Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit LOVE AND RAGE Electronic Edition APRIL/MAY 1993 Part 1 Love and Rage is created by the Love and Rage Network, a group of people from across North America who find themselves in general political agreement. Love and Rage is one of the many projects of the Network to which supporters contribute time, money and energy. Major decisions and overall policies are set by the Network. Individuals and supporting groups who participate in the Network gather in an annual conference, at which most major decisions are made. The Network Council, comprised of up to two delegates from each supporting group, meet at least once between conferences to make interim decisions. A popularly elected Coordinating Group makes urgent decisions. Ongoing debates take place in our Discussion Bulletin (Disco Bull), out every six to eight weeks. More timely information goes out bi-weekly in the Network Bulletin. Day to day editorial decisions about the paper are made by the volunteer Production Group (PG). A group of elected Coordinators shares responsibility for the general work of the Network. Two of these Coordinators, the Co-Facilitators, work with the PG on production of the paper and help coordinate the projects of the Network. In an effort to further democratize and strengthen the Network, temporary Regional Organizing Contacts volunteer to be a contact for their local areas. The Love and Rage Network is not a closed circle of friends. You can become part of the Network and participate fully in the decision-making process. Ask the person who sold or gave you this paper, or write to one of the many Love and Rage contacts listed in this paper. Coordinating Group Erric, Atlanta, GA Liz, Boston, MA Paul, Berkeley, CA Ana, Mexico City Terry, New York, NY Crystal, Chicago, IL Jodi, Columbus, OH Jean-Marc, Minneapolis, MN Fur, Atlanta GA Gene, Newark, NJ Ojore Lutalo, Trenton, NJ Coordinators List Regions Coordinator Britt, 702 S. Illinois Ave. Apt. 115 Carbondale, IL 62901 Network Coordinator Shannon c/o Love and Rage Interorganizational Coordinator Phillip, 27 School Street Sommerville, MA 02143 International Coordinator Todd c/o Love and Rage Finance Coordinator Matt c/o Love and Rage Fundraising Coordinator Rick c/o Love and Rage Info-Share Coordinator Jodi c/o AA, PO Box 10007 Columbus OH 43201 Discussion Bulletin Coordinators Jean-Marc and Nikolas PO Box 581354, Minneapolis, MN 55458-1354 Co-Facilitators Dema Crassy and Ms. Tommy Lawless c/o Love and Rage Production Group: Gene, Christopher, Bob, Matt L, Rick, Sara, Matt B*, Shannon, Todd, ommy, Pablo, Dema, Greg, Beth, Paul, Dave [PG Members who didn't work on this issue are marked with an "*"] Translators Eugenio, Todd, Ana*, Gustavo*, Pablo Love and Rage is printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks. Love and Rage is printed by a union printer. ISSN # 1065-2000. Submission deadlines for the next two issues: April 15, and June 15. When we don't have the money to produce our regular twenty page full-size edition, we produce an eight page "Broadsheet" edition. If you're having trouble getting the paper, please call (212) 569-0989 or (201) 344-3397. Boring Disclaimer Look. Articles, Letters, Notes of Revolt, and other things printed in Love and Rage do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of the Love and Rage Network or of any person involved therein. We print a variety of articles for a variety of reasons, including articles we don't agree with, because we believe that they are interesting or provocative. So there. Love And Rage PO Box 3 Prince Street Station New York, NY 10012 (212) 569 0989 or (201) 344 3397 e-mail: lnr%nyxfer@igc.apc.org loveandrage@igc.apc.org -30- LOVE AND RAGE Electronic Edition APRIL/MAY 1993 In this Issue Part 1: North American News The Klan in Simi Valley Klan on the Run Anarchists Named in McLibel Suit Short Takes Correction Queer News Spread: Queer Killings Expose Left Hypocrisy My Own Private Islam Questioning (Queer) Authority The Right to Love, The Right to Kill Part 2: International News Abortion Access Erodes in East Bloc Fiery Viruses Communique Anti-Fascist Action, Edinburgh Asian Student Movements of the '90s Moldavia: Repression of Anarcho-Syndicalists Cuban Activists Can't Go Home Irish Border Protests Parcel Bomb Kills German Activist Repression in Greece Continues Partial Victory for Nigerian Anarchists InfoShops: The Medium is the Message International News Roundup Mexico: Amor y Rabia en Espanol Part 3: Prison News/ABC Page Rita Bo Brown on Solidarity with Political Prisoners League of Lesbian and Gay Prisoners Panthers Up for Parole Kenny Tolia Freed Shocking Statistics: Political Prisoners in the USA Current Campaigns for Political Prisoners New Campaign: Poles in Prison The Anarchist Black Cross Part 4: Letters to the Editor, Notices A Few Words About Politics Where's AYF? Writers Wanted! New Journal on Childhood Sexual Abuse Spanish Section Synopsis Letters to Love and Rage Part 5: Resources Upcoming Events Supporting Groups & Regional Contacts Other Anarchist Contacts New Directory of Radical Resources Resources for Women's Rights Running of the Bulls .................................................................. LOVE AND RAGE Electronic Edition APRIL/MAY 1993 THE KLAN IN SIMI VALLEY by Chris Crass SIMI VALLEY, Calif -- ANTI-racist activists kept the Klan away on Jan 30, 1993 in Simi Valley. The K.K.K. had planned to demonstrate in front of the Simi Valley Courthouse in support of the police officers who beat Rodney King. When news of this demonstration spread, Neighbors Against Nazis organized a counter-demonstration. The rally against racism began in the morning with music and speakers. Information tables were set up by such organizations as People Against Racist Terror, Committee for the Impeachment of (California Governor) Pete Wilson, and the (anarchist) Southern California Web Collective. Over 150 people came out for the rally to show opposition to racism and police brutality. The largest faction of activists at the protest was the anarchists. With more than 60 of us there, mainly dressed in black, we were also the greatest concern to the police. The K.K.K. never showed up, apparently in fear of the anti-racists! -30- KLAN ON THE RUN: ANTI-RACIST ACTION ON THE PROWL TORONTO -- ANTI-RACIST ACTION (A.R.A.) came together to bring people out onto the streets to show the strength of our opposition to fascism as well as our commitment to a multi-racial, multi-cultural, sexually diverse, equal and fun society. A.R.A. is an open group. Our meetings are wheelchair accessible, and childcare is provided. Born in late Sept 1992, A.R.A. has already mounted several successful actions and will build on our successes with increased participation. THE FASCIST THREAT TODAY? The experience of the Holocaust and the defeat of Hitler's Nazi Germany led many to believe that the world had learned its lesson and fascism was dead. But in 1992 we witnessed once again an alarming resurgence of fascism throughout Europe. In Germany we have seen racist assaults, firebombings of refugee hostels, mass fascist rallies and riots, and an increasing identification with fascist ideology among young people. The popularity of fascism has spread through France, Italy, Greece, Belgium, England, Austria, Spain, Poland and other European countries. It is happening here too. Fascist groups have also been growing across Canada. Now, spurred by the "successes" of their European counterparts, they feel strong enough to begin to organize publicly. Toronto's own fascist movement is the "nerve center" for Canadian white supremacists of all stripes. The Heritage Front, the Church of the Creator, the Aryan Resistance Movement and the Ku Klux Klan (K.K.K.) are networking and building their ranks in this city. The Heritage Front, which acts as the main recruiting front for Toronto's neo-nazi/white supremacist movement, has been leafletting neighbourhoods, postering and recruiting in high schools, hosting international neo-nazi speakers, holding rallies, making bomb threats, vandalizing community centres, and promoting their particular brand of hate. They have also been linked to the bombing of the Morgentaler abortion clinic. Heritage Front leader Wolfgang Droege is a former leader of the Canadian Knights of the K.K.K. He was convicted by a U.S. court of an attempted armed invasion of the Caribbean island of Dominica (as well as cocaine trafficking) for which he served two years in prison. Despite their infamous leader and explicitly racist platform, the Heritage Front have attempted to present themselves as a legitimate political movement, committed to "equal rights for whites." We have seen the brutal results of fascist ideology. We have seen millions executed at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. We cannot plead ignorance. Called "fascism," "neo- nazism" or "white supremacy" these ideas equal racism, hatred and violence. We have learned from history that fascism doesn't disappear by just wishing it away. It must be confronted by an overwhelming majority of people standing up and refusing to allow it to grow. We can prevent the far-right from taking root in this country, but we must act before it's too late. The rise of fascism relies on our fear and our silence. We cannot turn a blind eye while they poison our youth with their lies and hatred, instill fear in our communities, assault and murder our brothers and sisters. We cannot allow them to organize in our city and march on our streets. We must act up and fight back. The power to defeat fascism lies in our hands. We will educate and mobilize our communities, stop their organizing in our schools and take back our streets! The Heritage Front has singled out Toronto's high schools for intensive recruitment drives through leafletting, postering and an increasing presence. This attempt to peddle their racism and lies to our youth is outrageous, offensive and will not be tolerated. A.R.A. has been meeting with students, community leaders, teachers and the Toronto Board of Education. A.R.A. has launched a campaign of counter-leafletting and counter-postering in schools targeted by the Heritage Front. We have been organizing in the schools, supporting and developing anti-racist initiatives to raise awareness and develop strategies to drive the nazis out of our schools and streets. ON THE PROWL Sept 29, 1992: The Heritage Front organized a march on the courthouse to defend their operation of a telephone hateline. With 40 hours notice, a counter-demonstration was organized, far outnumbering the racists, many of whom fled the scene in panic. A.R.A. was born. Week of Nov 9, 1992: On the anniversary of Kristallnacht, A.R.A. protested against the German government's inaction against the rising tide of neo-fascism there. Similar actions took place around the world, responding to a call by Germany's anti-fascist movement. Nov 13, 1992: The Heritage Front sponsored a secret rally in Toronto, hosting several prominent international neo-nazi speakers. But A.R.A. was there to shut 'em down! Their meeting hall was surrounded and pelted with eggs by an angry crowd demanding an end to racist organizing in our city. Over a hundred humiliated racists were forced to slink out of the building under police escort. Dec 19, 1992: A.R.A. responded to the rise in queer-bashings carried out by young K.K.K. and Heritage Front thugs in Toronto and Montreal. Hundreds of people marched in Toronto's gay neighbourhood to show our defiance: We will not be intimidated by fascist homophobes. Jan 19, 1993: A.R.A. launched its campaign in Toronto high schools with a mass rally and march beginning at Riverdale High School in the east end of Toronto. Young anti-racists joined forces to show fascist organizers that they have a bigger fight on their hands than they anticipated. When they come for our brothers and sisters, A.R.A. will be there. Your involvement is the key to A.R.A.'s success! Whether in educational campaigns, "Rock Against Racism" gigs or out in the street, A.R.A. needs you! A.R.A. has been helping high school students to build their own independent A.R.A. groups in their schools. A.R.A. also meets as a large body to coordinate actions and campaigns that bring together concerns from various schools and communities. * If you want to join Anti-Racist Action, start an A.R.A. group in your school or just get more information, contact us. Anti-Racist Action P.O. Box 664, Stn. C Toronto, Ont. M6J 3S1 Canada Klanbusters Hotline: (416) 968-2127 -30- ANARCHISTS NAMED IN MCLIBEL SUIT LONDON -- HELEN STEEL AND Dave Morris, two supporters of the anarchist collective London Greenpeace, are named in a libel suit brought on by McDonalds. The hamburger giant is angry about the increasing visibility and success of anti-McDonalds activism in the U.K. and everywhere. McDonalds is the worlds largest retail property owner and food service organization, with annual profits of billions of dollars from exploiting workers, murdering animals, destroying the environment, pushing unhealthy food, and indoctrinating children. Over the years many people and groups have campaigned against Mickey D's. In 1985 London Greenpeace, a small independent collective since 1970, launched a general anti-McDonalds campaign to try to coordinate and strengthen opposition. A special detailed factsheet titled "What's wrong with McDonalds: Everything they don't want you to know" was produced, translated and taken to scores of countries. Feeling the heat, McDonalds has responded with a two fisted attack. On the one hand they have stepped up propaganda efforts, trying to portray themselves as friends to the environment and community. On the other hand they are using the legal system to harass and silence activists. Libel laws are stacked in favor of the rich and powerful, and the court proceedings can be extremely expensive and lengthy. A range of organizations and media bodies were forced to apologize or face libel suits for daring to criticize the transnational corporation. (This has included the British newspaper the Guardian, Britain's Channel 4, Scottish Trade Unions Council, vegetarian and green groups, labor research institutes and many more.) Despite these attempts to intimidate activists, grassroots opposition continued to grow, and so in September 1990 McDirtball filed a libel suit against two individuals connected with London Greenpeace. Rather than halting protests, this threat to free speech has served to further damage McDonalds reputation and to strengthen the resolve of its critics. The defendants, Helen Steel and Dave Morris, backed by London Greenpeace and the McLibel Support Campaign, have resolved to fight this major libel case to show that intimidation must never be allowed to succeed. McDonalds has tried to drag out the proceedings to drain the resources of the defense, but it looks like they are going to try and rush through the second phase of the proceedings -- the interrogatories -- where the real details and evidence will be aired. Among the evidence they have so far successfully repressed are details of Helen and Dave's involvement: All they were doing was handing out the leaflets! They aren't even charged with writing the anti-McD material. This evidence would expose McDonalds' spying on activists, including using an infiltrator. Funds are desperately needed. Support for Helen and Dave is being organized by: London Greenpeace 5 Caledonia Road London N1, England Tel (01) (081) 837 7557 Copies of the allegedly libelous leaflet are available from: Veggies 180 Mansfield Road Nottingham, England -30- Short Takes: ANOTHER RACIST POLICE MURDER HAYWARD, Calif. -- JERROLD HALL, A 19-YEAR-OLD African-American male, was shot in the head and killed by Bay Area Rapid Transit (B.A.R.T.) Police Officer Fred Crabtree on Nov 15, 1992. Crabtree was responding to a third-hand description of an "armed robbery" on the train, based on an anonymous complaint by an alleged victim. The complaining party claimed his Walkman radio had been stolen by two African-American men with a gun. No gun was ever found. Hall is dead: a racist police murder. John Owens, his suspected "accomplice," is in jail on felony robbery charges. Officer Crabtree is armed again on active duty. The community is outraged. COPWATCH and Roots Against War have organized several demos. Send funds and letters of support to: John Henry Owens Fund c/o COPWATCH 2022 Blake Street Berkeley, CA 94704 -30- KICKING THE KLAN'S KABOODLE FOUR HUNDRED ANTI-RACIST DEMONSTRATORS CONfronted 30 nazis on University Ave. on Jan 25, 1993. The demonstrators were attacked and arrested by Metro Police Officers on horseback with clubs. The Metro Police then cleared a corridor to allow the 30 nazis access to the courthouse. The nazis turned out in support of the Heritage Front, a white supremacist group, for the Canadian Human Rights Commission Hearing. Heritage Front leader, Wolfgang Droege, commented: "I wish the police were not there so we could take care of this once and for all." Yeah, right! The police attacked the mildly-behaved crowd for no apparant reason, except to create a deliberate diversion to allow nazis into the courthouse. This is the second time this has happened at a Heritage Front hearing. Klanbusters joins with Anti-Racist Action in calling for all charges to be dropped against anti-racists! Klanbusters, P.O. Box 146, Station P, Toronto, ONT M5S 2S6, Canada, Tel (416) 968-2127, Fax (416) 964-2111 -30- THREE THOUSAND ANTI-FASCIST DEMONSTRATORS took to the streets in protest of a visit by Tom Metzger, leader of the White Aryan Resistance, on Jan 22, 1993. Four hundred action-oriented protesters discovered Metzger's real location, a nearby hotel, and gained entrance. The speech was disrupted shortly after it began, and police escorted the nazis safely out the back. A few protesters were arrested. Gord H., who puts out OH-Toh-Kin, is facing serious felonies, including concealed weapons, explosives, masked and mischief charges. To express support, contact: Arm The Spirit P.O. Box 57584, Jackson Station Hamilton, ONT L8P 4X3, Canada -30- THE MINNESOTA EIGHT MINNEAPOLIS -- THE MINNESOTA EIGHT NEED YOUR SUPPORT. A COP WAS shot in Sept 1992, amid a tense gang-phobic atmosphere. In the weeks following the shooting, the police terrorized Black youth in south Minneapolis. Eight African-American men will stand trial: four charged with killing a police officer, three with killing an African-American man (whom the mainstream press suggested was a police informer), and one youth charged with both shootings. Together these young men are popularly called the Minnesota Eight. Pre-trial hearings did not go well, and the Committee Seeking Equal Justice for the Minnesota Eight desperately needs funds. Write to them to offer support at: P.O. Box 40355 St. Paul, MN 55104 -30- TIMMMBER! BURLINGTON, Vt. -- SEVERAL electrical utility poles in five Vermont locations have been sabotaged since April 1992. The utility poles have been notched, cut or drilled in a way that makes them fall down in strong winds or heavy snowfall. The Central Vermont Public Service Corporation has received a letter saying that three utility poles needed to be replaced and that there could be other consequences unless they dropped their contract with Hydro-Quebec. This contract, which is between Hydro-Quebec and 17 Vermont utilities, has been the subject of controversy for several years because Hydro-Quebec is planning to expand to provide extra, unneeded power to these companies. These plans threaten the indigenous lifestyles of the Cree, Innuit and Innu peoples of Northern Quebec. The plans threaten fragile habitats and the future of several species that live in them. -30- Scene News ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- THE LAB IS a collective house that sponsors shows every weekend in their basement. Visit them at 144 Hill. Zip is 48104. AUSTIN, Texas -- FOR ALL OF y'all unfamiliar with the anarchist milieu in Slackerland, the Atatl Collective sends a report. Last year the Students for a Classless University Movement (S.C.U.M.) was created to give the U. of Texas community a kick in the ass. Anarchist activity here has been riding a real rollercoaster. Highs have included protest around the Republikkkan Convention in Houston, a very fun anti-Labor-Day march, and anti-Columbus-Day actions which featured a Columbus pi¤ata bash complete with gratuitous scramble for bloody-eyeball-shaped candy! The new year has seen anti-Klan actions (see Page 11) and the second Circle A Roundup/Gathering. Contact us at: 504 West 24th Street, Box 81, Austin, Tx 78705 BOSTON -- THE TOOLS COLLECtive holds weekly meetings and forums, distributes literature and organizes shows. Stop by their space at 107 Brighton Ave., or contact them at the same address, 02134. DETROIT -- CHECK OUT 404 WILLIS, an @ space that offers a community meal every Sunday and hosts workshops, meetings, shows, a coffeehouse, poetry readings, films and Pandora's Box " a wimmins art display/performance. Men often provide childcare and meet in an anti-sexist group and produce the zine, Out Male, as a reflection of gained awareness. Zip is 48201. KINGSTON, Ontario -- MEMBERS of the Class War Mountain Bike Club protested the Ottawa/Hull Auto Show, passing out leaflets on the true costs of our oil-based society and displaying a banner that read "Destroy the Auto-Culture." @utonomous Green Action helped to organize anarchists from Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto to protest the ARMX Armaments Trade Show March 17 in Ottawa. Contact @utonomous Green Action, P.O. Box 4721, Station E, Ottawa, Ontario K15 5H9, Canada SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- THERE IS A new @ community center in San Diego that's open 3:00-8:00 p.m., seven days a week, with free food every Thursday at 7:30p.m. Food Not Bombs! (F.N.B!) meets on Sundays and Love and Rage Conference Organizing Meetings are Sundays 6:00 p.m. 915 E Street, San Diego, CA 8722 Tel.(619) 239-8722 ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- LAST FALL A local F.N.B! started. We are now serving two days a week. Although not all members are anarchists, F.N.B! has offered us space to work together sharing anarchist ideals. Initially centered around the food issue, the group is now developing plans for a collective, affinity actions and squats. We also support local protests, strikes and political events. An Anarchist Youth Federation (A.Y.F.) chapter has also recently been born. Contact F.N.B! c/o 520 Kingsland Ave. Apt. 1N, St. Louis, MO 63130 Contact A.Y.F. c/o P.O. Box 5202, St. Louis, MO 63139 VICTORIA, British Columbia -- Greetings from the Hairy Ass Commune! In the past two years Victoria has become a bevy of anarchist activity! Womyn here are producing an anarcha-feminist zine, H.A.G. Also active: a new A.B.C. chapter, Terra Prima! (the local Earth First! group), an anti-authoritarian theatre group, Anti-Nazi Alliance, F.N.B! Victoria and Earth Liberation Front, a new Love and Rage supporting group who works in solidarity with sovereign First Nations. Committed activists are invited up for the summer to protest logging on First Nation lands. Bring your hemmorhoids. Contact us c/o A-5 1720, Douglas Street, Victoria, B.C. V8W 2G7, Canada -30- OOPS! The name of the Lakota band resisting nuclear waste storage was misspelled on Page 15 of Vol. 3, No. 7. The correct spelling is Mdewakanton. Our apologies. In the last issue (Vol. 4, No. 1) we reported that the police drove the attacking fascists away from Casa la Paz (Page 5). After going to print, we received a report from the squatters that they drove the nazis away themselves. Also in the last issue, on the ABC page readers were asked to contact Amor y Rabia support groups for information on the Campaign in Spain. Readers should contact the other addresses listed instead. -30- Special Queer Newspread: QUEER KILLINGS EXPOSE LEFT HYPOCRISY by K. Small MONTREAL -- ON THE NIGHT OF Sunday Nov 29, 1992 Yves Lalonde was beaten to death in Angrignon Park, Montreal. The next day police received an anonymous tip which led to the arrest of six neo-nazi skinheads, all of them minors. Although at first they did not seem to have been associated with any formal organization, later a membership card to the N.S.D.A.P./A.O. was found amongst their belongings. The N.S.D.A.P./A.O. claims to be the heir to Hitler's N.S.D.A.P. (Nazi Party). It is based in Nebraska, having been outlawed in Germany. Because the aggressors were neo-nazis and skinheads, the murder received a lot more attention than is usual for a homophobic killing. The next Sunday about thirty people held a vigil in the park. During the ceremony a statue of two clasped hands was unveiled, supposedly symbolizing tolerance. (So much for overt queer content.) The vigil was organized by the World Anti-Fascist League and featured speakers from the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Black Community Coalition and one representative of the Lesbian and Gay community. Responding to Lalonde's murder also became a priority for the Table de concertation des lesbiennes et gaies du Grand Montreal, Montreal's new lesbian and gay network, which sent a letter to the Quebec Human Rights Commission on Dec 9, 1992 demanding a public inquiry into homophobic violence. The letter stated that "this last murder is too much. We hope that it will be the last one caused by this senseless and hateful violence." Unfortunately, although the murder of Lalonde was indeed "too much" (as was every such murder which preceded it), it was not to be the last resulting from homophobic violence. On Saturday, Dec 12, 1992, Daniel Lacombe, an allegedly heterosexual man, was murdered by a group of young men by a roadstop near Joliette because they thought he was gay. This murder did not receive nearly as much attention from the left as had the death of Lalonde, probably because none of the murderers turned out to be skinheads. Nevertheless, it seems that these "apolitical" killers were much more dangerous and effective than the nazis who had killed Lalonde. During their career as almost professional fagbashers, the group managed to beat up about sixty men. Four of the accused are free. Three of them did not even have to post bail, supposedly because they're minors. Only Patrick Paquette (18-years-old) has not been released: he is charged with manslaughter. The left has, of course, paid much more attention to Lalonde's demise than it has to Lacombe's, and the reason is most probably a case of pure homophobia. The former is also a neo-nazi hate crime, and thus gives us all an occasion to discuss the extreme right, skinheads and the like. This is an example of homophobia on the left. The homophobia of the right serves to strengthen its ranks, and the homophobia of the mainstream often attracts these "normal apoliticals" to the right. Homophobia on the left does nothing but weaken the overall fight for liberation and turn good activists into monsters closely resembling the "enemy." A case in point: the latest issue of No KKK, No Fascist USA!, an American anti-fascist newspaper, has a letter describing a fagbashing in which a member of Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice and a nazi skin, along with many "non-politicals," cooperated in terrorizing some queer high school students. The social cleansing (my term, not theirs) carried out by Sendero Luminoso in Peru certainly resembles what in recent European history is associated with the extreme right (executions of homosexuals, prostitutes and all others who are deemed to be under the influence of "alien ideology," in this case European cultural imperialism). The Sept 19 attack on a gay club in Belfast last year is another example. Someone is reported to have shouted, "We have a bomb for this queer pub," as a fuel canister and explosive device were hurled into the bar. the Irish People's Liberation Organization (I.P.L.O. " a splinter off of the Irish National Liberation Army) later claimed responsibility for the firebombing. Homophobia is not the only hate ideology to infect the Left, and national liberation movements are not the only movements which succumb to hate mongering. Last spring l'Androgyne (Montreal's best gay, lesbian and feminist bookstore) decided to start selling Gaie France Magazine, a gay male magazine put out by a bunch of gay...nazis! With the exception of a small squeak of protest from certain anti-fascist and progressive elements of the feminist and queer communities in Montreal, most members of those communities supported the decision to stock the magazine, some even taking pen to paper in what at times resembled a smear campaign against the anti-fascists. Although unpleasant to mention, any discussion of right wing violence without acknowledgment of this kind of rot within our own movements can lead to nothing but hollow victories and bitter defeat. (This article was not printed in a local Montreal anti-imperialist anti-authoritarian newsletter due to its heavy criticism of the left). -30- MY OWN PRIVATE ISLAM by Yusuf Al-Hallaj AS I WRITE THIS ARTICLE, THE majority of my one billion fellow Muslims are fasting from dawn to dusk in this, the holy month of Ramadan. In the past, I have fasted myself and have felt an extraordinary sense of self-purification as well as a strangely transcendent identification with Muslims all over the world. But as I began to question certain precepts of orthodox Islam, my commitment to fasting dwindled. Today, the fourth day of the ninth month of the 1413th year of Islam, I will indulge in three square meals, and I will not feel guilty for a very simple reason: I am gay, and my religion, or more particularly, my co-religionists, say that I have sinned. And not only will I be punished in the afterlife, but I should be punished in this world too: lashing, imprisonment or death, depending on the discretion of the state ruler, in accordance with Islamic law. I feel no compulsion to identify, transcendently or otherwise, with my fellow Muslims, my brothers and sisters who would condemn me for loving a man. Islam's condemnation of homosexuality has not precluded homosexuality in Islamic societies, past or present. Iran in particular has had a long history of male-male sex and love (less is known about lesbianism in Muslim nations). Nineteenth century Egypt saw European travellers visiting not just to see the Pyramids and the Nile, but to look for pretty Egyptian boys too. Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, has a history of toleration of homosexuality, and in Pakistan there is a province where they say all men are fags, a stereotype not entirely devoid of factual basis. Needless to say, gays and lesbians "out of the closet" are unheard of in Muslim countries. In places like these, closets are for clothes, and then some. To be a Muslim in the U.S., irrespective of sexuality, is to confront a daily assault of ignorance with respect to Islam. In the media, in the classroom and in people's minds persist some of the most inaccurate and utterly stupid notions of Islam. I often feel like Islam's most ardent defender, a religious vanguard writing to newspapers with tallies of the number of times they have used "Muslim" and "fundamentalist" and "extremist" and "terrorist" interchangeably in a given week; correcting professors on the meaning of the word jihad; explaining why Aladdin is grossly offensive. I sometimes forget that the majority of the people I am so often defending would think me an abomination if they knew about my orientation and would even want me killed. As harsh as the West is to Islam, Muslims are by and large ten times so toward gays and lesbians. These are my people. Of course I am among Islam's strongest critics as well, or more precisely, I am among the strongest critics of Muslims, particularly those who start every other sentence with "The Quaran says ..." or "The prophet said ... ." In general, I know better than they what the Quaran says or what the prophet did. The dissident always knows the history of his or her people better than do others, if only by necessity. And yet, these are dangerous times. Too harsh a criticism of a Muslim is often taken as an attack on Islam, and one need only recall the furor provoked by Salman Rushdie to realize the peril in this. For most, coming out of the closet is difficult enough without the threat of religiously sanctioned bodily harm. I greet my fellow Muslims with the same hand with which I stroke my lover's penis, but they will never know it. Nor will they ever know the joy I feel or the love that I share with my man. For my part, I will never know what it is to be accepted by the only community I have ever really known. There is a profound cowardice inherent to my closeted way of life, but ultimately I am more comfortable defending Islam than myself. Rushdie is not the only one driven into hiding by Islam. -30- QUESTIONING (QUEER) AUTHORITY by Paul Dalton NINETEEN NINETY THREE HAS BEEN called the "Year of the Queer." Many, both inside and outside of the queer community are talking about the great victories of the past year. (By queer I mean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.) They cite the defeat of the viciously anti-queer initiative in Oregon, the election of a president who says, however quietly, that we deserve human rights, and the imminent end to the ban on queers in the military as pointing toward a new, stronger, more visible role for us in every level of society. The 1993 March on Washington is looked to by many as our collective "coming out" to America, where we show our numbers, our strength and our power. There is no doubt that we are more visible, and potentially more powerful than ever. This new found visibility has sharpened the attacks from our enemies. On the same day the Oregon measure was defeated, Colorado voters amended the state's constitution to prevent civil rights protection for queers. Throughout North America queer bashing has increased. But our struggles are not confined to the "straight" world. Racism, sexism and classism are very pervasive within queer culture and institutions. An increasingly powerful and reactionary queer " if you will excuse the term " bourgeoisie has sprung up in San Francisco, New York and other large cities. This class of capitalists, politicians and cops are the same as any bourgeoisie; they live parasitically off our work, our culture, and of course our bodies. Not surprisingly they are mostly male and mostly white. We also struggle amongst ourselves over our most basic unifying issue: sexuality. Slow to learn from our collective experience, large sections of the queer community actively fight to further marginalize bisexuals and transgendered people. The fact that the March on Washington refused to include any reference to transgendered people, and almost did the same with bisexuals, is outrageous. If we are truly struggling for a world free of predjudice and oppression based on sexuality, then we must be inclusive of all queer people. These struggles represent larger debates within the queer communities over both politics and tactics, a debate that reveals much about our strengths and weaknesses. On one hand we created some of the most effective and vital direct-action oriented groups in recent memory. Many young queers have grown up in a sort of culture of resistance " learning early on to directly confront their enemies and, importantly, knowing that they can win. On the other hand, the links between our struggle and the struggles of oppressed people everywhere have not been made effectively. We have allowed ourselves to fall into the trap of ghettoizing our struggles. We can only succeed if we make those links and we struggle together. Clinton's election poses a new set of problems for radicals within the queer community. Clinton's willingness to include some of our issues in the public debate has led many to see him as an ally. This is a dangerous misconception that has the potential of setting queer activism back: out of the streets and into the Capitol, the boardrooms, and, gulp, the military. If our goals are to assimilate into the mainstream of American economic, social and political life, then it makes sense to seize this opportunity and work to get our leaders accepted within the centers of power. If we are successful we can expect some legislative protection and the emergence of a strong queer power structure at every level within the government and economy. Where would that leave us? It would mean the rich, educated, white and male among us would all have the power of their straight counterparts. It would mean that we would become another microcosm of American society, complete with its racism, sexism, classism and so on. We already have the embryonic structures of such a world. We have union-busting businesses owned by queers. We have misogynist harassment of women in the Castro and on Christopher Street. We have an economy run by white men. We even have openly right wing queers supporting police crackdowns on our demonstrations and rallying behind "our troops" throughout the world. If this is the world you are struggling for, get out the vote, support queer owned businesses, and join the Log Cabin Club. If, however, we are struggling to end the oppression of all queers, women, people of color, youth, P.W.A.s..., then we must take a different approach. We need to take the direct action and militancy from ACT UP and Queer Nation and add it to a broader political perspective that sees the many layers of oppression that confront us and works to link our struggles together. We need to confront the inequalities and power games in our own communities. We need to respect picket lines at queer businesses. We need to recognize and support the battles that queer women and people of color are fighting within our own movements. We have to fight against the bi- and trans-phobia. We must realize that liberation is born out of struggle, not legislation or negotiation. We have revolutionary potential, but we are not inherently revolutionary. Yes, our very existence challenges the norms of patriarchy, but the power structures that run this country have shown a remarkable ability to assimilate sectors they had formerly shut out, when faced with the possibility of radical change. Was it really a victory for us to have Pete Williams, a gay man, as the Pentagon spokesman for the Gulf slaughter? As anarchists we struggle against all forms of domination. As queers we live the daily reality of that domination. Together we offer a radical, street-based, direct-action approach to political struggle. We fight to defend our communities from attack and to confront those who seek to destroy or control us. We struggle against the emerging queer bourgeoisie with the same vigor we fight the straight bourgeoisie. We will attempt to be part of making the connections between heterosexism and other forms of domination. Our goal is nothing short of revolution based not in a vanguard party, but in the communities, in the streets and in our bedrooms. -30- THE RIGHT TO LOVE, THE RIGHT TO KILL by Liz A. Highleyman THE GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL MOVEment has shifted from a broad liberation focus to a conservative, assimilationist course. Nowhere is this more evident than the focus on gay inclusion in the military. In this article I often use "gay" as shorthand for "gay, lesbian and bisexual." I usually prefer "queer" as an inclusive term, but since the essence of the military is obedience and conformity, I think that association with the military is the very antithesis of "queer." Some claim that the focus is not on the military itself, but on the "larger issue" of discrimination. This argument rings hollow. Same-sex erotic expression is illegal in most states and age of consent laws are considerably higher for same-sex relationships. The criminalization of sexual relationships affects far more gay, lesbian and bisexual people than exclusion from the military. Why then is the movement focusing on military exclusion instead of, say, repealing sodomy laws? It seems the movement wants to appeal to the "general public," and since the mainstream thinks that patriotism is good and sex is evil, the movement is emphasizing the patriotism of gays and keeping their sex lives in the closet. The military ban on non-heterosexuals is wrong, and it's absurd that the government spends time and resources hounding gay people out of the service. But it's a mistake to focus the energies of the gay movement on this issue, especially since many gay, lesbian and bisexual people think the military is a reprehensible institution. All gays, lesbians and bisexuals do not share the same political leanings " our opinions range from radical left to reactionary right. Yes, there are nationalistic and war mongering gay, lesbian and bisexual people. There are also those who cheat, rape and kill; these actions do not become acceptable when done by non-heterosexuals. Just because some heterosexuals are sanctioned to kill in the name of the state does not make it right. No one should be pressured to support actions they believe are wrong simply because they share a sexual orientation. The gay movement's current party line is that we are "obligated" to put aside our moral qualms and political convictions and rally around the "larger issue" of discrimination. Yet for some of us, opposing militarism and its associated values is as important as struggling for equality. One expects gung-ho rhetoric from conservative gays, but it's surprising to hear it from self-identified progressives, who claim they do not support the military itself, but do support those gays who choose to be in the military. ("Love the sinner, hate the sin?") Yet the current rhetoric does in fact support militarism. We've been hearing a great deal about the "right to serve one's country," but no examination of the fact that in the U.S. today "serving one's country" means carrying out the whims of the politicians in power. We hear about how "bravely" and "honorably" gay soldiers served in the Persian Gulf. How "brave" and "honorable" is it to drop high-tech bombs on helpless civilians in an attempt to prop up a president's macho image and his cronie's bank accounts? I acknowledge the need for self-defense, but the U.S. military's engagements have not been anything like defense of the country since World War II. By parroting the conservative line about the glories of war and military service, the "gay leadership" is endorsing militarism, whether it wants to or not. The platform of the March on Washington expresses an opposition to all forms of oppression. How can this be reconciled with the oppression that the U.S. State, using its military tool, perpetrates against less powerful people around the globe? The U.S. has propped up numerous genocidal regimes and supports governments that brutally oppress gay people, women and indigenous people. It is more than ironic that a movement that claims to struggle for human rights can at the same time embrace the "right" to participate in an institution that denies the human rights of others. One would hope that gay, lesbian and bisexual people, having experienced oppression themselves, would be less willing to act as a finger of the iron fist of the U.S. power elite. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case. It is true that low-level military personnel do not make policies, but they are trained to obey and conform, to kill and die without question. They are trained to ignore their conscience and not think about what is right or wrong (or to believe that the U.S. and its allies are always right), thus behaving more like robots than thinking human beings. I can only laugh at Orwellian names like the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's "Military Freedom Project;" the only "freedom" associated with the military is the freedom to consign oneself to slavery. The military helps to promote the dominant ideologies of our culture, ideologies that are homophobic, sexist, racist and capitalistic. Discipline is maintained by playing on men's insecurities about their masculinity. Militarism and masculinity are closely associated in U.S. culture. Anti-war demonstrators are regularly referred to as "pussies" and "faggots." A man who prefers negotiation to violence is being "soft" (impotent?). Military officials are probably correct that acceptance of homosexuals would disrupt military discipline " they would have to find other means of control besides exploiting men's terror of being seen as less than "real men." This same terror is at the root of gay bashing and misogyny. Macho aggression is so strongly reinforced by the institution of militarism that it is hard to imagine one without the other. Militarism and homohatred/misogyny are two sides of the same coin. Some have asserted that the inclusion of gay, lesbian and bisexual people will change the character of the military for the better. Is the military (or society) no longer sexist because women are allowed to participate? The Tailhook scandal shows that this is clearly not the case. It is much more likely that participation in the military will change the character of the participants. Will gay soldiers strive to be especially obedient and brutal in an effort to prove that they are "real men?" How will gay soldiers react when they are called upon to prop up repressively homophobic regimes (as women soldiers were forced to do in support of the misogynist regime in Saudi Arabia)? What about the future generations of gay, lesbian and bisexual youth who will be forced into the oppressive military system if a draft is reinstated? Many argue that the fight for military inclusion is about equal economic opportunity. There is no denying that many people enter the military because they have few options for education or employment. But if this is our concern, we should focus on changing society so that people's choices are not so limited. Despite its recruiting advertisements, the military is not an employment agency or a job training service. Its purpose is to enforce the will of the U.S. Government domestically and abroad, using violence or the threat of violence. The gay movement is mistaken to focus more energy on the "right" of gay, lesbian and bisexual people to kill and die than on our right to love. Is the "right" of a small segment of gay people to participate in the military more important than the right of all gay, lesbian and bisexual people to teach, to parent children, to be secure in our homes and on the streets, and to have our relationships recognized? In the quest for gay equal rights, we cannot sacrifice the important human values that are at odds with a militaristic society. -30- @ _Love & Rage_ is a Revolutionary Anarchist newspaper produced @ by the Love and Rage Network. The Love and Rage Network is a @ continental network of groups and individuals in Canada, Mexico, @ and the United States. 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