As you may recall, we at Transracial just returned from a fun-filled month in Southern Africa — taking in the color and culture of South Africa and Mozambique where we were stoked to attend the annual Gay Pride events.
As you might also recall, we were far-less stoked to read recent missives fired off by Gay civil rights activist David Mixner in the wake of the very disappointing results of Maine’s same-sex marriage vote on Tuesday.
Mixner — for some insane reason — has decided we are living in what he terms a state of “Gay Apartheid”.
It’s a phrase Mixner — along with fellow shrill reactionary Herb Hamsher — seem to relish with glee, yet one that is simply vulgar and obnoxious in its lack of sensitivity, honor, respect and downright accuracy.
It’s similar to efforts used against Israel to call its treatment of its own Arab citizens and the ongoing occupation of the West Bank a form of “Apartheid”.
Again, the comparison is understandable in its use of metaphor, but simply incorrect, unconstructive and lazy!
We made it clear yesterday and we say so again: THERE IS NO GAY APARTHEID IN THE UNITED STATES!
Yet oogles of commentors seem to disagree — insisting that “apartheid” is being used as a general term for inequality and that I’m simply stirring up trouble by questioning Mixner’s motives.
They say I’m working “against” the cause. (We can’t help but wonder when insisting upon accuracy and integrity became such crime!)
Well…..everyone is entitled to their opinion.
So in the spirit of this debate, I decided to reach out to Gay and Lesbian leaders in South Africa itself — to see what they thought of Mixner co-opting the single most important term in their entire national history.
Some — such as an archivist at the Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action project in Johannesburg — were quite generous, declaring that the term “Gay Apartheid” was simply “not helpful”.
Others, however, we not so kind.
“It smacks of a total lack of understanding of what Apartheid was and its legacy upon South Africans of all races,” says Marlow Valentine of the Triangle Project outside of Cape Town, the largest GLBT social services organization in Africa. “Apartheid was a system of violence, segregation, oppression imposed by the government upon the majority of the nation. To use that term (in an American context) displays total ignorance for the Civil Rights struggle of this nation.”
Valentine — like many South African GLBT activists — is well aware of the current battles over same-sex marriage brewing in the USA. And he calls the recent actions in Maine “outrageous and atrocious — particularly at a moment when human rights should be on every international agenda.”
Nonetheless, he is baffled by Mixer and Co’s attempt to equate our struggles here in America with Apartheid.
“What does he mean by the term ‘apartheid’, I want to know,” Valentine says. “If they are speaking of inequality of exclusion, I can understand their motives.”
But Apartheid was far more than merely inequality and exclusion, continues Valentine, who questions Mixner’s fundamental comprehension of what Apartheid entailed.
“Are people in America forced to walk around with identity cards, do they need permits to live in certain areas, permits to work in certain areas — permits to walk in the streets at night? THIS is what Apartheid was,” Valentine says. “And if you did not follow it, you would be arrested, beaten — war would be raged against you”
“It is a system I would not wish upon any nation — and if this were happening in the US, then you’d have Apartheid.”
Although we suspect our own missive will do little to discourage Mixner and his ilk from abusing the English language, we at least had to try.
So we end by asking Mixner this: If he’s so certain he’s living in an era of Gay Apartheid, then we ask: Where is his Soweto? Who is his Biko, Tutu, Suzman, Mandela.
Because try as you may to galvanize your troops — Mr. Mixner, you are NO Nelson Mandela!
I agree with Transracial 100%.
thank you
pass it on
Great piece! I for one have grown quite weary of aggressively bi-partisan reporting masking as investigative journalism. Thanks for bringing this topic to light. You won’t win any popularity contests, but you’ll be able to sleep at night.
thank you kind sir
fake comments above lmao omg that is a riot.
Of course it’s a racist bigot who has a problem with using the word apartheid. Obsessed with “words” and villifying everyone to protect their victim identity. “I’m the biggest victim on the planet! Don’t you try to take that away from ME. It’s all about me and what a victim I am, stop trying to steal my spotlight as a self righteous victim. Waaaaaaaah I’m a wittle wiberal, all I can do is bitch and moan and add negativity everywhere I go. You are bad, and you, and you, and you! I’m the good wittle wiberal witctim.”
wow
not sure what to make of all this
but….thanks for sharing
Mixner is using the wroing term yes, but where is your anger? See Langbehn, Janice a woman who though she had a valid medical power of atty was kept from her partner of 18 years — she died alone. The social worker in th Miami hospital explained it by saying “You’re in an anti-gay state”. The Fed Courts dismissed her suit against the hospital saying there was no law forbidding this.
I am a cancer survivor, and I feel there are states in my own country i cannot go too — because situtaitons like this. It’s not apartheid, but then what is it?! You have a responsibility to answer that, since you fault Mixner for being overzealous or inaccurate in his word choice.
To ignore situations like mine is to be irresponsible at best.
Read your pathetic rant at huffington post don’t worry we won’t take away your victim hood how could we you wear it so well!
What are you afraid of? Losing out on your affirmative action points, Mr. Beige?
I would presume this post is “straight privilege,” although I don’t know if the author is gay or not.
David here’s the point…there is a web of government and social restriction and discrimination that entraps gay people around the world, including in the US; there is great evidence that this shows up in terrible economic discrimination that has led to spikes in LGBT poverty; moreover, every queer person in this country knows that they are at the threat of being lynched by out of control staights at any time.
You know why the gay rights struggle is a continuation of the anti-apartheid work? Because we too were marched to death in apartheid and targeted by the South African regim. Same goes for the holocaust–that’s where the pink triangle comes from–it’s our holocaust. And the lynchings of gay people bring to our minds the lynchings of african-american people throughout the 20th century (and beyond); if you don’t see the comparisons, why don’t you go tell Matthew Shepard’s mother that you have less sympathy for her than you do with James Byrd’s mother?
Anyway, point being…what are you doing about the Apartheid/holocaust/lynchings in this world that constitute anti-gay bigotry? Other than casting aspersions at those who take up the work, and in doing so might use language differently that you would have, had you actually been a leader on the issue, instead of a critic behind it?
PS–did you not use the Palestine line in the HuffPo? Because oh my gosh, THAT is the world’s closest comparison to Apartheid. (And I write that as a total Zionist in shock over the apartheid-like behavior of the thuggish Israeli government.)
What I am doing is what i do — thinking, writing, posting, responding, and cultivating thought among others.
I am happy to see its effect.
Oh, a keyboard jockey. Got it.
You’re happy to see gay people continue to suffer for your own perverse reasons no doubt. Even when your point aobut the term is acknowledged, you refuse to acknowledge the horror of the beatings and murders and cruel seperation from partners in hospitals that happen everyday in America — it’s not Apartheid but what would you call it?
Thanks for the “I’ve got mine” article – how sad that African Americans don’t realize that discrimination against anyone is discrimination against all.
Following the blogger’s logic to it logical end, the blogger wouldn’t compare the institutional and legal framework of the south before the civil rights movement American apartheid either. I’m so sure.
Fine, you’ve learned to discriminate against the less fortunate. You’ve learned to isolate arguments to the importance of a “word”, and decided not to understand the underlying facts. Great – you’ve become a WASP. Now learn that you have responsibilities to others, and that your hurtful prejudices does neither the gays nor the blacks any good.
why thank you kind tom for your witty banter and insight
discrimination against one is discrimination against all — dude, how old are you?
18 — first years sociology? grow up! go deeper! think more critically
i don’t do the compare or contrast thing PERIOD! it’s silly, pointless and LAZY!
I am hardly a wasp, hardly prejudiced, hardly dismissive of my responsibilities to all humankind and hardly hurtful
you folks need to open your eyes, look hard and realize i, for one, am hardly your enemy
if only you folk began to understand who really is
blaming me for your psuedo-ill will get none of us anywhere
additionally
there are people in the world who are REALLY less fortunate
get up. press the off button on your computer screen. cultivate an interest in the world beyond your four walls
and go experience them!
then, i am sure, you no longer barf bull-shit bon mots like
“discrimination against everyone is discrimination against all”
i mean for fuck sake…..
A blogger bitching at his commentators to get up from the computer screen, right after he says his job in life is to blog? what? is there anything you won’t say to get attention?