Brown University Against Homophobia

After experiencing a "pro-traditional marriage" rally this past summer (at the hands of none other than The National Organization for [Opposite-Sex] Marriage in its disturbing nationwide tour), I was more than ready to deal with TFP (which stands for, wait for it: TRADITION, FAMILY, AND PROPERTY) coming to Brown's campus. (For background, please check the sources linked at the end of this post which provide coverage of the events that transpired.) 

My feelings about the event were definitely mixed. On the bright side, I thought the response from people at Brown was tremendous. It was invigorating to see so many folks (and tons of heterosexual allies) showing their support, chanting, holding signs, donning rainbow flags, pins, and even blankets to demonstrate that TFP's message of intolerance and religious fanaticism wasn't going to be tolerated on our campus without, at the very LEAST, a counter-demonstration. I was glad we finally had one of these groups come to Brown while people were HERE and could do something about it (unlike, say, the Westboro Baptist Church Hate Machine a few years back, which came right after we all left for summer break). Plus any opportunity I get to wear my ROY G. B(I)V outfit is welcome!

On the not-so-bright side, though, I was upset by the fact that they stepped on my beloved campus spewing their hateful message. It's always somewhat scary (and really bizarre) to be surrounded by people who hate what my communities stand for and who legitimately think we're going to burn in some hell, who see our lives as revolting and horrible. It's personally offensive to be reminded that many people still consider us subhuman or sick or harmful to society. It's painful to be reminded that many politicians and state legislatures think same-sex marriage isn't necessary, or isn't a worthwhile cause/investment, and to know that so many people have suffered because their relationships haven't been acknowledged.

This isn't just about marriage, though. In what's known as a blue-state, in the heart of a liberal campus, we are yet again reminded that we are not considered equal citizens. Just as recently as 2009, Governor Carcieri vetoed a bill that would have added domestic partners to the list of people authorized by law to make funeral arrangements for each other.  His reasoning?  "This bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional marriage, which is not the preferred way to approach this issue." (Thankfully, this bill eventually passed in 2010.) Even more recently, in 2008 and 2010, Mr. Carcieri ALSO vetoed House Bill 7044/Senate Bill 2055 that would've added “gender identity and expression” to RI’s hate crimes statute. Reasoning? "Those who struggle with gender confusion deserve our compassion and understanding -- not laws that cement them into an identity which denies biological and objective reality." (This bill was just heard once again on Tuesday, so we'll see what happens now.)

While inside (or facing off against) any crowd of staunch conservatives, Republicans, anti-choice/pro-life people basically saying that I'm going to hell, that I'm a horrible, degenerate human being, that my family is ashamed of me, that I'm something that shouldn't exist, and even worse...I wonder...how many of these people do I pass by as I walk down the street? Does the cashier at CVS secretly hate these big things I stand for? What about the woman sitting next to me on the bus? My professors? Will I ever run into people who were at the protest and wrote horrible things that entirely misrepresented what happened? I'm all for finding connections with people and trying to get along on SOME level, even if we have fundamental differences of opinion, but when those bridges we've built are rickety and sometimes depend on ignoring REALLY big differences, you can't blame a girl for being nervous.

Anyway, just because I've gone through this type of thing before (again, this summer's anti-NOM protest was a perfect example), it doesn't make it any less infuriating. Like I told the Brown Daily Herald, I think the group came here, in part, to gain media attention. "Because it's a college and there's this idea that kids are wild and crazy, especially at Brown, they think they can find fodder for their anti-LGBTQ rhetoric." It pisses me off because I KNOW what their interest is, I KNOW what they're going to do with the footage. No matter how peaceful and "proper" we are, they will always spin it into something different. This past summer, NOM did the same thing, except our "battlefield" was the RI Statehouse.

If you want to see for yourself, just compare this NOM blogpost with this TFP blogpost. Similar? No surprise there. So many anti-LGBTQ/same-sex marriage folks use the SAME DAMN TACTICS each and every single time, it actually makes them easier to spot. NOM folks misrepresented attendance, artfully cut their sound-clips and videos, and basically tried to portray all the anti-NOM-ers as these wild, violent rainbow-wielding creatures who were going to hurt their children (both the ones at the rally and those all over America) and try to take over the world with their big, gay agenda of degenerate ideas.

*facepalm*

It's good to remind myself that there are many places in the world, even in my own backyard, that aren't like my LGBTQ-friendly, sex-positive circles. It reminds me why I have to continue doing the work that I do; there is still a lot of violence, hatred, shame, and misinformation in the world. The important thing here is that we will not give into their fear-mongering. We will stand and we will take action despite (or even because of) our fears and insecurities. As I said in an interview for the Brown Daily Herald: "We know they have a right to free speech, but if their speech is hateful, the Brown community will not stay silent."

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• Coverage in The Raw Story: "Anti-marriage equality rally overwhelmed by student counter-protest"
• Coverage in Queerty: "Brown University Becomes Site Of Rhode Island Marriage Bagpipe Showdown"
• Coverage in the Blog Daily Herald: "Crusaders for traditional marriage take over Waterman"
• Coverage in the Brown Daily Herald: "Students rally against anti-gay marriage demonstrators"

And now, for the utterly laughable and entirely unfortunate coverage from the hate-group itself: "Video: Pro-Homosexuals at Brown University Respond to Peaceful TFP Rally with Violence"

[Update: As of 3/29, YouTube has removed the TFP video for some reason. Strange, but I won't complain. The less hate on the internet, the better.] While I could deconstruct the video, its tactics, its supporting group, and their horrible little mission, I'll instead leave you with a comment that someone on YouTube left in response to the TFP statements about provocation (TFP claims they weren't provoking the campus and were met with "shocking violence," among other things):

I think you would do well to look up the meaning of “provocation.” When bagpipe-playing, 20-foot-tall banner toting groups of people come to the place where you live to courteously inform you that you are going to hell and there is nothing you can do about it, I would be hard pressed to find anyone who would be pleased. There were no assaults; please, try to stick to the facts. And your victim rhetoric? Please. 20 seconds of feeling unsafe? Try a lifetime.