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| Re: Today is Columbus Day (1563232) | |||
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Re: Today is Columbus Day |
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Posted by JayZeeBMT on Tue Oct 9 08:54:06 2018, in response to Re: Today is Columbus Day, posted by BILLBKLYN on Mon Oct 8 18:35:46 2018. Let me fix your grossly distorted account of the Rebellion:In 1969, it wasn't just illegal to be gay or lesbian, there were a whole slew of laws aimed at the LGBTQ community. Among them were laws prohibiting people wearing gender-non-conforming clothing outside of a theatrical performance, dancing with people of the same gender, public displays of affection between people of the same gender other than parents and children, "serving alcohol to known homosexuals", and working as a teacher while gay or lesbian. Homosexuality was looked upon during that era the same way pedophiles were looked upon (then and now), and arrest for any of these antiquated "offenses" (which, unlike pedophilia, did the public no harm), usually resulted in the loss of jobs, disowning by their families, displacement from homes, and unemployability. Pictures of those arrested were often published in the newspapers, leading to further public shaming. The Stonewall in that time was indeed operated by the Mob, as were several other gay bars in and around the Village. Because such establishments were by definition illegal as both a meeting place for gay men, and a place where they could consume alcohol, bars like the Stonewall were regularly raided by the NYPD and the State Liquor authority (SLA). Police routinely harassed the gay men and beat them up even when they offered no resistance, all because they dared to live and love differently than the government dictated. On the night of the Rebellion, the Stonewall was raided by the NYPD's Vice Unit (NOT the Sixth Precinct) and agents of the SLA. Fed up with the constant arrest-and-shaming cycle, the patrons of the bar chose to fight back this time, and as news of their uprising spread by word-of-mouth, gays from all over the city converged on Sheridan Square (today's Stonewall National Park) to join the Rebellion, which continued for another four days. The raid was led by Inspector Seymour Pine, then head of the Vice Unit. Decades later, in a PBS interview, he acknowledged (correctly) that the rioters were, as gay and trans people patronizing the Stonewall, were, in fact, breaking the law. But, he added, "what kind of a law was it?" In those words lay the birth of the LGBTQ rights movement, which continues today. The "wood shampoos" you refer to gave rise to a realization that LGBTQ people didn't have to live under laws that were patently wrong. The very first Pride March took place in 1970, on the first anniversary of the Rebellion, as jeering people on the sidewalks threw rocks and bottles at them, and Mayor Lindsay derided their "filthy public display of sexual deviancy." Today the March is a sine qua non for candidates seeking public office, and incumbents reaching out to their LGBTQ constituency. Major corporations from all over the world sponsor it, and the March is one of the biggest parades the city sees all year. Pretty good for a bunch of "degenerates" who stood up against unjust laws half a century ago... |
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