History Repeating Itself?

POSTING BY TOM:
This past Sunday was bright and sunny with blue skies and warm temperatures. I met our friend, Jeffrey, at McPherson Square to take part in the Equality March for the GLBT community. It brought back to memory a similar march that took place just about 22 years ago to the day. My first partner, Ed, took me to my first equal rights rally on that cold overcast October day. The two events were marked by both similarities and contrasts.
The purpose of the march has not really changed all that much. The GLBT community is still fighting the same things we were fighting for two decades ago: protection from wrongful firing, protection from being wrongfully kicked out of our homes, and still fighting for full equality under the law which includes the right to marry the one we love. What I recall from those speeches back then is that the GLBT community was already beginning to fracture. There was no single focus or agenda and the community was trying to embrace too many causes. Gay rights. Women’s rights. Protections for the American Indians. Protections for this minority group, for that one. Protections for Gays serving in the military. All in addition to the items listed above. I believe the reason my (our) generation failed to accomplish anything over the last 20 years is that there was no set agenda and no central purpose.
Similarly, this past Sunday, the voices are calling for the same things once more. This time, I was by far one of the older crowd, easily 20 years older than the average age of this crowd. I was glad to see a younger generation picking up the charge. I saw no fear in their eyes. I saw no worries. No fear of what others thought of them. No fear of being caught on camera by a roaming TV news crew. No fear of being fired from a job. No fear of being kicked out of their house. No fear of their parents finding out their sexual identity. All of the things that I was fearful of all those years ago.
On the ride home on the train, a young man sat next to me – bullhorn in hand, his friends carrying placards from the day’s march. I asked him where they were from. “Vermont,” came the reply. All the way to the last stop, my exchange with this young man was engaging, charged, and full of energy. But what I realized through this dialogue is that, similarly to my generation, this new generation picking up the torch has encompassed too many causes: toppling capitalism and implementing a socialist agenda, revamping the country’s banking system, health care reform, overturning “don’t ask, don’t tell,” full equality, including marriage rights, for the GLBT community. No lessons learned here. And good luck untrenching the corrupt uber wealthy contingent running this country. But despite my nay saying, this did not deter the young man’s enthusiasm for his cause as he handed me a flier for the upcoming symposium at Columbia University in a few weeks. “Write to me at the email address if you have any questions or want to engage in any further dialogue,” said Dave as we parted with a handshake at the end of the line, his engaging smile and laughing eyes would melt the heart of any would-be pursuer.
Rob and I often have such heady discussions – we debate political and social issues, we talk about the future of our country, the corrupt establishment, the lack of Government oversight over Wall Street and the country’s banking system, and the evil Republican Party and their lying deceitful practices which lead many of the non-thinking vulnerable masses astray. But what struck me most about the day’s event is how little (next to none) the generations interacted. Maybe this takes place more successfully in a one-on-one situation – like my encounter with Dave on the train. I don’t know. But what I do know is that as the Gay population ages, we are formulating right now the relationships that we will carry with us into our maturing years, essentially creating the “family” we will have when our biological families are no longer with us.
When I met Ed, he had already befriended an older couple whose friendship he brought into our relationship. To this day, Rob and I are friends with this very same couple over 20 years later. We socialize with them on a regular basis. We have traveled with them. We celebrate the holidays with them. But what we have noticed is that today’s young people do not engage in long-term friendships with our generation. At least we have not experienced this. I think this is sad because we could learn so much from each other’s experiences.