[glstn.winning.the.war] Provided by: GLSTN 122 West 26th Street, Suite 1100 New York, NY 10001 USA Tel: (212) 727-0135 Email: glstn@glstn.org Web: http://www.glstn.org/freedom/ WINNING THE "CULTURAL WAR" IN EDUCATION (Notes for remarks at the Human Rights Campaign Fund Leadership Conference, March 5, 1995) BY KEVIN JENNINGS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GLSTN As we prepare for another round of anti-gay legislation in the 104th Congress, it is best to remember four points that may prove crucial in winning what Pat Buchanan has titled a "cultural war"--a war for the souls of our children. 1. HISTORY SHOWS THAT THIS KIND OF ATTACK ALWAYS HAPPENS. Throughout history, minorities have been stereotyped as preying on children in an effort to frighten the majority into opposing equality for all. In the late 19th century, Jews in Russia were accused of killing Christian children to use their blood in the Passover Seder, a myth used to justify pogroms; in the American South of the early twentieth century, black men were accused of molesting white girls as a pretext for lynching over 1200 African Americans; and today gay men and lesbians are routinely portrayed as pedophiles in an effort to justify discrimination. Witness the slogan of those who tried to pass an anti-gay referendum in Oregon in 1994: "Protect Our Children." This pattern tells us to expect attacks along these lines, and not be surprised by them. Essentially, the number one concern of every parent is, as it should be, their child's safety. Attacks such as those described above are designed to convince parents that we are a threat to their children's safety, and--should they be convinced of this--they will oppose any protections for a group that is so dangerous. Thus, the attacks of gays in education is part of a broader agenda to deny equal rights for all gay people, not just those working in schools. 2. WE MUST RE-FRAME THE ISSUE TO WIN. If the Radical Right can succeed in portraying us as preying on children, we will lose. Their language--"promoting homosexuality" is one example--is laced with subtle and not-so-subtle innuendo that we are "after their kids." We must learn from the abortion struggle, where the clever claiming of the term "pro-life" allowed those who opposed abortion on demand to frame the issue to their advantage, to make sure that we do not allow ourselves to be painted into a corner before the debate even begins. In Massachusetts--the first state to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against public schools students and the first to institute a state-wide program to address homophobia in schools--the effective reframing of this issue was the key to the success of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. We immediately seized upon the opponent's calling card--safety--and explained how homophobia represents a threat to students' safety by creating climate where violence, name-calling, health problems, and suicide are common. Titling our report "Making Schools Safe for Gay and Lesbian Youth," we automatically threw our opponents onto the defensive and stole their best line of attack. This framing short-circuited their arguments and left them back-pedaling from day one. Finding the effective frame for your community is the key to victory. It must be linked to universal values that everyone in the community has in common. In Massachusetts, no one could speak up against our frame and say, "Why, yes, I do think students should kill themselves": this allowed us to set the terms for debate. In New York with the "Rainbow Curriculum," the opponents set the tone from the start by framing it as "forcing a gay agenda on little children." Regardless of how you frame your argument, understand this: you often win or lose right here. It is next to impossible to win a debate where you are forced to use the opponents' frameworks and language. 3. PUTTING A HUMAN FACE ON THE ARGUMENT IS CRUCIAL. In Massachusetts, we made creating an environment where youth could speak out our number one priority. We knew that, confronted with real-live stories of youth who had suffered from homophobia, our opponents would automatically be on the defensive: they would have to attack people who had already been victimized once, which put them in a bully position from which it would be hard to emerge looking good. More importantly, we made sure these youth met with elected officials so that, the next time these officials had to vote on something, there would be a specific face and story attached to the issue. We wanted them to have an actual kid in mind when they had to cast their votes. We won the final vote in the Senate 33-7 as a result. The success of the Radical Right is based on being able to defame us--to portray gay teachers as monsters and to render gay youth invisible. Our only defense is to put a human face on the bogeyman that they represent us as being. When we do this, we make it hard for people to vote their prejudices, because they know a real human being instead of a mythical monster. Make this a personal issue for them by connecting them with a real person. 4. ORGANIZING ACROSS EXISTING DIVISIONS IS IMPERATIVE. Just as your frame must be universal in nature, so must your organizing. To be seen as a "liberal" or "gay" or "Democratic" cause is to ensure ghettoization. Instead, reach across party lines as well as lines of sexual orientation to bring together people so that the issue is as non-partisan as possible. In Massachusetts, this took two forms. First, we had a Republican Governor working with Democratic legislators to pass a bill, which left our political opponents no political home to retreat to. More importantly, we involved straight people-- especially youth--from that start so that legislators understood this was an issue of human--not "gay"--rights. After all, we were working to ensure that all youth had equal educational opportunity, which should be the concern of the whole community, not just the gay people, so we called upon the whole community to get involved. The willingness of many straight people to join with us once again cut off a standard line of attack for our opponents. It couldn't be a gay "agenda" when so many straight people were the spokespeople. CONCLUSION It is important to remember, on those dark days when things are going poorly, that our victory is inevitable. Americans, deep down, do not believe in discrimination. It violates the principle of fairness, which is dearest to America's heart. It took us over a century to get it about slavery, but we got it, and it took us even longer to get it around suffrage, but we eventually got it. As a result, it is now illegal to discriminate on the basis of race and gender. One day, it will also be illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The question is not if we will win--it's when. MORE INFO: FOR A FREE COPY OF THE MAKING SCHOOLS SAFE FOR GAY AND LEBSIAN YOUTH REPORT, CALL 617-727-3600, EXT. 312 ***** ***** ***** This document is part of THE GLSTN TOOLBOX, an online resource of practical information and tools, for educators, students, parents and community organizers, to help fight homophobia in K-12 schools. Founded in 1990 as a regional volunteer organization in Boston, The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN) today has over 20 chapters around the country and is the largest organization of teachers and community members dedicated to ensuring that all students are valued and respected, regardless of sexual orientation. GLSTN's work includes community organizing, providing programming to schools, and developing materials that teachers can use to raise awareness among their colleagues and students. Membership is open to all who are committed to ending homophobia in schools, regardless of sexual orientation or occupation. The GLSTN TOOLBOX is available from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Teachers Network World Wide Web Site: http://www.glstn.org/freedom/ In the interest of sharing this information with others, you may copy and redistribute this document provided that all notices remain intact. You may not charge or make a profit from the redistribution of this material. If you have writing which you would like to contribute to The GLSTN TOOLBOX, please contact us by phone at (212) 727-0135 or by e-mail at glstn@glstn.org.