Folsom Street Fair in Crisis
Today I received an email from one of our competitors begging us to help protect the Folsom Street Fair against a national onslaught from Christian Conservatives. The big stink was started when the current SMMILE board of directors decided to put out an attention-grabbing poster that was a spoof of Da Vinci's Last Supper. The bread and wine of Jesus was replaced with S/M ass play toys. This is the same board of directors that has ostracized a good part of the South of Market community to the point that lawyers are now involved. Money raised for charity is now being used to pay for legal fees.
With their unnecessary salvo against the Christian Right, the people who currently run the Folsom Street Fair have swatted a hornet nest that could have been left alone. Why did they deliberately set out to start a fight? Calmer heads clearly did not prevail. They seem to have an aggressive, in-your-face mentality--the kind of outlook that stands in contrast to an organization that was founded in part to help heal divides and promote community cooperation.
The email I received asked everyone to call Miller Beer and voice support for the Fair and for Gays in general. I would hope that Miller Beer does continue to support the fair, but I also hope that as a main corporate sponsor of the event, they can have some influence over the current board and redirect the event back to what it was always supposed to be--a street fair for the whole leather community.
Meanwhile, Dark Alley Media has just released their new movie--Passeo. It is a hardcore sex retelling of the life of Jesus. No doubt the christians will grab on to this as well. Together, Dark Alley and SMMILE have given the right wing enough ammunition to potentially impact the next election in a way that will set back the cause of universal gay rights for years. Just today the most popular news item on the AP news-wire was an article entitled "Miller, the Jesus-Mocking Beer" written by right-winger Brent Bozell. Fox news has also picked up the story. No doubt footage from the fair will soon be seen on Bill O'Reilly. Will SMMILE become the new Terri Shiavo--red meat for the right wing base? Just remember this--when you piss off a group of people really bad, you can never win them over to your side. This is a time when health care and Iraq should be dominant issues for debate, not "look how evil gays are."
No one--not me, not you, not the Christian right--likes to be the butt of ridicule and disrespect. Grabbing a moment of attention is not worth the long-term damage to our whole community. The S.S. SMMILE clearly needs to chart a new course, perhaps with a new captain.
Chris Ward
With their unnecessary salvo against the Christian Right, the people who currently run the Folsom Street Fair have swatted a hornet nest that could have been left alone. Why did they deliberately set out to start a fight? Calmer heads clearly did not prevail. They seem to have an aggressive, in-your-face mentality--the kind of outlook that stands in contrast to an organization that was founded in part to help heal divides and promote community cooperation.
The email I received asked everyone to call Miller Beer and voice support for the Fair and for Gays in general. I would hope that Miller Beer does continue to support the fair, but I also hope that as a main corporate sponsor of the event, they can have some influence over the current board and redirect the event back to what it was always supposed to be--a street fair for the whole leather community.
Meanwhile, Dark Alley Media has just released their new movie--Passeo. It is a hardcore sex retelling of the life of Jesus. No doubt the christians will grab on to this as well. Together, Dark Alley and SMMILE have given the right wing enough ammunition to potentially impact the next election in a way that will set back the cause of universal gay rights for years. Just today the most popular news item on the AP news-wire was an article entitled "Miller, the Jesus-Mocking Beer" written by right-winger Brent Bozell. Fox news has also picked up the story. No doubt footage from the fair will soon be seen on Bill O'Reilly. Will SMMILE become the new Terri Shiavo--red meat for the right wing base? Just remember this--when you piss off a group of people really bad, you can never win them over to your side. This is a time when health care and Iraq should be dominant issues for debate, not "look how evil gays are."
No one--not me, not you, not the Christian right--likes to be the butt of ridicule and disrespect. Grabbing a moment of attention is not worth the long-term damage to our whole community. The S.S. SMMILE clearly needs to chart a new course, perhaps with a new captain.
Chris Ward
posted by Chris Ward at 3:32 PM
2 Comments:
I have heard similar comments about how SMILLE was giving the right
wing more ammunition with a poster that is not all that great (it's a cliche). What a waste of time and energy defending this gaff while more important issues are overshadowed.
We need to think of the consequences of our group actions. In other words, like the right wing, we must learn how to effectively market our causes. We need to play politics like they do and time our actions accordingly.
There have been too many and there will be more instances of bad timing and judgement. A few that come to mind would be the gay marriage bus tour of the US shortly before the last presidential election. Why couldn't they have waited until after the elections? That really made the likes of Carl Rove happy. Not Gay related but two other recent instances, the Congress' condemnation of the Ottoman Empire in the midst of important negotiations with Turkey. The Michael Vick dog fighting mess with the NAACP jumping in to defend a slimeball. What were they thinking? It never ends.
I agree completely. Look, that ad offended some gay people too, myself included. Provocation for its own sake is pointless.
Post a Comment
<< Home