Where is Our Lunch Counter?

There is a great article by Autumn Sandeen at Pam's House Blend  Asking where is our lunch counter? Visible civil disobedience.There are some great responses.  Here is mine.

I think Dan Choi has the right idea. Making himself visible by handcuffing himself to the White House fence several times will be our lunch counter in the history books.

I do believe we need more. Marching and standing with signs during assigned hours in assigned places is NOT working. Stopping traffic to get Harry Reid’s attention did.

We have been playing by the rules and trying to be nice for a long time. We have supported groups like the HRC for years and have gotten nowhere. We have engaged in quiet, peaceful protests to just get shoved back in the closet.

Part of the problem is we are not as visible. The LGBT population cuts across every line that segregates. We come in all shapes, sizes, beautiful colors, wealth, location, religion and so on. Some of us are very out and it shows while many more hide or pass unnoticed.

We are a minority of an unknown amount. We will never know how many of us are out there because of the closet, so our army of out and proud seems small.

Our fight for equality is similar to others in that we want protection from discrimination in all things plus we want and need the right to marry to protect our families and we are up against the same forces that others have faced, but our unknown amount and invisibility works against us like no other group has had to face before.

Thanks to science and education we are slowly gaining support. The opposition is getting desperate to the point that they are actually making the case for us with all the lies and hate they spew. (They will always be around and thankfully they are now on the list of hate groups.)

While I truly believe we are on our way, the time has come for a more CREATIVE way to pressure the powers that be into enacting the laws we need as a people and Nation to ensure equality and justice for ALL.  I am not promoting violence even though I AM angry.

Our population is full of the world’s most creative minds. As artists of every kind, we are resourceful, skilled, and talented. Why can’t we come together for something really big? Not another march, parade, or concert.  Everyone has their 1000 hits of fame with video on line. (I am not knocking the “It Gets Better”. I have mine up there too.) The flash mobs are great. Most are for fun and they are. The flash mob in the train station to draw attention to the teen suicides was more like it.

I am thinking a cross between a flash mob and sculpture. I love the music and dance as well as a few theatrical productions but they are all performance art and disappear as quickly as they came. A random act of Art. Something to say while we are there and something to leave behind as a reminder.

I am an artist. I know I am not the only one out there who wants and NEEDS to say something. We need to get louder, more frequent, and more visible. We need more sit ins and more handcuffs on the fence. We also need to pool our resources as artists and start adding some public visual art as “Teachable Moments” for those who missed the flash.