Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 22:56:16 -0800 (PST) From: Jeff Herwatt Subject: News from the Gay and Lesbian Americans Summit in DC (This Email is long and contains several proposals introduced today, if you would like your voice, and/views expressed at the Summit please reply to me by direct Email. I will print out all Emails and ensure that your thoughts/issues are raised and heard! - Oh this Email contains high drama, so rememeber that we are in the Nations Capitol, a place of *HIGH* drama! - he proposals are at the end!) Well, those of you that know date time stamps will see that it is late. I have been up since 10pm yesterday, and just getting to crash, it has been a long day! The most exciting thing, or decisive thing that has happened is the "Lavander Proposal", (all of the different proposals are on different color paper so that they can be found easily!), the Lavander Proposal is a *QUOTA* system, and was introduced by two *WHITE* students to ensure that there is a "represenative" populations. (Those of you that have been around Activism for a while have already rolled your eye back into your head, I personally thing that these are paid operatives of the FBI trying to oppress us, but that is just MHO!). This proposal will make or break the organization, or could cause the organization to never be created, some highlights follow: 1. Change the name of the organization to EQUAL (Equality for Queer Americans by Law). 2. Require that the Executive Action Team, (which can only be 3 people, per the suggested By-Laws), include at least one person of color. 3. Require that the Executive Action Team include at least one lesbian *WOMAN*, (not sure why it has to be a lesbian womyn, [...], or what other kind of lesbian there is, do they know something?) 4. Require that the two individuals named above not be the same person. {OK, you are all probably thinking, this doesn't sound that bad, but wait there is *MORE*!} 5. Require that the make up of the Board of Directors be at least 50% Peope of Color. 6. Require that the Board of directors be at least 50% women. 7. Require that the Board of directors include at least 3 young people, and that these one of these be less than 21 and two less than 27. 8. Require that the adoption of a strongly worded statement that recognizes the need to actively recruit and involve individuals who represent a wide variety of communities including, but not limited to the following: - Require that at least 50% of the Regional Coordinators be People of Color - Require that at least 50% of the Regional Coordinators be women - [...] Please be advised that at this point, in all seriousness, a friendly amendment was requested that would have required that PWAs be added and required on the governing body, but the reply was "if the organization sets AIDS as a priority!) The number 2 issue in the proposed platform is "Manhattab-style project for intense AIDS-cure research", these guys voted to put this as the second highest priority, but didn't realize it an hour later!!!! obviously we have a communication problem! Now here is the problem, the call went out to every Gay and Lesbian news paper in the country, the call went out to every activist list on the Internet, the call begged for Women and People of Color to join, but only one black/lesbian/women was there, two hispanics, and about 7 Lesbians. We all recognize that we need to do something about outreach, because obviously People of Color and women did not get the word, and did not show up, but if we accept these *REQUIREMENTS* we start by not being able to meet them BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE WARM BODIES TO FILL THE POSITIONS, EVEN IF WE WANTED TO! Of course lall of the long time activist are rolling there eyes again, seeing the the problem, you can not create by-laws that an organization can not meet on its formation, or the organization can not form, and the % cited enraged people, where did they come from, why 50%, why not a sliding scale, with a time frame to meet the goals? and on and on! This of course brough everyone to a boil. Then came the VOICE of REALITY, which read: ------------------------------------------------------------------- THE VOICE OF RATIONALITY Age Discrimination: ---------------------------------- It is agreaed that ageism exists within the Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual, Asexual, HIV+/-, (what is that word again? Oh yeah) - gAY (sic) Communities. (Here after refered to as the LTB... in this Email) Therefore to resolve this obvious injustice, be it so resolved that the LTB... Americans shall provide protected status to those most effected by this horrific injustice. Recognizing that youth is revered in the LBT... we hereby demand that 33% (no, this is not an arbitary number!) of the seats of the Board of Directors and the Executive Action Team be set aside for the people of "People of Wrinkles" (original equipment only, no modifications allowed!) Be it also resolved that this seat shall henceforth be known as the Executive Action Team - Middle-aged/Elderly (EAT-ME) seat. Be it also resolved that by a negative vote of no less than 80% of the people present representing LBT... this initiative will be enacted. --------------------------------------------------------------------- While the following "friendly amendments" where proposed: I hope in fun, and frustration of the fire storm that followed, and the outragous statements that the seats of PWAs not be reserved as an oppressed minority!) 3.25 Require that the board named in 4-8 not be the same Board. 5.2 Require the adoption of a position on the deforestation of the ancient cypress trees in Burma. 5.3 Outlaw compulsory clitorectomies in Ghana. 5.4 Require the adoption of victim support groups based on the 12 steps model for the survivors of the oppression of white men and their penises*1 *1 - subcommittees for penises sheathed and unsheathed, (cut and uncut) 5.5 Require the use of color recycled paper for all written d documents. 5.6 Require the translation of all documents into Esperanto. 5.7 Compolsory and immediate circulation of Monopoly (tm) money as legal queer tender, for all queer transactions, except for the white bills, which are oppressive to the other colored denominations. 5.8 Require that an even division of gender specific colored paper be distributed, I.e. for ever one sheet of baby blue that is used, one sheet of pink must be used, or require that only none gender specific, or gender neutral paper be used! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Needless to say, there was a strong feeling tat no more constructive work could occur with emotions running so high, so it was called a day. Meaningful proposals of the Day 1994 Platform (bullets, see minutes!) - Federal Gay and lesbian civil rights bill - Manhatten-style project for the intense AIDS-cure research - Local/State sodomy-law repeal - State and Local Gay/Lesbian Civil Rights bills Require a legal definition of "sexual orientation" I.e.: "having or being perceived as having and emotional, physical, or sexual attachment to another person without regard to the sex of that person, or having or being perceived as having an orientation for such attachment, or having or being perceived as having a self-image or identity not traditionally associated with one's biological maleness or femaleness, but in no event does sexual orientation include a physical or sexual attachment to children by an adult." (MY NOTE: THEY WANDERED VERY CLEAR OF THE NAMBLA ISSUE WITH THE LAST STATEMENT!) QUEERS ACROSS AMERICA - Proposed action 50 press conferences in 50 states, in each state capitol, on the same day at the same time. [...] topics to be discussed tomorrow. Mission Statement (see the minutes) GL Friendly Community Center funding proposal (see minutes) =========================================================================== >From the Desk of Jeffrey Herwatt =o= jherwatt@netcom.com "For the reality of the situation is that our knowledge is like a little raft bobbing up and down in the sea of our ignorance, in an ocean of mystery." - M. Scott Peck _Further Along the Road Less Traveled_ ===========================================================================