The Fallacy of the “Love Opposition”

By Rick Gunderman

Almost three years ago, back in high school (ah, the good ol’ days…) I joined up with a group called “Positive Space”. Positive Space was a gay-straight alliance dedicated to promoting rights and a safe environment for LGBTQ students.

I was one of the few straight males in the group and endured harassment for my involvement. Before I knew it, half of the school assumed I must have been gay – due in no small part, I’m sure, to my younger brother and his friends.

Positive Space was, truth be told, more of a club than an activist group. I can remember two major activities – we lobbied for and got a compulsory assembly early in the year where we introduced three guest speakers, and later in the year we organized a day of workshops centred on themes of sexuality. I’m sure far fewer people would have attended were the workshops not counted towards extra credit.

The rest of our time was spent with idle chatter, indignant rants against homophobia, and the occasional visit by one of the faithful to discuss our differences in beliefs.

The homophobia spilled out in full force when many of our posters around the school were found torn and in the garbage, and when the occasional tough-guy would shout “fags” into our meeting room and promptly flee before anybody had a chance to see his face*.

As per school rules, we had to have a teacher sponsoring and supervising our group. Our teacher-advisor was a strong-willed woman who was very knowledgeable and passionate about LGBTQ rights. A point of contention for me emerged over time, however, when her ideas about conducting the group’s activities became clear to me. The idea, we were told, was to “tear down walls”, “build bridges”, and other such care-bear tactics for putting an end to homophobia.

If we had an incident, we were not to rely on collective action and the strength of our group – we were to report it to the school authorities. There was no talk of demonstrations, protests, or even leafleting.

There is nothing wrong with reaching out to like-minded groups in order to strengthen a movement – in fact, that’s exactly how a movement succeeds. But there is a very big, very monstrous, machine-gun-armed-and-manned Berlin Wall standing between the homophobes and the rest of us. And they’re perfectly willing to fire off a 21-gun salute every time a gay teenager is called a fag, every time a lesbian couple is harassed for holding hands, and every time a trans student is left for dead after a severe beating.

Realistically, what chance does a movement that relies on offering “free hugs” to the Westboro Baptist Church have of truly overcoming homophobia? These thugs who prowl the streets looking to bash some gays would rather have their tongues nailed to a wooden table then have anything to do with LGBTQ people and their supporters.

For too long, the gay rights movement has relied on litigation, legislation and love-ins to advance their cause. And yet it was only a little over a year ago that Lawrence King was shot to death at his high school by a heterofanatic punk who couldn’t handle Lawrence asking him to be his Valentine.

Staring down the barrel of a handgun, was Lawrence King supposed to try to “break down a wall”?

The point is not that the gay rights movement hasn’t fulfilled many aspects of their mission. Quite to the contrary, they are one of the most effective movements in this day and age in terms of getting done what they need to get done. And truth be told, I don’t mean to single out gay rights activists any more than environmentalists, feminists, trade unionists, or secularists who engage in the same petit-bourgeois, formalized tactics rather than mobilizing their supporters to confront those who mean to do us harm.

If we want real, lasting changes to our social order to destroy the last vestiges of the moral absolutism that dictates conformity and obedience, we have to be willing to take a real stand. Activists of the world: don’t be afraid to fight when you know you’re right!

* I’m sure he and his skinny gym-class crew had a good laugh and a round of high-fives over this.