Are the days when LGBTQ+ communities stormed the gates of power in direct action long behind us? Some of us lived through the Stonewall rebellion of 1969, the Toronto bathhouse raids in 1981 and other global examples of resisting and fighting oppression.
Then the HIV/AIDS crisis of the late ‘80s and ’90s hit: LGBTQ+ activists, angry and afraid, witnessed, firsthand, its devestating impact. The support of LGBTQ+ communities fueled civil rights activism, made homophobia less acceptable and led to LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations around the world.
I was trained through ActUp, New York, in how to participate in civil disobedience campaigns. ActUp followed lessons from groups of the smartest protesters in the world. We pointed to political structures that blocked our causes, shouting: “The whole world is watching!” And it was.
I thought of those days as I recently watched EastSiders. The show’s first 2012 episode started with disruptive innuendos – something suggesting a satirical take on apocalypse, as the date “12.22.2012” (Dec. 12, 2012) flashed across the screen. Popular media explained this date heralded the end of one cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar – and this was widely misunderstood to signal the end of the world.