I tend to not weep over that.
Posted 6 years ago with 4,968 notes from thespacebetween1

she-is-glue:

anottershambles:

fuckyeahanarchistbanners:

Dublin Pride, 2015

I was really, realllllllly uncomfortable with this group and their stupid fucking banner when they turned up at Pride. The focus of this year’s Pride was winning the marriage referendum, a moment which will remain in history as one of the greatest testaments to both democracy, and human compassion. Marriage equality alone doesn’t “fix” the question of LGBT issues in Ireland, but it’s a bloody good starting point. On the back of the marriage referendum came the Gender Recognition Amendment, which allows for self-determination of gender identity by trans people, which puts the Republic of Ireland up there with Denmark and Malta as the most progressive countries in Europe and the world terms of trans rights. No, the law isn’t perfect, but it’s a place to start. These are all starting blocks, off of which we propel ourselves towards the next hurdle, and the next, and the next. So for these guys to turn up at Pride and blithely, childishly dismiss all of this, makes me so angry. Did any of them campaign for LGBT equality in this country? Did any of them go door-to-door, every damn night, engaging and persuading strangers that voting Yes was simply the right thing to do? Did any of them have doors slammed in their faces, were any of them called perverts and faggots by people they see every day? Did any of them have to leave a voter’s doorstep mid-sentence and scurry around the corner, gulping back panic and tears as the 6-foot man at the door loomed over them with barely-suppressed disgust and malice in his growling voice? Could any of them still feel his gaze on their retreating shoulder-blades even as they jogged, shaking, back to the safety of the group? Or were they too busy moping around Stephen’s Green in their Che Guevara t-shirts to give up their summer evenings in pursuit of actual, tangible, and achievable social change?

So no, I will not entertain the notion that what the Irish LGBT community wants is revenge. We want justice for the ones we lost, and a future for the ones who come after us. We want protection. We want respect, and we want security, and we are damn well not getting it by turning up to Pride in rainbow balaclavas, demanding a blood toll for the incredible injustice done to LGBT people here and around the world. Get over yourselves, and take a look at what we’ve achieved in 22 years. From criminals to equal citizens, from frightened freaks and sickos to self-determined, self-proclaimed, free people. 99 years after the Easter Proclamation, we are finally, painfully, resolutely starting to “cherish equally, all children of the nation.” That’s the LGBT movement in Ireland.  

I know these people and they did actually campaign REALLY FUCKING HARD but they are understandably critical of marriage equality. As an aim in mainstream LGBT activism it has very much been held up as the be-all and end-all when it is SO FAR REMOVED from the lived reality of many LGBT people’s lives. And marriage is shite anyway (but that’s a discussion for another day). I’m very glad marriage equality was passed but to expect the government to see it as a stepping stone is naive. Unless we keep the pressure on they will move on and forget about allt he other issues LGBT people face.

In fairness they stepped up to the plate and changed a lot of the trans recognition bill, but they still threw trans kids under the bus.

I for one amn’t willing to accept baby steps. I mean yes we need to start somewhere, but now that the middle-class cis gays can get married do you really think they’ll fight for the more marginalised members of the community? Do you think those marginalised people will be listened to? They will in my hole.

Marriage equality happened because it was long past being embarrassing that we didn’t have it in this country. It makes us seem progressive and glosses over all of the other backwards fucking shit we have going on politically.

So people are fucking entitled to call for revenge. For revolution. And fuck you for not seeing why that’s relevant.

You want assimilation that’s fine, you do you, best of luck getting justice (Hint: it won’t happen, they don’t genuinely care). But you do not speak for the entirety of the Irish LGBT community.

  1. arcenciel-par-une-larme reblogged this from anscathmarcach and added:
    “Jesus would tooooooootally affirm and support Pride!!!!!”
  2. huntressoferudition reblogged this from lgbtlaughs
  3. jakeenglishapologist reblogged this from fuckyeahanarchistbanners
  4. avislorraine reblogged this from actuallyanansi
  5. whimsically-whimsical reblogged this from lgbtlaughs
  6. labalarodriguez reblogged this from estarcuir
  7. smallgirlclosetohell reblogged this from starrrstuff
  8. jonlumia reblogged this from octobaba
  9. infinite-kingdom reblogged this from octobaba
  10. octobaba reblogged this from jokseenkin
  11. jokseenkin reblogged this from ruub0t
  12. letallbeforgiven reblogged this from ruub0t
  13. ruub0t reblogged this from lesbiantalizorah
  14. lesbiantalizorah reblogged this from lgbtlaughs
  15. q-ueermothra reblogged this from mimiceon
  16. beteldyke reblogged this from mimiceon
  17. shadowytheoristbluebird reblogged this from mimiceon
  18. fuckyeahanarchistbanners posted this
Back to Top