Richard Rouilard recently resigned as editor of The Advocate. Right before he did so, he wrote the following "Editor's Note" which is in the current issue of the magazine, with a cover story on "Eating Our Own -- is the gay movement eating itself?" The piece was re-printed in the (8/7/92) San Francisco Examiner: ----------------------------------------------------------------- In a speech at a recent journalists' conference, author Randy "And the Band Played On" Shilts referred to just about anyone who disagrees with him as a "lavender fascist." Later he told The New York Times that the lavendar fascists were nothing more than third graders whining, "Do what I want you to do, or I'll tell on you." Knowing beforehand that Shilts was going to make this unusual speech, I had to respond. Someone had to defend lavendar fascists, whatever they are. As a joke, I had a dozen T- shirts made up that read LAVENDER FASCIST on the front, The Advocate on the back. The New York Times then reported that those at the conference who were in favor of all-out outing -- that is, the now- defunct OutWeek's position, certainly not The Advocate's -- were wearing "earrings and sassy T-shirts." The anti-outers were allegedly suited. Iam no more a "lavender fascist," and all-out outer, than Shilts is a "homocon," a conservative homo opposed to outing under any circumstances whatsoever. This kind of reductionist thinking about the gay, lesbian and bi community is best left to the straight press, which needs to pigeonhole us because they don't take the time to find out about the depths of diversity in this hodgepodge we call the gay community. We shouldn't take them seriously. But when we start seeing each other as enemies -- reducing our complicated lives to black and white, left and right -- we are in serious trouble. Our greatest task now is to try to understand, to tolerate, to trust each other a little. We must. We have precious little in common. We are Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, black, white, brown, yellow, men and women -- just for starters. Our community, our few institutions are under attack from a well-financed, highly organized Right. And if a Washington Times report is accurate, the anti-gay right has the blessings of President Bush. The backlash against us is raging unchecked across America in small towns and cities. The recent destruction of the offices of Campaign for a Hate-Free Oregon has Urvashi Vaid, the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, worried, deeply worried. Vaid knows that the anti-gay juggernaut is being fueled by this election year's great American grandstanding issue -- family values. We have become the Willie Hortons of '92. Obviously, we can't afford to be "eating our own" this year. But what is eating our own? Is any criticism, any disagree- ment, an example of eating our own? Shilts, referring to those with whom he disagrees as lavender fascists, and I with my sarcastic T-shirts are nothing more than two old, bitchy queens going at each other. Marvin Liebman, a co-founder of the American conservative movement, an out gay man and an old friend of mine, called me an "idiot" in the New York Post for outing an acting chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Anne-Imelda Radice, a friend of his. Well, ditto for Marvin, and he's older than Randy and I put together. Eating our own and political disagreements are two very different animals. But past disagreements that are left un- attended can, on occasion and frighteningly quickly, turn into the frenzied phenomenon we recognize as eating our own. Two of our most prominent organizations, National Gay Rights Advocates (NGRA) and the Fund for Human Dignity, were eaten alive recently by vast differences of opinion. The parties at odds refused to deal with each other. The disputes became public. Fund-raising abilities collapsed. The organizations folded. I was the board chair of NGRA during this period. I could not get the two sides to deal with each other as anything but enemies. The animosities were overwhelming. There were voracious beasts on the sidelines -- oppression, sickness, internalized homophobia, anti and pro-establishment agendasm anti-authority forces and God knows what else; I don't. Two years later, I still can't say which one of the beasts was more prominent. The beast is at the doorstep again. This year's gay pride parade and festival in Los Angeles was marred by a public dispute between Queer Nation and event organizers Christopher Street West. QN claimed that the entrance fees at the festival and CSW's attitude towards minorities and drag queens were not conducive to creating a fully diversified ambience. CSW protested. In an essay in the event program, activist Torie Osborn suggested that QN was involved in eating our own. No. Not quite. Not yet. Nonetheless, Osborn's call for unity must be heeded because this fracas could easily become a cannibalistic frenzy if it continues. The differences of opinion here -- angry ads were placed in the local gay press by QN -- are too dramatic. The drama, a natural result of our diversity, is the signal that discussion is imperative. But how to get these two sides to sit down with each other is the problem. Where is the meeting ground when some multiculti queers suggest that one of our finest leaders, Vaid, should be tried for treason? What happens when Tom Stoddard has committed Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund to a fund-raiser in New York at a performance of "Miss Saigon," a show being boy- cotted by Asian-American groups? Should Stoddard have can- celed the benefit, thereby threatening Lambda's fund-raising base for the year? Is Stoddard the enemy? On the other hand, just how long must women and minorities wait for recognition of their needs, acknowledgement of their absolute right to participate in decisions that intimately affect their lives, decisions that are sometimes made by white-male-run organizations? There are no easy answers. Seemingly, there are no answers. I think I'll give that bitch Randy Shilts a call. --------------------------- end of article ----------------------- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- rod williams -=- pacific bell -=- san francisco -=- rjwill6@pacbell.com -----------------------------------------------------------------------