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OVER THE EDGE

by Bill Tyson

We Deserve Better

Did you ever experience a situation where someone inadvertently, unexpectedly, surprisingly, validated something you had said with them in mind, much to your delight? It's like the spider, ever patient, awaiting the arrival of Mister Fly.

When I wrote my recent "Eyes on the Prize" column (EDGE 96), I took to task those so-called "gay leaders" who not only care. more for their own ego-feeding agendas than they do about accomplishing their alleged goals in the struggle for lesbian and gay rights, they selfishly fail to encourage the development of new leadership to continue and expand our noble cause. My position was one few could argue against. Certainly, anyone who has endured even the most remote involvement in a mainstream lesbian/gay organization has observed such self-servers first-hand.

I didn't have long to wait. Along came Mister Fly, who blundered into my web right on schedule.

Within days of publication, the following Western Union Mailgram arrived at the EDGE editorial offices:

"Attended a crisis meeting to discuss Bill Tyson column in your issue no. 96. Great concern that such unspecific identification but with such specific charges can have a harmful effect upon good work being done by many people. Seek your specific clarification in columns of your paper. Such harmful accusations have no place in a time of great action on the march and on AIDS."

The Mailgram was apparently signed with a phony name. But we know who sent it. Western Union Mailgrams include the name, address and telephone of the actual sender. How symbolic of this whole smelly plot! Crisis meeting? Where? When? Who was there? Ha! Obviously, the only crisis was within the mind of the sender.

Was his concern about "unspecific identification" his personal cry of foul play, upsetting a recently-noted fetish of threatening to sue anyone who disagrees with him? Not that he would prevail, mind you, because my "specific charges" were not only factual and public knowledge, they apply to many people, not solely to the Mailgram sender. How pompous to think I'd waste an entire column entirely on him! Now if anything could have a "harmful effect upon good work being done by many people," as the Mailgram says, it's acts like this attempt to conceal his own guilt through obfuscation that are truly counter-productive.

The saddest thing about the Mailgram is the writer's transparent scheme of attempting to silence his critics by hiding behind, as he put it, "a time of great action on The March (March On Washington) and on AIDS." Really? How can telling the truth possibly harm the important work being done in these vital areas by those who care more for accomplishment than selfaggrandizement? How dare he think we're that naive.

Which brings us around to the need for

public criticism of our so-called "leadership." When a politician or bureaucrat in local, state or national government goes awry, we applaud the efforts of the press to ferret them out, exposing their misdeeds to the public. It is, after all, our free press that keeps evildoers at bay.

Yet, let someone in our own community attempt to expose the nefarious acts of our own self-anointed "leaders," and a huge hue and cry issues forth from those caught with their crummy fingers in the cookie jar!

"Oh!" they cry! "You mustn't expose our selfish no-no's... our political games.. our exploitation of our sisters and brothers ... our sneaky manipulation of community organizations ... our illicit profiteering... our rip-offs of our 'captive' audience even if it is true. When you do that, you're providing ammunition to our enemies to use against our community!" And the amazing thing is, they have been getting away with this ruse for years.

Are we really doing more harm than good if we air our dirty laundry in public? Hell no! It's time that all of us begin demanding some accountability from those who claim to speak for us. Exposing the bad apples might shake things up for a while, but in the long run, we would benefit mightily! Unlike our elected politicians, whom we can vote out of office, our lesbian and gay "politicians" are self-anointed.

Just about anyone who decides to become a big shot in our community can succeed, talent and smarts be damned. Here's how. Show up at enough meetings. Make a general pain in the ass of yourself. Ingratiate yourself with others who have the same mission in mind (keeping your back to the wall, of course, to avoid the inevitable back-stab!). Join on-going organizations and infect their productivity with the decay of disruption and disarray so as to drive away the truly creative people, thereby leaving the spoils of a onceviable organization to your own ravishing. Manipulate through intentional deceit the energetic, ambitious, serious newcomers eager to "get involved." Create a new organization and toot thy horn often and loudly (it's easy... all it takes is a post office box, some letterhead, and lots of news releases to the community press!). There are as many pathways to self-anointment as there are devious minds to invent them.

Not all of our "leaders" are so afflicted. Many are truly caring, dedicated, hardworking people who are deeply concerned with the threats to our freedoms and welfare.

Getting rid of the media hogs; the selfpromoters; the exploiters or forcing them to mend their ways and direct their energies to productive purposes will, in the long run, be a major benefit not only to all of us, but to them as well. There are a lot of people running around our community swathed in unearned adulation. I know who they are. I'll bet you know who they are, too! We deserve better.