Mobilizing Against Injustice, Wherever It Is

By Christopher Edwards on 09/27/2010 @ 07:05 PM

Tags: Allies, Congress, UAFA, Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Events

Last week I joined 40-something of the best LGBT activists in the country at New Organizing Institute Education Fund's LGBT Boot Camp. Over the course of the week we worked on simulated campaigns to overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), learned from the best practitioners in organizing, and shared with each other our goals and aspirations for the LGBT movement while figuring out ways we can all better work together.

It was truly an inspiring week. And I was very happy and honored to have made it through the selective application process.

Why Immigration Is a LGBT Issue

One of things that came up for me during the event was having to underscore why immigration is an LGBT issue. Our Executive Director Rachel Tiven has spoken passionately on this before but I never had my own story, my own understanding that drove home this point.

That changed at LGBT Boot Camp on Thursday night when we reviewed the case study of BastaDobbs.com — a coordinated campaign between general political and immigration groups to pressure CNN to "Stop Dobbs" (or "Basta Dobbs" in Spanish).

Listening to the clips from Dobbs' show and looking at his tactics — half-truths, outright lies, and innuendo to defame immigrants in the U.S., I thought of how similarly those that would stop the march to LGBT equality have employed these exact same tactics.

In particular, Dobbs lumped together undocumented immigrants from Latin America with rapists and murderers. I remembered a time in 1989, when I was in high school and just starting to come out. I was in a driver's education class where my teacher made this exact same comment about LGBT peoples. He casual mentioned that we'd be on the road with "rapists, murders, and homosexuals." Exactly like Dobbs, demonizing through word association.

Standing Together

We've been here before. We've been harassed over our families. We've been faced with a public that would rather see our sex lives than have empathy for us as humans.

Just like immigrants of all stripes have. This is why immigration is an LGBT issue. We must stand on the right side against hatred and bigotry. Whereever it is found.

Elizabeth Gilbert — a straight ally with a foreign-born spouse — is joining us to stand up for our families and UAFA on Capitol Hill. We, as individual citizens, must join her in her lobbying congress. We must show the immigration communities that we understand their situation. That we are ready to mobilize against injustice.

You can join Elizabeth at our Engage, Lobby, Love site where you will find 3 ways to become directly involved. Remember where we've been and the hatred we've suffered, and let that be a reminder that we can't make change without taking action. Join Elizabeth on her journey for our families.