FIGHTING THE RIGHT FIGHT FOR ALL

I have noticed in diverse social media over the course of the last month that some Latinos have felt the pain of the people in Gaza as evidenced by the nearly 2,000 killed ~ a minimum 70% of the civilian population, including a chilling 25% comprised of children. Then when you inject an additional layer felt by the LGBT community specifically, who know all too well what it is to be a victim of injustice in society, it is only natural that when you are Latino and gay you are sensitive to injustices occurring on both sides internationally. HOWEVER, I was taken aback when I saw spray-painted on a street corner in my historically gay neighborhood of the West Village in Manhattan, QUEERS FOR GAZA. That was not something I could innately support on two grounds.

I know the people of Gaza, for the most part, due to religious and cultural-conditioning would not embrace my personal values of sexuality and were I to be there would fear for my personal safety if I was true to myself and open about my natural being. But this following article from the Philadelphia Gay News, penned by Mark Segal, solidified how an arm of the Palestinian government, HAMAS who are also fighting for a free Palestine, officially ostracizes LGBT individuals. HAMAS' tactics are the antithesis of who I am and the values that I champion in demanding a free world of equality for all that favor peace with its neighbors.

So, before I am expected to support Palestinians unconditionally in achieving their ultimate goal, some of these discriminatory policies rampant in this government and community and have to be unequivocally and completely abandoned in order to create bridges of international support for a safe and equal two-state solution.

http://www.epgn.com/pages/full_story/push?article-LGBT+history-+LGBT+hypocrisy+%20&id=25566005