The Lesson from Orlando: We’re Still Targets

It doesn’t matter if Omar Mateen was a terrorist or an ISIS sympathizer.  It doesn’t matter if he was a closeted gay man who decided to lash out against a community that had shunned him, or that he was outraged over seeing two men kissing as his father explained, or his Muslim faith prohibits homosexuality.  It doesn’t matter if he was a deranged psychopath.  

Hopefully, the victims did not die in vain

What does matter, despite the denials by many who aren’t exactly on the side of LGBT people, this heinous act at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fl. on June 12 was directed specifically to harm members of the LGBT community.

And for those who believe that he was instead carrying out an attack in the name of ISIS consider this: Mateen could have gone anywhere to commit mass murder. 

He traveled 125 miles from Port St. Lucie to Orlando.  He could have shot up any nightclub in his home town.  If Orlando had to be a target, he could have shot up any nightclub there or gone to Disneyworld or another tourist attraction to do his deed. 

Instead, he chose this place at this time and this crowd.  He singled out Pulse since he was familiar with the establishment, and as witnesses reported, he had been there multiple times.  The people who patronized Pulse that night were his targets of choice.

For sure, the anti-gay crowd was relieved to learn that Mateen phoned the police during the massacre saying he pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS.  To them, this rampage was simply an act of terrorism and, of course, President Obama’s perceived weakness and inability to eradicate the murderous terrorist group. 

It was not an attack against LGBT people who were celebrating Latin night at the Pulse during Gay Pride month, they concluded.  The terms “gay” or “LGBT” were scarcely muttered; there was massive denial.

President Obama set the record straight as he and Vice President Biden laid down bouquets at a memorial in Orlando.

“This was an act of terrorism but it was also an act of hate,” the President declared. “This was an attack on the LGBT community.”  He’s correct.

The aftermath of the shootings revealed America’s darkest side especially when it comes to anti-gay fervor.  It suggests to me that based on this hate, Mateen carried out what some homophobes would love to have done if they could get away with it.

It wasn't a backlash from the victories in marriage equality.  Anti-gay governors and legislatures are acting on that already under the guise of “religious freedom.” 

No, the reactions reflected pure hatred.  Some have cheered the massacre.  “Better that he killed the perverts and not the normal people,” said one a-hole on the Internet.

Less extreme are those straight people who snickered at the news and offered up what they think are clever comments about the tragedy.  Some don’t even mention it anymore, if they ever did, and want the story to disappear unless it’s couched in anti-terrorism terms.

Remember when terrorists attacked Paris and all those straight folks covered their Facebook profile pictures with French flags?  You don't see as much Orlando or gay images this time around from these people.

Others are more direct, such as the burning of a rainbow flag this past week outside a Washington, D.C. restaurant can attest.  Or this recent incident in D.C..

We’ve made considerable—almost unimaginable—progress in recent years and more and more people are supportive of LGBT people and our rights.  However, LGBT individuals, especially transgender people of color, are attacked violently or killed with chilling regularity.  Kids are still mercilessly bullied in schools.  

Yes, we made progress in recent years and some positives will come out of this tragedy so that 49 innocent people’s horrific deaths will not be in vain.  Hopefully, common sense gun reform will be among them.

As I told a reporter during a candlelight vigil in Baltimore, “We can have laws on the books to confer LGBT rights.  We cannot legislate attitudes.  This has always been the challenge in civil rights movements.”

Hate still exists.  Gay bars were supposed to be a “safe” space—a sanctuary—for LGBT people to congregate and socialize without judgment or violence.  Not anymore.  The horror in Orlando and the reaction of the anti-gay haters taught us that we’re still targets.

Are Gay Bars the Next Dinasours?

When the Hippo announced its impending closing, there was a lot of collective hand-wringing.   Many in Baltimore’s LGBT communities saw this as a disaster and perhaps the final nail in the coffin for LGBT identity.  They feel the gay bar will go the way of the phone booth, record stores, and liberal Republicans.

The soon-to-close Hippo

To be sure, we have witnessed the closing of local gay bars with The Eagle in 2012 and the Quest in 2014.  The Hippo’s last dance is expected later in 2015, Grand Central may be up for sale in 2016, while another bar south of the city is teetering on closing in the very near future.  Jay’s on Read, while not technically a gay bar but popular among LGBT folks, faces an uncertain future.

Bars shut down for a variety of reasons, but for the most part it’s because of financial considerations resulting from a falloff in patronage.  The most popular reason discussed is that younger gay people are frequenting straight bars with their straight friends.  Baltimore icon John Waters believes that tendency is why gay bars are eventually going to vanish. 

“The coolest gay kids today don’t want to go to a gay bar.  They want to go to a hip bar where straights and gays are mixing,” Waters said during a recent WYPR interview . 

Grand Central owner Don Davis agrees. In that same interview Davis observed that gay people are feeling more comfortable with going with straight friends to a straight bar.  He feels the change in “demographics” will sustain this trend.

There are other factors in play.  Men don’t cruise at the bars as they once did, using phone apps and the Internet to replace hooking up through personal contact at bars.  It’s cheaper since less alcohol is consumed (or needed) and rejection is less painful.  Still others are bored by the bar scene and prefer alternative sources of amusement.

However, The Baltimore Eagle didn’t close because leather men and leather women took flight to straight establishments.  The previous owner passed away and the estate sold the bar.  If the new ownership of The Baltimore Eagle fails to have a controversial Liquor Board ruling overturned, the bar will remain closed.

The mixing of straights and gays at bars became more evident during the period when there was a Guerilla Gay Bar movement between 2009 and 2011.  To provide an alternative to the gay bar scene, monthly outings consisting of an “invasion” of gays at selected straight bars and clubs around Baltimore were scheduled with prior notice given to the bar’s management and staff.  



The Baltimore Eagle is already closed but for how long?

With one exception, because of a failure to communicate effectively, these events were hugely successful with no incidents or any other ostensible problems.  The bars’ staffs were eager to take in our money and the other patrons enjoyed or at least put up with our presence, which often numbered in the hundreds.
  

The following year marriage equality passed by referendum in Maryland confirming the increased acceptance by the straight folks.  Nationally, polls indicate that same-sex marriage is favored by a 3 to 2 margin.  Yet, even if those results are accurate, there are still 2 out of 5 who oppose marriage equality.  That’s a significant number, if not the majority.

Therefore, by no means is our acceptance universal or complete.  A gay couple in Chelsea in NYC can attest to the fact that there are haters out there who would do us harm as they were brutally attacked.  The Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, if favorable as it appears likely, will cause a backlash among many groups.  And the Republican candidates in the presidential clown car are falling all over each other in an effort to appeal to their bigoted base by raising the temperature on strident anti-gay marriage rhetoric. 

I don’t believe that the gay bar will become a dinosaur any time too soon.  Sure, younger gays and lesbians may be frequenting straight establishments.  But do male couples actually dance at these places, holds hands, or are affectionate? I certainly would not feel comfortable or safe dancing or being affectionate with my husband at a straight club.  Or, will these guys dance with their female friends as closeted gay men once did in the past while out in public? 

A gay bar does provide a secure space where one can be him or herself.  You’re with folks with more common interests, and that’s a boost towards the social benefits.  If you’re holding the hand of your gay or lesbian partner or spouse in a gay bar, you don’t have to look around to be sure the person behind you won’t break a bottle over your head.  Of course, it can happen but much less likely in a gay bar.

Regardless, existing gay bars need to step it up. Though there will be fewer gay bars around, those remaining should do well at least in the near term.  It would behoove bar owners to be more innovative and creative to keep the customers entertained and interested in patronizing their establishments.   They ought to listen to their customers to see what they would like.

As Don Davis noted on WYPR, Grand Central offers special events to keep things interesting and exciting in order for him to compete.  He unapologetically encourages a straight crowd to join in the festivities and stresses that Grand Central is an “alternative bar” and not a gay bar per se.

It is apparent that further acceptance by society fueled by the younger generation may ultimately obviate the need for gay bars or even LGBT organizations.  That would be a tangible sign of progress though we still have a ways to go.  Until then the gay bar will continue to be an integral part of LGBT social life and will not vanish altogether, at least not yet.