[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]: "True Moral Leadership," by Pedro Julio Serrano

True Moral Leadership

By Pedro Julio Serrano, Communications Coordinator,
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
March 16, 3:59 pm

When I was young, my mother taught me what morality is all about. "Being a moral person means conducting yourself with dignity," she told me. "The way that dignity is respected by others is what makes them moral." Ay, was she right!

Yesterday I got to see firsthand — and feel in my innermost self — what moral leadership is.

Close to noon yesterday, Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman and the communications team prepared to travel by subway to Times Square in the heart of New York City. As we were gathering our things, Matt grabbed the posters the Task Force had prepared for the protest against the homophobic comments made by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about homosexuality being "immoral."

Matt didn't let go of the posters that read "What's Immoral? Don't Ask, Don't Tell! Fire Gen'l Pace!" until we got to the recruiting station located on 43 Street and Broadway. In fact, he even held one throughout the demonstration.

With the adrenaline in full swing, demonstrators, including Gay USA's Ann Northrop, ACT UP's Larry Kramer, Latino LGBT activist Andrés Duque, chanted slogans against the immorality of Pace's recent comments and the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Longtime LGBT activist Gilbert Baker spent the night before creating a huge rainbow banner which would certainly play a big role in the protest.

The demonstration had all the makings of a theater production (appropriate, I suppose, because we were actually on Broadway). The protest crystallized the outrage we all felt about the lack of moral leadership among those who should be upholding the dignity of this country, rather than dividing us and cutting us down.

As the protest developed, Matt, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum and Larry Kramer went to the door of the military recruiting station to protest the immorality of forbidding lesbian, gay and bisexual service members to serve openly. And I saw it clearly once again, Matt, Rabbi Kleinbaum and Kramer stood in front of the door with the rectitude of leaders who know that not everything legal is moral. After a few minutes, they were told by NYPD officers that the recruiting station had been closed in anticipation of our demonstration.

"They're afraid of us," shouted Kramer. The strongest military in the world was scared to open up its doors to hear, simply hear, the message of three LGBT leaders who demanded the resignation of the military chief over his blatant and inexcusable homophobia.

After a moment of moral victory, Matt and Rabbi Kleinbaum of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah held the massive rainbow banner and decided to cross from one side of the street to the other to block traffic. I could see in that moment, that something shifted inside of Matt and Rabbi Kleinbaum. They knew what was about to happen.

As they were walking across the street, silence enveloped the scene at Times Square — silence in the middle of the greatest city in the world! The cops, who were calm during the protest, surrounded Matt and Rabbi Kleinbaum, in a show of force. The banner stopped traffic, and the police confiscated the rainbow flag, the global symbol of our diversity. Matt gave Rabbi Kleinbaum a warm embrace. They then both dropped to the ground, sat on the street in true Gandhi fashion and clasped hands. Traffic was stopped.

I could see their faces, the weight of the moment and the responsibility of providing the leadership for our LGBT movement, sank in. The police warned them over a bullhorn that they were blocking traffic, violating the law and that they would be arrested. Matt and Rabbi Kleinbaum held their ground. Rabbi Kleinbaum handed her tallis — the sacred prayer shawl that accompanies the Jew throughout all stages of life — to one of the demonstrators. Matt held a sign that read, "Pace is immoral. Gays are fabulous."

Police picked Rabbi Kleinbaum and Matt up off the ground and arrested them. They took them away for standing up against the immorality of an administration that has denied full citizenship to LGBT people, that has engaged in an immoral war killing hundreds of thousands and injuring many thousands more, that has been accomplice to the homophobia that destroys the moral fabric of this country. Indeed, not everything that is legal is moral and not everything that is moral is legal.

As they were being taken away, my mother came to my mind. I felt proud to be taught those lessons when I was very young.

I felt ashamed to see how political leaders, in the expediency of seeking to gain a few votes from hypocrites and bigots, didn't stand up as Republican Sen. John Warner did when he said, "I respectfully, but strongly disagree with the chairman's [Gen. Pace] view that homosexuality is immoral."

I felt immensely proud of seeing and living a historic moment where, in the lack of moral leadership from our political leaders, two valiant and courageous LGBT leaders showed us and the country what moral leadership is all about.

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Monday, 3/19/2007, 10:46 AM (EST) Sino se protesta a nivel nacional o al menos en todas las ciudades importantes seguiremos a merced de que cualquiera nos discrimine, hace poco un futbolista retirado — despues se retracto — ahora una personalidad nilitar... ¿quien sera el proximo? Todas las organizaciones LGBT de la nacion deben organizar manifestaciones a fin de detener estas u otras opiniones o comenzaremos no solo a perder terreno sino a ver como nuestra libertad de expresion y reconocimiento civil se quiebra. Suerte y mi total apoyo, Rangel. Fidel Rangel Miami, Fla. [English translation: If a national protest doesn't occur or at least demonstrations in every important city, we will be at the mercy of anyone that wants to discriminate against us. Recently, a retired football player made homophobic remarks, and then he retracted, now it's the military chief. Who will be next? Every LGBT organization in the country should organize protests in order to stop these homophobic remarks or we will start to lose ground and our freedom of expression and civil liberties will crumble. Good luck and you can count on my full support.] TRUE MORAL LEADERSHIP Monday, 3/19/2007, 11:47 AM (EST) I support 100% everything Pedro Julio, Matt, and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum are doing. I believe a date should be set where the entire nation and all GLBT people and organization can participate in a nationwide protest at the same time! I am more than willing to mobilize Everyone in Houston, Austin and Dallas. Equality for all! No More , No Less! I wrote the following based on the current events and what is going on. Society Hates us, They were brought Up This way They dislike us Because we are gay. They fear being around us, They Think being gay is a "contagious Disease" They do not want to be seen with us, They want their minds to be at ease! But, when they need us, (to enlist in military service, vote for them) They come to us, it does not matter that we are gay, To their convenience we have become Human, we Have become one of them. We HAVE A RIGHT TO BE! No matter What SOCIETY thinks or says, We are People, We are Human, and WE ARE PROUDLY GAY! Cristina Martinez CEO/Publisher, Gay & Lesbian Rainbow Pages Houston/Austin/Dallas, Texas