Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1987)
THE CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE I always like to go to Lesbian and Gay Pride marches. I ’d have been upset with myself if I didn’t go to Washington, D.C. I’ve been involved in the anti-nuclear move ment since 1980, since I was 14 years old. I knew I was going to get arrested at the Supreme Court. Yes, I felt threatened while I was sitting on the steps outside the police barricades. We were sitting right next to the officers. They did make efforts to make us feel uncomfortable. The police let people in [to the Supreme Court forecourt] in groups o f 15-30. They were waiting for the buses to come. “ We want you to ride to jail in comfort.” I saw an officer punch a gay man in the face. The protesters started chanting the cop’s name, and he was eventually pulled off the line. There were many wrenched shoulders. One woman had a broken arm; she fainted from too tight cuffs. [The “ handcuffs” are hard plastic straps, 1/2 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick, which must be cut off. ] But it was the most polite civil disobedience I’ve ever been involved in. My fear of physical violence has lessened since the CD [at the Supreme Court]. I made myself totally vulner able to the police. Diana Cohen About half the passengers on our flight home Monday were marchers. After we were in the air, someone in the front yelled out. “ Wasn’t that a great m arch?” We all cheered. The young man in the front then began to lead cheers; “ What do we want?” “ Gay Rights!” we answered. In the midst o f this euphoria, the voice of the captain o f the plane came over the public ad dress system to announce baseball scores. Our leader o f cheers then decided that the pilot should announce the presence of the gay group. As the attendants passed out our lunches, he passed.around a petition asking the pilot to recognize the marchers in an announcement. Our organizer marched up through First Class to present it to the pilot. Later, the pilot came on. “ I understand that there’s a group aboard that wants to be recog nized, and I recognize that this is a free country. But if people don’t stop trying to disrupt the flight, there’ll be a reception party waiting when we land.” At this, we passed around the address of American Airlines, all o f us vowing to write the airline and complain about the pilot’s attitude. Becky Wilson At the rally, I was standing near a group of college students from Ohio. Once in a while, a student would climb upon the shoulders o f another to look around. The reaction was al ways a moment o f silence followed by a real prideful, “ O h, my!” When we left the Capitol Mall after the rally, we left the place clean. People picked up all the trash. On Tuesday I went to Sen. Hatfield’s office at about 10 a.m . and from there I went to the Supreme Court. I saw riot police, a “ SWAT” team, armed with what looked like bazookas. But the demonstrations were very peaceful. I was impressed with the loving atmosphere — even at the demonstration to the Supreme Court. And most o f all, there was the simple and direct love shown in the quilt. Gary Barnes I was in a city surrounded by friends and I had a complete sense of safety. There wasn’t the usual sense o f danger o f being alone in an urban setting. Like at the march o f 1963, people facing great adversity in their daily lives had one day in which they experienced a sense o f community and could feel that the goal is worth struggling for. The peak o f the D.C. experience for me was to participate in the Supreme Court Civil Dis obedience, to discover the inscription over the entrance claiming “ Equal Justice Under Law.” to feel tears forming over that irony and hypoc risy, to feel a unity of emotion with thousands o f others as a chant spontaneously broke out seconds later: “ Read the writing on the wall — Equal Justice Under Law.” The solidarity among lesbians, gay men and straight supporters was powerfully energizing. We were proud to be arrested. proud to be guilty o f obstructing injustice. Here we have a turning point, a new Stonewall. No longer do we listen passively as mainstream politicians take our money and tell us to wait until it's politically feasible for them to vote on granting us rights. Now we affirm that all human rights are in herent, that it’s morally unacceptable for our humanity to be subject to popular vote, that obedience is consent to oppression, and that we have no other moral choice than to continue to challenge an unjust system, as we did at the Supreme Court, with the obstruction o f our bodies and the witness of our joyous spirits. Marvin Moore Bonnie Tinker More than 600 people were arrested on O ctober 13 on the terrace of the Supreme Court building in a civil disobedience action protest ing institutionalized homophobia and the ero sion o f civil liberties for people with AIDS. Just Out • 21 • November. 1987