Angered by Garland Death, NYC Homosexuals Riot.
That was how I first heard about the Stonewall Uprising.
The long, hot summer of 1969. Judy Garland was dead.
In conservative suburban Steeltown, USA, a skinny, tow-headed stripling, who knows that he's different from other people and is trying to figure out why, hears the word “homosexuals” on the radio news.
His ears immediately prick up.
Angered by Garland Death, NYC Homosexuals Riot.
Nothing about centuries of deadly, Biblically-sanctioned oppression.
Nothing about decades of unjust, targeted police harassment.
Judy Garland, a known homosexual icon (Why?), was dead. Therefore, the homosexuals were rioting.
Takeaway #1: Nothing that these people do makes any sense. Therefore,
Takeaway #2: These people are not to be taken seriously.
Believe me, trivialization is nothing new to gay men. We've seen it for years. We see it still today.
When we and our experience are reduced to a single letter in an ugly, ever-expanding, and increasingly-unwieldy non-acronym, what is that but trivialization?
When we and our experience become just one stripe in an ever-increasing, ever-more-meaningless, ever more ugly “rainbow” flag, what is that but trivialization?
54 years have passed since that Summer of Stonewall. Much has changed. Much hasn't.
Takeaway #1: When you hear that news story, be sure that there's a story you're not hearing.
Takeaway # 2: When you hear that news story, don't be too quick to jump to conclusions.
Judy Garland, my ass.