CITRUS BOYCOTT

By Donald Cameron Scot

"We should not rest until Anita Bryant is utterly destroyed. Until Anita Bryant has no big house on the bay; until Anita Bryant has no $100,000-a-year job; until Anita Bryant is forced to live in an anti-gay ghetto, I have absolutely not one qualm about taking pot-shots at her. I certainly have no sympathy such as that expressed over the loss of her job, and if there is anything I can do to cost her a job, I would have no hesitation to do it. And why not? It is but the converse of what Anita Bryant intends for us. I've lived through her era once and with the experience has come a hardness that quite simply does not allow for sympathy for her at all. Whether our throats are slit with a sharp knife (misguided) or a dull one (evil) the end result is the same."

"WIN OR LOSE, MIAMI ON JUNE 7 WILL NOT BE THE END OF THE ANITA BRYANT AFFAIR." --Donald Cameron Scot, "a different beat," June, 1977

In the first week of November, questioning why The Endup in San Francisco had returned to serving orange juice, I was told that since Anita Bryant was on her way out anyway, the

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management saw no reason not to resume sale of the product. Disagreeing, I pointed out that should we now let up on the Florida citrus products boycott, the Florida Citrus Commission would look at the Anita Bryant affair as little more than a slight business slump to be expected in the ordinary course of events. Holding to his position, the employee reiterated that Anita Bryant was sure to be dumped by the Florida Citrus Commission and that it was no longer necessary to continue denying customers orange juice. Within one week after that conversation, the Florida Citrus Commission not only extended AB's contract for another year, but passed a resolution praising her for her "courageous moral leadership." Far from being over, as so many want to think, the battle has only just begun. Spurred by her early successes and lack of reprisal, AB has now gone beyond her original stance against gays as teachers and is now advocating a federal law to outlaw gays, a law which would override state law in the 19 states which have consenting adults sex laws. And she just may succeed if we do not move now in a way that we have never moved, to head her off.

It is an unquestioned maxim of herd psychology that on attack you go for the leader, be it a herd of elephants, cattle, or, as in this case, a wolf pack. Anita Bryant is the only place to attack Anita Bryant and her followers. That maxim applies at least equally to warfare, for to bring down the leader is to demoralize and confuse those who would follow.

And, so long as AB continues her genocidal attack on gays, with no reprisal whatsoever, we are going to be faced with wavering "friends" who, not necessarily wanting to put their professional or political careers on the line, or feeling it would be useless to do so, will not push for gay rights "at this time." We already have several examples of that fence-sitting and that should be lesson enough for us. As much as we

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the sand and wait for this to pass; as distasteful as this battle might be for us, we have no choice but to not rest until Anita Bryant is utterly destroyed. We have to go after her to bring down our enemies, and we have to go after her to regain our allies.

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To accomplish this goal, we have two powerful weapons:

The first has worked well so far and now is no time to let up: CONTROVERSY. The controversy surrounding demonstrations against AB has caused many places not to book AB as an entertainer (if indeed that ere ever possible), and even others to refuse to allow her the Ise of halls. There may not be much we can do about her appearances at "religious" gatherings, but there is one hell of a lot we can do about her appearances at other than "religious" gatherings.

But sweeter and more subtle, and far more acclimated for gays than demonstrations, is the second weapon we can wield against both Anita Bryant and the Florida Citrus Commission: BOYCOTT.

Since the beginning of Anita Bryant's campaign to wipe us out, boycotts of Florida citrus products have been instituted in an erratic manner in various parts of the country, yet no effort has been successful in generating a general nationwide boycott that is necessary to bring Anita Bryant down. The Tavern Guild of San Francisco, a coalition of gay bars in the city, and its member bars have instituted a general boycott of orange juice. That type of boycott is to be commended, for It serves to remind not only the bar owner/manager of the need not to serve Florida orange juice, but it also serves as a reminder to each and every patron of that bar that his life is in danger. Every time that a patron starts to order orange juice, to put money in Anita Bryant's pocket, he is reminded through the fact that he cannot get a drink with orange juice that there is a war going on. If you are a bar owner, you are urged to adopt a boycott of such products to reinforce the individual efforts that are being

made and to reinforce in the minds of your patrons that our very existence, the bar's very existence, is in jeopardy. Suc-

cess to Anita Bryant would bring

a general crackdown on gays, starting with our gathering places.

Still, it will not be in the effort in bars that we will achieve success in the battle against Anita Bryant. The greatest effort has to be made by each individual in refraining from buying orange juice, whether in a gay bar or in a straight bar, as well as not buying citrus products for consumption at home. In short, although we can cut the citrus products sales a moderately through gay bar boycotts, the biggest effort has got to come from a gay honor system of not buying Florida citrus products at all, not just in gay bars.

And what makes the boycott particularly suitable for us rests

in the fact that there are many (unemployed teachers, for example?) who do not have the financial wherewithal to donate money to a gay cause. In boycott, there is no need to give money to a cause, for the purpose is to withhold from an antigay organization, money that you might have had to give to a pro-gay one. So even the less fortunate can participate in this life-preserving effort.

Too, for those who are not in positions to openly support a gay cause because of fear of discovery (even though they may have the financial capability) the boycott is a method of retaliation that can be practiced in the privacy of your own home. There is no need to run the risk of public imprimatur of sexual orientation since there is no need to make any kind of statement or traceable donation. All that is needed is that you not buy Florida citrus products.

So, for those who do not have the money, as well as for those who are reluctant to commit any potentially traceable act of positive support, the boycott serves our purpose well. Everyone can participate: there are no special skills, no financial burdens, and no risks of discovery.

There are organizations being formed around the country to generate a nationwide boycott, and if you can help them, financially or with time and effort, I urge you to do so. But far more than whatever effort you may or may not be able to contribute to those organizations, you are urged to support their effort by boycotting, on your own and collectively, Florida citrus products. If nothing else, any time you might be tempted to buy a bottle of orange juice, send the money instead to one of those organizations dedicated to the boycott.

We have friends and allies who are all willing Carson, Phil Donahue, Rod to help us in our efforts: Johnny

McKuen, Ruth Shack, Ann Landers, Jane Fonda, George Schlatter, among those more

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to us to lead this fight; to show that we do care and that we are strong enough to stand on our own two feet while accepting their help. It is something that we must do in every city, county and state in the nation. It is something uniquely suited to our oftentimes precarious position in the society in which we live in retaliation against the effort at genocide. It was our predecessors, not those of Anita Bryant, who provided the foundations, centuries ago, for the very form of government that Anita Bryant is flaunting in her homicidal campaign. It was our predecessors, not those of Anita Bryant, who formed the very model of law upon which we operate. The very least we can do is support them, and not Anita Bryant. Anita Bryant is supported by the Florida Citrus Commission, and every time you buy Florida citrus products, you are supporting them both.

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