Iraq, Katrina'ed New Orleans, Avenue A, and your own front door. The social climate of intollerance and hate is a regression to ignorance, violence and social retardation that has not been in the lead since before the current political regime -we all know. This is the blank vision of the fear-mongers. There does not seem to be any large-scale organizations or institutions that specifically combat this condition. It reflects a wholesale breakdown in American liberty, the liberty that says everyone is free to be who they are and do what they want,excluding all violence. And this squelching of liberty is the REAl anti-Americanism.
Don't walk alone this summer. Anyone who lives in proximity to Avenue A or B could tell you now is not the time to be conspicuous there. This territory is innundated with tens of thousands of young people who do not reside in the community and who have brought values very foreign to its tollerance and openness. Especially at night when the circuit of cheap bars and lounges pollutes the zone with heedless, intoxicated Little Bush-era youths who look at this part of the city as their playpen. To these people NYC is a city populated by The Losers whose diversity and internationalism equates to an assault on the isolationist idea of Amerika. The backward youths have come here to buy us and be entertained and have us pay for the city to clean up after their recreational litter. And part of thier entertainment includes recreational violence against gays.
It is kind of weird to see in the NYTimes today a large article about Eve Ensler's vagina monologues festival 'crusade' that confuses entertainers with social workers -all about stopping violence to women and girls. This is a kind of cultural desperation. The whole tone of the article is one of bemusement as though there is some envy of Ensler's success in producing or sponsoring the productions of thousands of events and projects to combat gender-based violence. She isn't a social worker or social psychologist and producing ten years of entertainment-oriented 'consciousness-raising' events is not the same as changing a whole culture that on one end glorifies and feeds on hyperviolenece and on the other side newsifies the violence and puts civil authorities in charge of cleaning it all up. I guess if the only change amounts to that the word vagina can be put on a billboard and opposition to gender-based violence can be rallied in to and given a more public voice, that is a kind of progress. But it does not effect a change that is an actual stop to the violence. Yes, talking back is essential and important. But it can't be left to a socialite to do if there is going to be a real, substantive reduction in violence, otherwise we are all still left just treating the results of that violence, weirdly in Ensler's example, with a kind of festive entertainment that funds health clinics and such.
When will someone with actual political power in government institute an initiative to attack this problem? Let us not hold our breaths.
I do have some optimism however. Because I think the people who will do open, collective violence to gays are a small minority. The real problem now is the vast majority who will not for once just as collectively put an end to this kind of violence for all people.