We’ve spoken a few times here about our need for allies in the movement for full LGBT equality under federal law in the US. Unfortunately in our work with many different progressive organizations, it is sometimes difficult not to notice the lack of LGBT involvement in the larger progressive movement. There is of course a whole chicken/egg part of this discussion which includes arguments about whether or not the greater progressive movement wants our involvement or whether or not we want to be involved.
Either way, what we do know is that without allies in our fight, we cannot win. And some of the most effective allies we can have are activists – those people who are unafraid to stand up and speak out for what is right. Social justice is about building something, making friends, keeping them with you and using the power of many to win.
Today, we were proud to be street captains in helping to organize 12,000 people to stand hand-in-hand circling the White House. We joined many other LGBT activists and friends in the action. We were there to protest the building of the Keystone XL Pipeline which would take oil from the Tar Sands in Canada tot eh Gulf of Mexico. People have dozens of different reasons for protesting this pipeline, but among my most motivating reasons is the fact that if it took us to 3 months to plug the BP oil spill (and we knew that happened because of an explosion), how many millions of gallons will spill into our country’s drinking water when that one breaks?
Of course as I said, there are dozens of other reasons to protest this pipeline – everything from it being built on Native American land which would defy treaties from many generations ago to it not alleviating our dependence on foreign oil in the slightest. One thing is clear, this is something we all need to care about.
And when you show up to a rally because it’s the right thing to do, wear your colors. Let the other people there know that the LGBT community cares about what’s important for all of us.
Enjoy some photos from today’s incredible action at the White House. FYI – we’d hoped to wrap around the White House in a single file line. We wrapped around almost 3 times with 12,000 people.
Talk About Equality 