Tag Archives: political theatre

White House Posts Pic Of Obama On Rosa Parks Bus After Refusing To Sign Anti-LGBT Discrimination EO

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Less than a week after President Obama refused to sign an Executive Order that would advanced  stopped LGBT discrimination by companies that hold federal contracts, the White House tweeted this photo of President Obama sitting in the iconic bus where Rosa Parks made her civil rights stand in 1955.

The Executive Order that Obama refused to sign mirrored the one President Lyndon Johnson signed in 1965 to advance black civil rights.

Maybe someone should photo shop a gay man, a lesbian, a bisexual, and trangender person  behind him on the back bench of the bus and make a real statement.

Legendary Playwright and NYC Gay Activist Doric Wilson Dies At Age 72

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Legendary gay playwright and LGBT activist Doric Wilson, (pictured left) an early figure in New York’s Off-Off-Broadway scene died on  May 7, according to friends. He was 72 years old.

Wilson was one of the first resident playwrights at the legendary Caffe Cino in Greenwich Village, where in 1961 Wilson opened his comedy And He Made A Her, followed by three more hits including Pretty People, Babel Babel Little Tower and Now She Dances!— which dealt head on with the trail of Oscar Wilde—helped establish Joe Cino’s hole-in-the-wall as an offbeat theatre mecca. Later in the 1960s, Mr. Wilson was one of the first playwrights invited to join the Barr/Wilder/Albee Playwright’s Unit and, with fellow Cino alum Lanford Wilson, Circle Repertory Theatre. His other plays included In Absence, Turnabout, The West Street Gang, A Perfect Relationship and Forever After.

Wilson was present on June 28, 1969, the night when the famous Stonewall Riots broke out but at that time was already an active participant in the anti-war and civil rights movements.. Following the riot, he became active in Gay Activist Alliance and, as a “star” bartender, helped open post-Stonewall gay bars like The Spike, TY’s and Brothers & Sisters Cabaret.

In 1974, Doric Wilson, along with Billy Blackwell, Peter del Valle and John McSpadden, formed TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence), the first professional theatre company to deal openly and honestly with the gay experience. “I was involved with Circle Rep at the time,when it suddenly occurred to me that I could use the Cino experience to combine my talents with my politics. I could focus my life and abilities to promote a theatre dedicated ‘to an honest and open exploration of the GLBT life experience and cultural sensibility.‘”

In 2004 Doric Wilson was honored to be one of the Grand Marshals of the 35th Anniversary Pride Day Parade in New York City. He is featured in the documentary film “Stonewall Uprising” (2010).

Doric Wilson is and always should  be remembered a one of the original activists and fighters for LGBT Equality.

Rest In Peace Doric and Thank You.  –  via:  Playbill.com

Is The Current DADT Hullabaloo Nothing More Than A Political Theatre?

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I haven’t written anything the past week about the current DADT Repeal “extravaganza” this week because its been all over every other LGBT website and blog out there. But now I am going to weigh in and I have a bit of a different outlook on what’s going on.

First off I’d like to say that I think it’s great that something’s finally being done about DADT. But the way it’s being presented and the way they are going about it is making me think that it’s some sort of political strategy to make a really big show out of it to prove that the Democrats and Obama are acyually working hard as “fierce advocates” to get the LGBT Community back on the Democrat/Obama Express just in time for Congress Midterm Elections and that by making it such a huge issue will take our focus off other issues which have been postponed and fallen by the wayside. (Remember EDNA anyone?)

But let’s be real here shall we.  The repeal of DADT is a no brainer and probably the easiest issue on the LGBT Agenda to accomplish.  A vast majority of Americans want it repealed and thats a well documented fact.  Even Rep. Patrick Murphy, the Pennsylvania Democrat who’s crafting the House’s bill to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, says he at this time has 187 co-sponsors and “about two dozen other folks” who say they’ll vote for it if it comes up. That puts the bill’s Yes numbers at around 211, and 218 are needed assure passage.

So why suddenly all this shit about year long studies and theatrics? Well for one if they add the repeal Defense Authorization bill that probably won’t pass until the end of October. And Midterm Elections for the Legislature is in November. And we all know the Democrats are skating on very thin ice not only with the LGBT Community but progressives in general. By doing this The Democrats are hoping to lessen the blow of loss in Congress because lets face it there IS going to be a loss of seats. But by getting the repeal through in late October they can be like. “Hey Homos! Look what we’ve done for you! And boy was it hard, but we did it so vote for us!”

This truly is political theatre at it’s best.  And it serves them another purpose which is to hope that making of such a spectical about the DADT repeal will not only make it seem like they are going something thats very “hard” for us (which in reality isn’t.)  But it will take our focus off other issues like EDNA which has fallen off the radar and getting rid of DOMA which hasn’t even been whispered at yet.  Also taking  a slow track on something as easy as DADT sets a standard of slow pace for other issues.  (Look how long it ook to repeal DADT.  Now be patient while we work on EDNA which will take 5 years)

The question is will we fall for it? Are we going to bullshitted again by some slight iof hand and political posyuring

Will we be so blind as not to see that this is whats really happening?

I hope not. 

REPEAL DADT NOW!