(Delayed) Thoughts on Prop 8

This weekend I was standing in a pub with a pint in one hand and my cell phone in another, discussing the passage of prop 8 because I can't leave off politics, even on the weekends. I suggested that although the passage of prop 8 is an undeniable setback in the march toward social justice, progressives could at least be grateful for the surge in activism it has created.

And, to an extent, it's true. Since Prop 8 passed activists have come together--not just within the state but across the entire nation--to protest bigotry and disenfranchisement. In the wake of disappointing electoral politics, it's somewhat encouraging to see progressives get off their collective couches and take to the streets. Dan Savage, a sex-columnist, gay-rights activist, and American icon sums it up thusly: no more Mr. Nice Gay.

But there is an obvious logical break here: Prop 8 is introduced; liberals vent their angst amongst themselves. Prop 8 passes; liberals take to the streets. I hate to state the obvious, but where the hell were we before this all became law? With the exception of a few good commercials, I was really disappointed by the noticeable lack of activist effort. We should have been standing on street corners, knocking on doors, and bringing all the energy of the Obama campaign to ensure the defeat of Prop 8. Unfortunately, with a few notable exceptions, liberals seemed content to watch our progressive laws dissipate into non-existence. Pundits have theorized it's because progressive voters were lulled into complacency by early poll leads, but I'd posit a different scenario: Counter-culture has made liberal activism appear outdated and obsolete.

Liberal ideologies have always gone hand-in-hand with counter-culture, for better or for worse. Hippies protested the Vietnam war, Punks railed against Reagan, and modern hipsters remind us that "Bush is not [their] president." But while these groups ostensibly seek change, they prefer to do so "outside the system". Counter-culturalists tend to think that, by maintaining their "radical" lifestyles, they are promoting larger systemic changes that go beyond structural or institutional frameworks. It's a very seductive argument. When I was fifteen, I dyed my hair black, and then purple, and began dressing in ways no sane person would repeat. I thought that by doing so, and by going to punk shows every chance I got, I was striking a fatal blow against my father, his values, and the "system" at large. My friends and I weren't weirdos, we were fucking revolutionaries.

Yeah, right. Despite our pretensions, we were little more than apathetic teenagers with bad haircuts. We were so focused on overthrowing the system that we forgot to fight for any actual change. We condemned everything from capitalism and patriarchy to our school's dress code, but rarely made an effort to realize any of our goals. In fact, traditional politics were seen as preposterously uncool, since they are predicated on the belief that acceptable change can come through political activism. No, for counterculturalists punks living in squats are more "revolutionary" than people using voter-registration drives to fend off hateful initiatives (hel-lo, Prop 8.)

I think it's important to look for cultural and lifestyle changes, but how can we ever accomplish them while ignoring the important steps it takes to get there? It will pain some people to hear this, but it looks like capitalism and democracy are here to stay. So why don't we start using those tools to create the change we need? I've heard people tell me that they don't support gay marriage because they don't support any marriage, finding the whole system corrupt and oppressive. Thanks a lot, that's how we got prop 8. Friends have told me that, as an anarchist, they won't vote or accept anything other than complete and total revolution. Congratulations, that's the attitude that bought us four extra years of Bush.

We've heard a lot of talk about how we should "think globally, act locally". Well, counterculturalists, I am begging you: think culturally, act systemically. The religious right is using the system to screw us, its about time we started using it to give ourselves the rights we deserve. It's not enough to decry these violations after they become law. It's not enough to change our minds, we need to get off our asses, change our attitudes, and change our laws.