Pink Dot 2014

This is the text of what I said at Pink Dot today, word for word.

“LGBT folk, queer, non binary, asexual, polyamorous friends - perverts of every stripe, and the people who associate with us! I’m incredibly happy to be here for the 4th time.

I think a lot has been said about religion and sexuality. But in the end the people who have a much bigger impact on the lives of LGBT people, are the -majority-, and that includes you, our allies, friends, and families.

The state relies on a conservative majority to justify inaction, as much as some prominent figures draw gesture at a conservative majority in family-friendly rhetoric.

LGBT allies - I strongly encourage you not to be conservative. And I don’t mean "conservative” as a belief or a feeling, I mean conservative as an attitude of silence and reservation.

Conservative is when our friends, family, and allies say they support LGBT people, but don’t stand up in the small instances when it really counts. I get that it’s often inconvenient and uncomfortable. It’s more trouble to correct your best friend who uses “she-male” in a sentence, than it is to put your name on a petition.

But that’s exactly what solidarity is, sometimes it’s not convenient, sometimes it’s not comfortable, and sometimes it’s a lot of trouble. It’s a constant process of education and interaction, because good intentions are nice, but good intentions have done fuckall for anybody.

But every time you stop the gay joke before the punch line, every time you tell a friend it’s not okay to shame a transgender sex worker, every time you use gender neutral pronouns at your workplace - someone is listening. You’re saying that homophobic and transphobic behavior is no longer acceptable, at least not on your watch. And you’re creating an environment that protects queer people without demanding that they come out.

And these are the things that matter. We want a community in which homophobic and transphobic slurs no longer have their sting. We want a community in which bigotry is no longer a weapon, but is reduced to a joke.

Thank you again for being here, have a great evening, and take care of one another.