Queers Read Thi1

8/11/2019 Queers Read Thi1

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QUEERS READ THIS

A leaflet distributed at pride march in NY Published anonmousl b Queers

!une" #$$%

Ho& can I tell ou' Ho& can I con(ince ou" brother"sister that our life is in dan)er* That e(erda ou &a+eup ali(e" relati(el happ" and a functionin) human bein)"ou are committin) a rebellious act' You as an ali(e andfunctionin) ,ueer are a re(olutionar' There is nothin) on this planet that (alidates" protectsor encoura)es our e-istence' It is a miracle ou arestandin) here readin) these &ords' You should b all ri)hts

be dead' Don.t be fooled" strai)ht people o&n the &orld and

the onl reason ou ha(e been spared is ou.re smart" luc+or a fi)hter' Strai)ht people ha(e a pri(ile)e that allo&s them to do&hate(er the please and fuc+ &ithout fear' /ut not onl dothe li(e a life free of fear0 the flaunt their freedom inm face' Their ima)es are on m T1" in the ma)a2ine I

bou)ht" in the restaurant I &ant to eat in" and on thestreet &here I li(e' I &ant there to be a moratorium onstrai)ht marria)e" on babies" on public displas ofaffection amon) the opposite se- and media ima)es that

promote heterose-ualit' Until I can en3o the same freedomof mo(ement and se-ualit" as strai)hts" their pri(ile)emust stop and it must be )i(en o(er to me and m ,ueersisters and brothers' Strai)ht people &ill not do this(oluntaril and so the must be forced into it' Strai)htsmust be fri)htened into it' Terrori2ed into it' 4ear is themost po&erful moti(ation' No one &ill )i(e us &hat &edeser(e' Ri)hts are not )i(en the are ta+en" b force ifnecessar' It is easier to fi)ht &hen ou +no& &ho ourenem is' Strai)ht people are our enem' The are ourenem &hen the don.t ac+no&led)e our in(isibilit and

continue to li(e in and contribute to a culture that +illsou' E(er da one of us is ta+en b the enem' 5hetherit.s an AIDS death due to homophobic )o(ernment inaction ora lesbian bashin) in an all6ni)ht diner 7in a supposedllesbian nei)hborhood8'

AN AR9Y :4 ;:1ERS


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homo6haters &ho are usin) AIDS to &ipe us off the face ofthe earth' /ein) ,ueer means leadin) a different sort of

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life' It.s not about the mainstream" profit6mar)ins"patriotism" patriarch or bein) assimilated' It.s not aboute-ecuti(e directors" pri(ile)e and elitism' It.s about

bein) on the mar)ins" definin) oursel(es0 it.s about )ender6fuc+ and secrets" &hat.s beneath the belt and deep insidethe heart0 it.s about the ni)ht' /ein) ,ueer is >)rassroots> because &e +no& that e(erone of us" e(er bod"e(er cunt" e(er heart and ass and dic+ is a &orld of

pleasure &aitin) to be e-plored' E(erone of us is a &orldof infinite possibilit' 5e are an arm because &e ha(e to

be' 5e are an arm because &e are so po&erful' 75e ha(e so

much to fi)ht for0 &e are the most precious of endan)eredspecies'8 And &e are an arm of lo(ers because it is &e &ho+no& &hat lo(e is' Desire and lust" too' 5e in(ented them'5e come out of the closet" face the re3ection of societ"face firin) s,uads" 3ust to lo(e each other? E(er time &efuc+" &e &in' 5e must fi)ht for oursel(es 7no one else is)oin) to do it8 and if in that process &e brin) )reaterfreedom to the &orld at lar)e then )reat' 75e.(e )i(en somuch to that &orld* democrac" all the arts" the conceptsof lo(e" philosoph and the soul" to name 3ust a fe& )iftsfrom our ancient @ree+ D+es" 4a)s'8 ;et.s ma+e e(er spacea ;esbian and @a space' E(er street a part of our se-ual)eo)raph' A cit of earnin) and then total satisfaction'A cit and a countr &here &e can be safe and free and more'5e must loo+ at our li(es and see &hat.s best in them" see&hat is ,ueer and &hat is strai)ht and let that strai)htchaff fall a&a? Remember there is so" so little time' AndI &ant to be a lo(er of each and e(er one of ou' Ne-tear" &e march na+ed' AN@ER

>The stron) sisters told the brothers that there &ere t&oimportant thin)s to remember about the comin) re(olutions"the first is that &e &ill )et our asses +ic+ed' The second"is that &e &ill &in'> I.m an)r' I.m an)r for bein) condemned to death bstran)ers sain)" >You deser(e to die> and >AIDS is thecure'> 4ur erupts &hen a Republican &oman &earin) thousandsof dollars of )arments and 3e&elr minces b the policelines sha+in) her head" chuc+lin) and &a))in) her fin)er atus li+e &e are recalcitrant children ma+in) absurd demandsand thro&in) temper tantrum &hen the aren.t met' An)r

&hile !oseph a)oni2es o(er B"%%% a o(er for ACT &hich mi)ht+eep him ali(e a little lon)er and &hich ma+es him sic+erthan the disease he is dia)nosed &ith' An)r as I listen to


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a man tell me that after chan)in) his &ill fi(e times he.srunnin) out of people to lea(e thin)s to' All of his bestfriends are dead' An)r &hen stand in a sea of ,uilt panels"or )o to a candleli)ht march or attend et another memorialser(ice' I &ill not march silentl &ith a fuc+in) candleand I &ant to ta+e that )oddamned ,uilt and &rap mself in

it and furiousl rend it and m hair and curse e(er )od

reli)ion e(er created' I refuse to accept a creation thatcuts people do&n in the third decade of their life' It is cruel and (ile and meanin)less and e(erthin) Iha(e in me rails a)ainst the absurdit and I raise m faceto the clouds and a ra))ed lau)h that sounds more demonicthan 3oous erupts from m throat and tears stream do&n m

face and if this disease doesn.t +ill me" I ma 3ust die offrustration' 9 feet pound the streets and Peter.s handsare chained to a pharmaceutical compan.s reception des+&hile the receptionist loo+s on in horror and Eric.s bodlies rottin) in a /roo+ln cemeter and I.ll ne(er hear hisflute resoundin) off the &alls of the meetin) house a)ain'And I see the old people in Tomp+ins S,uare Par+ huddled intheir lon) &ool coats in !une to +eep out the cold the

percei(e is there and to clin) to &hate(er little life hasleft to offer them' I.m reminded of the people &ho strip andstand before a mirror each ni)ht before the )o to bed andsearch their bodies for an mar+ that mi)ht not ha(e beenthere esterda' A mar+ that this scour)e has (isited them' And I.m an)r &hen the ne&spapers call us >(ictims> andsound alarms that >it> mi)ht soon spread to the >)eneral

population'> And I &ant to scream >5ho the fuc+ am I> And I&ant to scream at Ne& Yor+ Hospital &ith its ello& plastic

ba)s mar+ed >isolation linen>" >ropa infecciosa> and itsorderlies in late- )lo(es and sur)ical mas+s s+irtin) the

bed as if its occupant &ill suddenl leap out and douse them&ith blood and semen )i(in) them too the pla)ue'

And I.m an)r at strai)ht people &ho sit smu)l &rappedin their self6protecti(e coat of mono)am andheterose-ualit confident that this disease has nothin) todo &ith them because >it> onl happens to >them'> And theteena)e bos &ho upon spottin) m SilenceFDeath button be)inchantin) >4a))ot.s )onna die> and I &onder" &ho tau)ht themthis En(eloped in fur and fear" I remain silent &hile m

button moc+s me e(er step of the &a' And the an)er I fell&hen a tele(ision pro)ram on the ,uilt )i(es profiles of thedead and the list be)ins &ith a bab" a teena)e )irl &ho )ota blood transfusion" an elderl baptist minister and his

&ife and &hen the finall sho& a )a man" he.s described assomeone &ho +no&in)l infected teena)e male prostitutes &iththe (irus' 5hat else can ou e-pect from a fa))ot


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I.m an)r' QUEER ARTISTS

Since time be)an" the &orld has been inspired b the &or+of ,ueer artists' In e-chan)e" there has been sufferin)"there has been pain" there has been (iolence' Throu)hout

histor" societ has struc+ a bar)ain &ith its ,ueerciti2ens* the ma pursue creati(e careers" if the do itdiscreetl' Throu)h the arts ,ueers are producti(e"lucrati(e" entertainin) and e(en upliftin)' These are theclear6cut and useful b6products of &hat is other&iseconsidered antisocial beha(ior' In cultured circles" ,ueers

G

ma ,uietl coe-ist &ith an other&ise disappro(in) po&er

elite' At the forefront of the most recent campai)n to bash,ueer artists is !esse Helms" arbiter of all that is decent"moral" christian and ameri+an' 4or Helms" ,ueer art is,uite simpl a threat to the &orld' In his ima)inin)s"heterose-ual culture is too fra)ile to bear up to theadmission of human or se-ual di(ersit' Quite simpl" thestructure of po&er in the !udeo6


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I4 Y:U.RE QUEER"

Queers are under sie)e' Queers are bein) attac+ed on all fronts and I.m afraidit.s o+ &ith us'

In #$$" there &ere % >Queer /ashin)s> in the month of9a alone' 1iolent attac+s" "J=% men" &omen and childrendied of AIDS in the same month" caused b a more (iolentattac+ 666 )o(ernment inaction" rooted in societ.s )ro&in)homophobia' This is institutionali2ed (iolence" perhapsmore dan)erous to the e-istence of ,ueers because theattac+ers are faceless' 5e allo& these attac+s b our o&ncontinued lac+ of action a)ainst them' AIDS has affectedthe strai)ht &orld and no& the.re blamin) us for AIDS andusin) it as a &a to 3ustif their (iolence a)ainst us'The don.t &ant us anmore' The &ill beat us" rape us and

+ill us before the &ill continue to li(e &ith us' 5hat

&ill it ta+e for this not to be o+ 4eel some ra)e' If ra)edoesn.t empo&er ou" tr fear' If that doesn.t &or+" tr

panic'

SH:UT IT?

/e proud' Do &hate(er ou need to do to tear ourselfa&a from our customar state of acceptance' /e free'Shout' In #$$" Queers fou)ht bac+' In #$$%" Queers sa o+'

Ne-t ear" &ill &e be here

I HATE '''

I hate !esse Helms' I hate !esse Helms so much I.dre3oice if he dropped do&n dead' If someone +illed him I.d

consider it his o&n fault' I hate Ronald Rea)an" too" because he mass6murdered mpeople for ei)ht ears' /ut to be honest" I hate him e(enmore for eulo)i2in) Ran 5hite &ithout first admittin) his)uilt" &ithout be))in) for)i(eness for Ran.s death and forthe deaths of tens of thousands of other P5A.s 666 most ofthem ,ueer' I hate him for ma+in) a moc+er of our )rief' I hate the fuc+in) Pope" and I hate !ohn fuc+in)


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pschiatrist &ho con(iced me not to ha(e se- &ith men forthree ears until &e 7meanin) he8 could ma+e me bise-ualrather than ,ueer' I also hate the education profession"for its share in dri(in) thousands of ,ueer teens to suicidee(er ear' I hate the >respectable> art &orld0 and theentertainment industr" and the mainstream media" especiall

The Ne& Yor+ Times' In fact" I hate e(er sector of thestrai)ht establishment in this countr 666 the &orst of &homacti(el &ant all ,ueers dead" the best of &hom ne(er stic+their nec+s out to +eep us ali(e' I hate strai)ht people &ho thin+ the ha(e anthin)intelli)ent to sa about >outin)'> I hate strai)ht people&ho thin+ stories about themsel(es are >uni(ersal> butstories about us are onl about homose-ualit' I hatestrai)ht recordin) artists &ho ma+e their careers off of,ueer people" then attac+ us" then act hurt &hen &e )etan)r and then den ha(in) &ron)ed us rather than apolo)i2e

for it' I hate strai)ht people &ho sa" >I don.t see &hou feel the need to &ear those buttons and t6shirts' Idon.t )o around tellin) the &hole &orld I.m strai)ht'> I hate that in t&el(e ears of public education I &asne(er tau)ht about ,ueer people' I hate that I )re& upthin+in) I &as the onl ,ueer in the &orld" and I hate e(enmore that most ,ueer +ids still )ro& up the same &a' I

hate that I &as tormented b other +ids for bein) a fa))ot"but more that I &as tau)ht to feel ashamed for bein) theob3ect of their cruelt" tau)ht to feel it &as m fault' Ihate that the Supreme


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e-chan)e numbers" mabe &e.ll become friends' 9abe &e&on.t sa a &ord but our ees &ill meet and I &ill ima)ineou na+ed" s&eatin)" openmouthed" our bac+ arched as I amfuc+in) ou' And &e.ll be happ to +no& &e aren.t the onlones in the &orld' 5e.ll be happ because &e found eachother" &ithout sain) a &ord" mabe 3ust for a moment' /ut

no'You &on.t &ear a pin+ trian)le on that linen lapel' You&on.t meet m ees if I flirt &ith ou on the street' Youa(oid me on the 3ob because I.m >too> out' You chastise mein bars because I.m >too political'> You i)nore me in

public because I brin) >too much> attention to >m>lesbianism' /ut then ou &ant me to be our lo(er" ou&ant me to be our friend" ou &ant me to lo(e ou"support" ou" fi)ht for >:UR> ri)ht to e-ist'

5HERE ARE Y:U

You tal+" tal+" tal+ about in(isibilit and then retreatto our homes to nest &ith our lo(ers or carouse in a bar&ith pals and stumble home in a cab or sit silentl and

politel b &hile our famil" our boss" our nei)hbors"our public ser(ants distort and disfi)ure us" deride usand punish us' Then home a)ain and ou feel li+escreamin)' Then ou pad our an)er &ith a relationship ora career or a part &ith other d+es li+e ou and still ou&onder &h &e can.t find each other" &h ou feel lonel"an)r" alienated'

@ET UP" 5AKE UP SISTERS??

J

Your life is in our hands' 5hen I ris+ it all to be out" I ris+ it for both of us'5hen I ris+ it all and it &or+s 7&hich it often does if ou

&ould tr it8" I benefit and so do ou' 5hen it doesn.t&or+" I suffer and ou do not'/ut )irl ou can.t &ait for other d+es to ma+e the &orldsafe for ou' ST:P &aitin) for a better more lesbianfuture? The re(olution could be here if &e started it'5here are ou sisters I.m trin) to find ou" I.m trin)to find ou' Ho& come I onl see ou on @a Pride Da5e.re :UT" 5here the fuc+ are Y:U

B

5HEN ANY:NE ASSAU;TS Y:U 4:R /EIN@ QUEER" IT IS QUEER


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/ASHIN@' RI@HT

A cro&d of % people e-it a )a bar as it closes'Across the street" some strai)ht bos are shoutin) >4a))ots>and thro&in) beer bottles at the )atherin)" &hich outnumbersthem b #% to #' Three ,ueers ma+e a mo(e to respond"

)ettin) no support from the )roup' 5h did a )roup thissi2e allo& themsel(es to be sittin) duc+s Tomp+ins S,uare Par+" ;abor Da' At an annual outdoorconcertLdra) sho&" a )roup of )a men &ere harassed b teenscarrin) stic+s' In the midst of thousands of )a men andlesbians" these strai)ht bos beat t&o )a men to the)round" then stood around triumphantl lau)hin) amon)stthemsel(es' The emcee &as alerted and &arned the cro&d fromthe sta)e" >You )irls be careful' 5hen ou dress up itdri(es the bos cra2"> as if it &ere a practical 3o+einspired b &hat the (ictims &ere &earin) rather than a

pointed attac+ on anone and e(erone at that e(ent' 5hat &ould it ha(e ta+en for that cro&d to stand up toits attac+ers After !ames Cappalorti" an openl )a man" &as murderedin cold blood on Staten Island this &inter" a sin)ledemonstration &as held in protest' :nl one hundred peoplecame' 5hen Yuseuf Ha&+ins" a blac+ outh" &as shot to deathfor bein) on >&hite turf> in /ensonhurst" African Americansmarched throu)h that nei)hborhood in lar)e numbers a)ain anda)ain' A blac+ person &as +illed /E


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reeuQ h5 Queer?

Ah" do &e reall ha(e to use that &ord It.s trouble'

E(er )a person has his or her o&n ta+e on it' 4or some itmeans stran)e and eccentric and +ind of msterious' That.so+a" &e li+e that' /ut some )a )irls and bos don.t'The thin+ the.re more normal than stran)e' And for others>,ueer> con3ures up those a&ful memories of adolescentsufferin)' Queer' It.s forcibl bitters&eet and ,uaint at

best 666 &ea+enin) and painful at &orst' )a> instead It.s a much bri)hter &ord and isn.t itsnonmous &ith >happ> 5hen &ill ou militants )ro& up and)et o(er the no(elt of bein) different

5HY QUEER

5ell" es" >)a > is )reat' It has its place' /ut &hena lot of lesbians and )a men &a+e up in the mornin) &e feelan)r and dis)usted" not )a' So &e.(e chosen to calloursel(es ,ueer' Usin) >,ueer> is a &a of remindin) us ho&&e are percei(ed b the rest of the &orld' It.s a &a oftellin) oursel(es &e don.t ha(e to be &itt and charmin)

people &ho +eep our li(es discreet and mar)inali2ed in thestrai)ht &orld' 5e use ,ueer as )a men lo(in) lesbians andlesbians lo(in) bein) ,ueer' Queer" unli+e @AY" doesn.t mean 9A;E' And &hen spo+en to other )as and lesbians it.s a &a ofsu))estin) &e close ran+s" and for)et 7temporaril8 ourindi(idual differences because &e face a more insidiouscommon enem' Yeah" QUEER can be a rou)h &ord but it isalso a sl and ironic &eapon &e can steal from thehomophobe.s hands and use a)ainst him'

N: SEM P:;I/lac+is beautiful> slo)an chan)ed man li(es" so does >Read mlips> affirm ,ueerness in the face of hatred andin(isibilit as displaed in a recent )o(ernmental stud ofsuicides that states at least one third of all teen suicidesare Queer +ids' This is further e-emplified b the rise inHI1 transmission amon) those under =#'

5e are most hated as ,ueers for our se-ualness" that is"our phsical contact &ith the same se-' :ur se-ualit andse-ual e-pression are &hat ma+es us most susceptible to


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phsical (iolence' :ur difference" our otherness" ouruni,ueness can either paral2e us or politici2e us'Hopefull" the ma3orit of us &ill not let it +ill us'

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QUEER SPAreall +no& ho& to

part> 5E HA1E T: IN :RDER T: /;:5 :44 THE STEA9 THEY 9AKEUS 4EE; A;; THE TI9E? The ma+e out &here(er the please"and ta+e up too much room on the dance floor doin)ostentatious couples dances' The &ear their heterose-ualitli+e a >Keep :ut> si)n" or li+e a deed of o&nership'

5h the fuc+ do &e tolerate them &hen the in(ade ourspace li+e it.s their ri)ht 5h do &e let them sho(eheterose-ualit 666 a &eapon their &orld &ields a)ainst us 666 ri)ht in our faces in the fe& public spots &here &e can

be se- &ith each other and not fear attac+ It.s time to stop lettin) the strai)ht people ma+e allthe rules' ;et.s start b postin) this si)n outside e(er,ueer club and bar*

RU;ES :4 ar)ue m strai)ht friends' There is the one certaint in


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the politics of po&er* those left out of it be) forinclusion" &hile the insiders claim that the alread are'9en do it to &omen" &hites do it to blac+s" and e(eronedoes it to ,ueers' The main di(idin) line" both consciousand unconscious" is procreation ''' and that ma)ic &ord 6664amil' 4re,uentl" the ones &e are born into diso&n us

&hen the find out &ho &e reall are" and to ma+e matters&orse" &e are pre(ented from ha(in) our o&n' 5e are

punished" insulted" cut off" and treated li+e seditionaries

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in terms of child rearin)" both damned if &e tr and damnedif &e abstain' It.s as if the propa)ation of the species issuch a fra)ile directi(e that &ithout enforcin) it as if it&ere an a)enda" human+ind &ould melt bac+ into the prime(al

oo2e' I hate ha(in) to con(ice strai)ht people that lesbiansand )as li(e in a &ar 2one" that &e.re surrounded b bomb

blasts onl &e seem to hear" that our bodies and souls areheaped hi)h" dead from fri)ht or bashed or raped" din) of)rief or disease" stripped of our personhood' I hate strai)ht people &ho can.t listen to ,ueer an)er&ithout sain) >he" all strai)ht people aren.t li+e that'I.m strai)ht too" ou +no&"> as if their e)os don.t )etenou)h stro+in) or protection in this arro)ant" heterose-ist&orld' 5h must &e ta+e care of them" in the midst of our

3ust an)er brou)ht on b their fuc+ed up societ? 5h addthe reassurance of >:f course" I don.t mean ou' You don.tact that &a'> ;et them fi)ure out for themsel(es &hetherthe deser(e to be included in our an)er' /ut of course that &ould mean listenin) to our an)er"&hich the almost ne(er do' The deflect it" b sain) >I.mnot li+e that> or >No& loo+ &ho.s )enerali2in)> or >You.llcatch more flies &ith hone ''' > or >If ou focus on thene)ati(e ou 3ust )i(e out more po&er> or >ou.re not theonl one in the &orld &ho.s sufferin)'> The sa >Don.t

ell at me" I.m on our side> or >I thin+ ou.reo(erreactin)> or >/:Y" Y:U.RE /ITTER'> The.(e tau)ht us that )ood ,ueers don.t )et mad'The.(e tau)ht us so &ell that &e not onl hide our an)erfrom them" &e hide it from each other' 5E E1EN HIDE IT 4R:9:URSE;1ES' 5e hide it &ith substance abuse and suicide ando(erarhcie(in) in the hope of pro(in) our &orth' The bashus and stab us and shoot us and bomb us in e(er increasin)numbers and still &e frea+ out &hen an)r ,ueers carr

banners or si)ns that sa /ASH /A


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our (isibilit is the constant threat of (iolence" anti6,ueer (iolence to &hich practicall e(er se)ment of thissociet contributes' ;et ourself feel an)r that THERE IS

N: P;A >You ha(e pri(ile)es"> >You.re

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o(erreactin)"> or >You ha(e a (ictim.s mentalit'> Tellthem >@: A5AY 4R:9 9E" until Y:U can chan)e'> @o a&a andtr on a &orld &ithout the bra(e" stron) ,ueers that are its

bac+bone" that are its )uts and brains and souls' @o tellthem )o a&a until the ha(e spent a month &al+in) hand inhand in public &ith someone of the same se-' After thesur(i(e that" then ou.ll hear &hat the ha(e to sa about,ueer an)er' :ther&ise" tell them to shut up and listen'

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