The Occupy Movement and the Accountability Question

What does accountability look like?

This was one of the many complicated questions that came up at a panel discussion about the Occupy Wall Street movement that WNYC host Brian Lehrer moderated at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer; Crain’s New York Business contributor Greg David; Occupy Wall Street organizer Jesse LaGreca, who blogs at the Daily Kos and Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City, who is deputy chair of the New York Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors, certainly offered a variety of opinions and insights into the grassroots movement that has increasingly captivated the country in recent weeks. The panelists agreed that economic inequality in this country is unacceptable, and they suggested to varying degrees that the so-called 99 percent are justifiably angry at corporate America and their surrogates on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill.

Democracy is not an neatly packed form of government as a stroll through the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park near Ground Zero earlier today literally proved—corporate money in American politics, war, unemployment and even civil rights were among the topics to which Occupiers drew attention. One can certainly argue that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. The question remains, however, whether organizers within the Occupy movement are able to offer tangible solutions to the country’s social, economic and political inequalities that can effectively hold the powers that be accountable.

The answer is as complicated as the form of government under which the Occupy movement is able to expand.

Boy in Bushwick discusses gay rights, Obama on WNYC

California Congressman evokes bathrooms, showers and hermaphrodites to defend Don't Ask, Don't Tell

As the debate over the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” continues on Capitol Hill, Congressman Duncan Hunter [R-Calif.]’s dependence upon arcane homophobic stereotypes during an interview with National Public Radio is nothing more than an utterly desperate attempt to defend a failed policy.

“It’s not the time to do it,” he told Melissa Block yesterday afternoon. “I think it’s—the military is not civilian life. And I think the folks who have been in the military that have been in these very close situations with each other, there has to be a special bond there. And I think that bond is broken if you open up the military to transgenders, to hermaphrodites, to gay and lesbians.”

I truly wish I could make this you know what up, but the failed presidential candidate’s defense of DADT became even more foolish as he highlighted the ‘young kids’ who comprise the majority of those who enlist in the military.

“They usually have more conservative families, more conservative backgrounds and I think that it would go against their principles and it would frankly make everybody a little bit uneasy to be in these close situations, how you go into combat, you know, the shower situation, the bathroom situation, just, you know, very mundane details—things that we have men and women separated, you know, because we don’t want to have that sexual distraction,” Duncan rather nervously said.

The shower situation? The bathroom situation? Sexual distraction? Again, you truly can’t make this you know what up, but Congressman Joe Sestak [D-Pa.,] who is a retired Navy admiral, pointed out to Brian Lehrer earlier this morning the average age of the 5,000 sailors he commanded on an aircraft carrier were 19 and a half.

“That generation doesn’t have concerns over serving with or alongside a gay sailor,” he said.

Sestak also responded directly to Duncan.

“When you’re out there in a fox hole and people are shootin’ at ya, you’re not concerned whether the person next to you is anything but good—and these sailors are good,” he said.

There you have it…

Applying King's legacy

The annual conversation about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s legacy is indeed an odd ritual as a panelist at WNYC’s annual forum at the Brooklyn Museum on Sunday correctly asserted, but self-appointed members, representatives and spokespeople of underrepresented groups who evoke it to advance a particular cause raise some particularly peculiar questions themselves.

Case in point: I came home and found an e-mail in my inbox that announced a handful of white gay activists chanted “Dr. King supported equality for all!” at various locations in Midtown Manhattan and unfurled a poster with the same message inside Grand Central. The same group staged a similar action yesterday afternoon in Union Square. As a skeptical journalist, the obvious question is whether King would have actually supported marriage for gays and lesbians and general LGBT equality.

His widow, Coretta Scott King, and their eldest daughter Yolanda indeed came out in support of nuptials for same-sex couples in the 2000s. Coretta Scott King maintained marriage for gays and lesbians is indeed a civil rights issue; and that her husband’s legacy includes equality for gays and lesbians. Based on these public statements alone, one can obviously conclude King himself would have endorsed the right of same-sex couples to marry. But is it appropriate, however, for a dozen white gay activists to take it upon themselves to publicly proclaim this almost certain reality at various locations throughout Manhattan?

The always brilliant Patricia Williams of Columbia University’s School of Law provided some guidance in her response to Celeste Headlee’s question about other issues for which she thought King would have fought. Their exchange took place within the context of Haiti, but Williams’ answer can be applied to who evokes King’s name, message and legacy and the purpose to which they apply it.

“He’s a very handy sort of authoritative figure for whatever we sort of want him to be,” she said. “I think it’s unfair sometimes to go beyond what he actually said, and I think it’s perhaps a better enterprise to take into account that he spoke words of eternal wisdom, but that’s its really up to us.”

The group of white gay men who gathered around Midtown over the weekend certainly took the “words of eternal wisdom” and applied them to support their message of LGBT equality. King’s own words provide a convenient source of catchy sound bites, feel-good messages and inclusive rhetoric. The visual reality of the white gay men in Midtown and countless others who choose to evoke them, however, often leaves a series of peculiar and even problematic questions in their wake.

Boy in Bushwick blogs the inauguration for WNYC

This post is admittedly rather short, but I am pleased to announce I will blog the inauguration for WNYC. The station posted my first blog on its homepage earlier this morning. I will have at least three more commentaries in the coming days, but check out WNYC and this blog for further updates.

WNYC's Brian Lehrer discusses future of marriage in Albany

The reported deal between presumptive New York State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and the so-called dissident "Gang of Three" to not introduce marriage legislation in exchange for their support would be nothing more than another example of political wheeling and dealing in Albany if it proves to be true. That said, it has certainly put the long-time supporter of marriage for same-sex couples in an extremely difficult position.

WNYC host Brian Lehrer moderated a segment on his show yesterday titled "The News from Albany" with the New York Daily News' Albany bureau chief Ken Lovett, El Diario opinion page editor Erica Gonzalez and myself. Attached is a link to the entire segment.

WNYC highlights homophobia in Dancehall

The debate over homophobic lyrics in Jamaican Dancehall music has raged for years with British activist Peter Tatchell, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other organizations holding protests and other actions to draw attention to this issue. And WNYC, the city's National Public Radio affiliate, highlighted these efforts and the advocacy surrounding the Reggae Compassionate Act this morning.

A fair argument can be made that indigenous music is a result of the society from which it comes. LGBT Jamaicans face widespread homophobia, violence and even death in their country as Amnesty International and other international human rights organizations have repeatedly documented. Dancehall artists who see no problem including homophobic lyrics in their music arguably perpetuate this mistreatment against their LGBT brothers and sisters on the island.

The issue of free speech is always a concern, and one that must be taken very seriously in any debate over music and other forms of artistic expression. But the question remains, however, over whether one person's free speech infringes upon the rights of another to live their live without fear, the threat of violence or even death. Free speech is not a license to perpetuate hate. And Dancehall artists, like others from around the world, have a responsibility to their fans, themselves and the countries they claim to represent to examine the impact their lyrics have, and the unfortunate consequences they arguably have against their LGBT countrymen. The alternative is simply unacceptable.

WNYC Mixes With the Gays

More than 200 LGBT public radio lovers, including this blogger, attended WNYC's first LGBT singles mixer last night at the Chelsea Art Museum on West 22nd Street. Reporter Richard Hake stumped singles with questions about Cynthia Nixon, Sappho, Elton John and other gay icons. The sushi was quite good as well!



WNYC Reporter Richard Hake [right] stumps singles during a gay pop culture quiz at the Chelsea Art Museum

Single? Listen to Public Radio? Tune in to WNYC’s Gay Mixer

The story I wrote for this week's New York Blade is much more light-hearted [and fun] than other more cynical blogs about American politics and movement maneuvering in recent days. "Sex and the City" provided me with an obvious inspiration... What's up Carrie? This blogger remains an avid WNYC listener who tunes into the station for hours each day. The station continues to cover a variety of LGBT-related stories in the city in a comprehensive manner. I very much look forward to attending next week's mixer.

For many single New Yorkers, Carrie Bradshaw of “Sex and the City” said it best when she compared Gotham to a “dating desert.” But contrary to popular belief, queer New Yorkers do not have to schlep all the way to Fire Island, East Hampton or even their local bar or bathhouse to find a potential date for the summer.

New York public radio station WNYC will provide Gotham’s LGBT singles with a much more local opportunity to meet their matches with its first singles mixer specifically for the LGBT community. It takes place Wednesday, May 23, at the Chelsea Art Museum on West 22nd Street.

Japanese photographer Miwa Yanagi will show her work in her first solo exhibit while gay and lesbian singles mingle and take part in a pop culture quiz moderated by veteran WNYC news reporter Richard Hake.

Hake, who also hosts the Advocate Newsmagazine on Logo, said the mixer provides gay listeners with an opportunity to meet like-minded public radiophiles. He joked that he expects singles to compare their favorite WNYC and National Public Radio programs—“Morning Edition,” “The Leonard Lopate Show” and “Fresh Air,” to name a few—while they discuss their favorite Madonna song, their favorite episode of “The L-Word” and other aspects of gay pop culture.

“People who listen to public radio love public radio,” he said. “This is a great way for people who are like minded to meet each other.”

WNYC remains the most listened-to public radio station in the country. More than 1 million people tune into New York Public Radio’s two stations each week. And WNYC remains the most popular radio station in Manhattan.

Brian Lehrer of “The Brian Lehrer Show” hosted a singles mixer last year but Hake said WNYC decided to host a variety of events this year with musical and other themes.

The station has sold more than 100 tickets for its gay singles event as of press time. Hake said he expects WNYC will sell more tickets because he feels listeners will find the mixer an attractive alternative to New York’s bars, dating Web sites and other virtual venues.

“The online thing can get so mechanical and so impersonal,” he said. “Events like this that are not bar-related or computer-related play on that well.”

Hake conceded he looks forward to the opportunity to talk about the Material Girl and other gay legends as emcee and quiz master.

But he added the upcoming mixer provides him with an opportunity to meet listeners who continue to support WNYC.

“I sometimes feel like I’m talking to myself in a windowless room and I don’t realize thousands of people are eavesdropping,” Hake joked. “I totally love to meet people who listen to us on the radio.”

WNYC’s LGBT Singles Mixer, hosted by Richard Hake, 7–10 p.m., The Chelsea Art Museum, 556 W. 22nd St., $35 advance/$40 at door (complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres are included); for more information, call WNYC Listener Services at 212-669-3333 or visit their web site at wnyc.org/events.