Victims of 'gay-bashing' speak at Boston forum

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Clinic defenders in Cincinnati, Ohio, fend off Operation Rescue By BOSTON-Following a recent rash of attacks against gay men in the city's South End, the Boston branch of Socialist Action held a forum on the violence. David Scondras, an openly gay city councilor, was a featured speaker.

The event drew a small but diverse audience, including activists in the lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities and members of the new, direct-action-oriented group called Queer Nation (QN).

Queer Nation got its start this summer in New York City among outraged lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals who have witnessed a precipitous rise in homophobic violence in their city. The group has held packed meetings in both New York and Boston and has made the papers in both places with its flamboyant, media-grabbing tactics-or "zaps," as they are referred to by insiders.

Violence on the increase The rise in homophobic violence here in Boston appears to be part of a nationwide trend. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has compiled disturbing figures that show a dramatic increase in physical attacks and verbal harassment against bisexuals, lesbians, and gay men across the country. In 1986, 4946 cases were reported, while in 1989 there were 7031 reported incidents.

The Socialist Action forum proved to be a good opening round in what hopefully will be more discussions on the issue outside of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community.

Susan Farley, from the Boston branch, chaired the forum, which in addition to Scondras, included two speakers who survived homophobic attacks. Farley commented briefly on the importance of coalition building and the need to "stand together in the streets."

In a short introductory speech, Carrie Allison, also from the Boston branch of Socialist Action, cited the worsening economy as a contributing cause to the violent scapegoating of people of color and women, as well as bisexuals, gay men, and lesbians.

Speaking next was Sam, a gay man who was beaten and raped by five men. After that incident, he encountered difficulty obtaining badly needed medical treatment—including a test for the HIV virus-from healthcare workers who assumed that, as a Joseph Ryan/Socialist Action gay man, he would probably test positive as a result of previous sexual contact.

"I want my voice to be heard tonight because what happened to me must never again happen," he said. "Violence is not a gay, white, or Black issue. It is a human issue. I feel we must pull together as a community to be known as men and women of peace, nobility, and intellect."

Regina, also a survivor of a homophobic attack (as well as one of the organizers of the Women's Caucus of Queer Nation) said, "I think anyone at any time can be subject to someone else's warped perception of what's normal, whether it's their behavior or their appearance or their lifestyle."

She pointed out that "coalition-building with women's groups that are already engaged in combatting rape and sexual assault, harassment and battering, is one of the best ways we can really galvanize.

"Also coalition-building with existing organizations that are working against drugs and poverty. I really feel that in my case, violence has everything to do with poverty."

Speaking after her was David Scondras. He began by saying that he was "glad to see a socialist group moving on the gay and lesbian and bisexual agenda" because left-wing organizations have too often ignored the issue of gay and lesbian rights.

"No cause is more serious"

"Ironically," he pointed out, "gay and lesbian people have very often been the leaders on the left, espousing every cause but their own, raising every banner but their own banner, pushing for freedom and justice for every single group in the world but themselves."

"Homophobes don't dislike gay men because they're gay," Scondras said. "They're upset about the limp wrist. They don't like the sissy. They don't like women. There is a direct and deep connection between hatred of gay men and the devaluation of women.' "The violence is everywhere. It permeates. It's in the TV set by not having people like me on the tube. It's in the newspapers by not having people admit what's happening to people like us."

'The Legionnaire's Disease in 14 days," he pointed out, "got more money than the first four years of the AIDS epidemic. And don't kid yourself. It's because AIDS was perceived to be an epidemic affecting gay people that a lot of people would just as soon see all die out."

"No more blood has been shed than our blood," he concluded. "No cause is more serious than our cause. No people have worked harder than we have worked. No nation, no society, no class does not have us in it. And therefore, in a very fundamental way, our freedom is an absolute prerequisite for the freedom of the rest of the human race.