuality, but their murderer will not be tried for committing a hate crime A loving couple can share a home, but if one passes, that home can be taken from the other in states where shared property rights are not available. LGBTQ couples cannot sponsor their partner to stay in the country if one is not a legal US Citizen Finally, a couple can share their lives, share expenses, share good times and bad over many years, but they still cannot gain the equal protections and recognition that two strangers can in one drunken night in Vegas. 2 Strangers + 1 20 minute ceremony + $50 + 10 shots of tequila = Holy Matrimony and 1st Class Protections Under the Law… now who’s crazy?

We can not fight for our country without hiding who we are
In many states (like the recent law in Arkansas) We can not adopt a displaced child in need of a home and safety
In many states, we can still be fired because we are gay
Our rights in Washington do not stand when I cross the border to Idaho. Therefor, if my partner were to fall ill on a cross country trip, she or he would be alone in the hospital and I would be powerless.
Partners cannot share insurance in many states
In many states, people can be murdered because of their sexuality, but their murderer will not be tried for committing a hate crime
A loving couple can share a home, but if one passes, that home can be taken from the other in states where shared property rights are not available.
LGBTQ couples cannot sponsor their partner to stay in the country if one is not a legal US Citizen
Finally, a couple can share their lives, share expenses, share good times and bad over many years, but they still cannot gain the equal protections and recognition that two strangers can in one drunken night in Vegas. 2 Strangers + 1 20 minute ceremony + $50 + 10 shots of tequila = Holy Matrimony and 1st Class Protections Under the Law… now who’s crazy?

Here are some words from mattflanders, founder of LGBTQ Civil Rights Front and JointheImpact team member:

There has been much debate about the t-shirts. We don't want to put on something that labels us as less than. It's painful. It doesn't feel like we're being true to ourselves to accept the role of a victim. That's the point people!!! The message on the shirts is already serving its purpose -- firing you up and starting a discussion. The point of the shirts is not that we are labeling ourselves but that our government and the voting majority has labeled us, and we aren't happy about it. You should be pissed off at having to wear the shirt -- the label. Absolutely. No matter how first-class you feel inside, our government does not see it the same way. That is the message we're trying to get across. Please read the following definition: "Second-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there. Second-class citizens have limited legal rights and civil rights and are often subject to mistreatment or neglect at the hands of their putative superiors. Instead of being protected by the law, the law disregards a second-class citizen." I'm sad to say, but it sounds spot on to me. Wake up! Stand up! Speak out! If you don't like the shirt idea, that's fine. Don't wear it. But show up and do your duty. In many states we can still be fired for being gay. We can still be denied housing for being gay. There are states where we can't adopt. We can be beaten, and our attackers won't be prosecuted for hate crimes. We can't fight for our country. We aren't afforded over 1,100 federal rights and privileges that other Americans get when they marry the person they love. We should be angry at having to wear a label we don't accept. But we should do it to prove our point.

There has been much debate about the t-shirts. We don't want to put on something that labels us as less than. It's painful. It doesn't feel like we're being true to ourselves to accept the role of a victim. That's the point people!!! The message on the shirts is already serving its purpose -- firing you up and starting a discussion. The point of the shirts is not that we are labeling ourselves but that our government and the voting majority has labeled us, and we aren't happy about it. You should be pissed off at having to wear the shirt -- the label. Absolutely. No matter how first-class you feel inside, our government does not see it the same way. That is the message we're trying to get across. Please read the following definition:

"Second-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there. Second-class citizens have limited legal rights and civil rights and are often subject to mistreatment or neglect at the hands of their putative superiors. Instead of being protected by the law, the law disregards a second-class citizen."

I'm sad to say, but it sounds spot on to me. Wake up! Stand up! Speak out! If you don't like the shirt idea, that's fine. Don't wear it. But show up and do your duty. In many states we can still be fired for being gay. We can still be denied housing for being gay. There are states where we can't adopt. We can be beaten, and our attackers won't be prosecuted for hate crimes. We can't fight for our country. We aren't afforded over 1,100 federal rights and privileges that other Americans get when they marry the person they love. We should be angry at having to wear a label we don't accept. But we should do it to prove our point.

And here are some thoughts from Dan Borroff, a phenomenal gay rights activist and participant in Chicago Gay Liberation during the time of Stonewall:

When I saw the reaction to '2nd Class Citizen' I was instantly reminded of two events. I was at one and deeply affected by the other. The first was the action Chicago Gay Liberation took at the American Psychiatric Association's convention in 1971. We were contacted by a group of gay psychiatrists, a secret group because homosexuality was listed in the DSM. It meant you were insane and could not practice. Two anti-gay researchers were making presentations. They wanted our help. They would get us into the convention so a protest of their un-scientific methods could happen. I was one of 10 people in what may have been Irving Bieber's talk. We were each assigned a number. At 10 minutes into the talk person # 1 was to stand up and object to the research. This would force the houselights up so security could remove the protester. I think I was #4. It was terrifying. We could be sent to the notorious Cook County Jail. More than that I thought it was one of the craziest things we had ever done. I was sure the psychiatrists would react in anger at our lack of respect. When my time came I blurted out something, mostly non-sensical, until I was escorted out. One of our group never emerged from the room. Afterwards she said she had sat down before the house lights came up. The people around her pointed in several different directions to security. They gave up. Two years later the recommendations of a task force that had been assembled were adopted at the convention in New York City. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM. An action that I thought was crazy effected some of the most lasting change. If this action had been focus-group tested it would never have happened. The results of the focus group would have shown that the psychiatrists would be upset at the disruption, that we should give Irving Bieber and Charles Socarides arespectful hearing. (Not that their research did anything of the sort for LGBT people or the tenets of science.) The other event was the Civil Rights Movement's march across the Edmund Pettis bridge. The marchers were clubbed mercilessly on the other side by sherrifs and deputies. That night at the church everyone despaired at the failure of the march. Some people were angry that it had been organized. News clips appeared on Television sets all across the nation. By the next morning the phone was ringing off the hook at the movement's office, some calls from people who had flown overnight and were waiting at the airport. The movement expanded dramatically. So,now there are people who don't want to support '2nd Class Citizen' because the wording is negative or not completely accurate. I would remind them strongly that we don't know the outcome of our actions. Our best plans can befruitless and our flakiest seem like genius through the rearview mirror of history. There are two enduring lessons: 1. try things and 2.Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In summary: A small group of gay people sneaked into the American Psychiatric Convention in Chicago in 1971 andraised objections duringtwo talks by anti-gay psychiatrists. In response a task force was convened by the APA. Two years later, based uponrecommendations of the task force,homosexuality was removed from the DSM - being gay no longer meant you were insane. In 1965 Civil Rights activists were severely beaten by police after marching across the Edmund Pettis bridge. The next day, outraged by TV coverage of the beatings, supporters began arriving from all across the country. The Civil Rights Movement expanded dramatically. In both cases people thought they had made a mistake - that they had failed, that the planning was poor. Both cases sparked dramatic change. Sometimes you just have to do something that's good-enough to try. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

When I saw the reaction to '2nd Class Citizen' I was instantly reminded of two events. I was at one and deeply affected by the other.

The first was the action Chicago Gay Liberation took at the American Psychiatric Association's convention in 1971. We were contacted by a group of gay psychiatrists, a secret group because homosexuality was listed in the DSM. It meant you were insane and could not practice. Two anti-gay researchers were making presentations. They wanted our help. They would get us into the convention so a protest of their un-scientific methods could happen. I was one of 10 people in what may have been Irving Bieber's talk. We were each assigned a number. At 10 minutes into the talk person # 1 was to stand up and object to the research. This would force the houselights up so security could remove the protester. I think I was #4. It was terrifying. We could be sent to the notorious Cook County Jail. More than that I thought it was one of the craziest things we had ever done. I was sure the psychiatrists would react in anger at our lack of respect. When my time came I blurted out something, mostly non-sensical, until I was escorted out. One of our group never emerged from the room. Afterwards she said she had sat down before the house lights came up. The people around her pointed in several different directions to security. They gave up.

Two years later the recommendations of a task force that had been assembled were adopted at the convention in New York City. Homosexuality was removed from the DSM. An action that I thought was crazy effected some of the most lasting change.

If this action had been focus-group tested it would never have happened. The results of the focus group would have shown that the psychiatrists would be upset at the disruption, that we should give Irving Bieber and Charles Socarides arespectful hearing. (Not that their research did anything of the sort for LGBT people or the tenets of science.)

The other event was the Civil Rights Movement's march across the Edmund Pettis bridge. The marchers were clubbed mercilessly on the other side by sherrifs and deputies. That night at the church everyone despaired at the failure of the march. Some people were angry that it had been organized. News clips appeared on Television sets all across the nation. By the next morning the phone was ringing off the hook at the movement's office, some calls from people who had flown overnight and were waiting at the airport. The movement expanded dramatically.

So,now there are people who don't want to support '2nd Class Citizen' because the wording is negative or not completely accurate.

I would remind them strongly that we don't know the outcome of our actions. Our best plans can befruitless and our flakiest seem like genius through the rearview mirror of history. There are two enduring lessons: 1. try things and 2.Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

In summary:

A small group of gay people sneaked into the American Psychiatric Convention in Chicago in 1971 andraised objections duringtwo talks by anti-gay psychiatrists. In response a task force was convened by the APA. Two years later, based uponrecommendations of the task force,homosexuality was removed from the DSM - being gay no longer meant you were insane.

In 1965 Civil Rights activists were severely beaten by police after marching across the Edmund Pettis bridge. The next day, outraged by TV coverage of the beatings, supporters began arriving from all across the country. The Civil Rights Movement expanded dramatically.

In both cases people thought they had made a mistake - that they had failed, that the planning was poor. Both cases sparked dramatic change.

Sometimes you just have to do something that's good-enough to try. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

michaelbeezner	Latest page update: made by michaelbeezner , Dec 3 2008, 8:51 PM EST (about this update About This Update Edited by michaelbeezner 3 words added 1 word deleted view changes - complete history)
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