According to newspaper reports that I have read, the anti-Eminem Grammy protest was a bonafide flop. Most reports I've read numbered the protestors at 100. The most generous count that I've seen is 200. And these numbers are despite a heavy dose of publicity both in LGBT circles and the mainstream media. The folks at GLAAD have really got to be shaking their heads over this.

So, what went wrong?

One thing that went wrong was the failure to communicate the case against Eminem effectively and passionately. This is not meant to condemn GLAAD. To their credit, they gave it their best shot. But, far too many in the LGBT community did not see this as an issue. Eminem's defenders, foremost among them being Elton John, saw his lyrics more as artistic expression than genuine homophobia. An Eminem fan today said to me that calling Eminem a homophobe was as valid as portraying Anthony Hopkins as a serial killer. I was told that his musical rant against gays was just the fictional posturing of the character doing the rap, not an indictment of us as people.

Oh.

If that's the case, and if Eminem knows that there are always fans that don't listen rationally (isn't that what the song "Stan" is about?), than why doesn't he state for the record that anti-glbt violence is wrong? He knows that lashing out against "fags" feeds into the homophobia of many of his fans, and he does it in a society where gays, lesbians, bisexuals and the transgendered get murdered merely for who we are. Yet he doesn't have the decency to ask his fans to separate his 'artistic expression' from the logical extension of that .... the acting out of that violence. And how do we respond to his abdication of responsibility? As our shameful performance last night showed, we roll over and play dead.

Let's put this into perspective. Say Eminem had written a song for a streetwise alter- ego that constantly railed against 'niggers?' Let's say he did this without making a concerted effort to demonstrate that he was not really a racist. Would any well-known black entertainer get up on stage with him, especially one who was known as being a leader in African-American civil rights, and embrace him, raving about his brilliance? Do we really need to ask the question?

And, in such a scenario, would a rally promoted by African-Americans attract more than 100 people?

This rally was not about censorship. It was asking the music industry elite not to bestow honor upon an artist who incorporated hate speech into his music without qualifying that hate speech in a substantive way, which would prevent his fans from acting out. And too many in the LGBT community were more concerned that it would make us appear less hip so we shut our mouths. Further, we don't seem to be looking at the big picture. The March on Washington made clear that there is very little unity in the community. It seems that many of us would like to follow in the footsteps of Hannibal Lector and cannibalize each other, instead of working together for a common goal.

I recently underwent a very personal attack because I was told that my use of the term 'gay' specifically, and this news feed generally, deliberately excluded bisexuals and the transgendered. This person also insisted that it also didn't include lesbians, which was news to every lesbian I discussed the issue with. The funny thing was, this point was made based upon a news feed that included transgender-themed stories in 2 of the 4 articles. I bring this up for a reason, because this person used that as an excuse for not being especially concerned about Eminem. The insinuation being 'why should I support something that bothers gay men, when I don't feel my issues are being addressed?'

Forget the fact that this wasn't true. I may not be perfect in trying to encompass all parts of the g-l-b and t, but I give it a fighting try. The very fact that there were 2 trans-themed stories in the specific edition that inspired his attack was illustrative at the attempt at diversity. However this individual focused on the fact that I use the term 'gay' at times as an umbrella term to justify not caring much about the hatred that Eminem spews. Welcome to LGBT politics in the year 2001.

So where were we? And where are we?

I will tell you where. We are a community in disarray, and one in dire need of focus. I'll say this again, for some reason we don't seem to be looking at the big picture. Maybe we need more people to step up to bat and try rallying the troops. Certainly our movement could use a visionary speaker. But we can't even get our supposedly 'out' celebrities to pose for a cover story picture for New York Magazine's first glbt-themed issue. After all, that might marginalize them and reduce their economic value.

When there is no orchestrated voice being raised against a John Ashcroft nomination... when a pro-gay rally at the Texas headquarters of the Boy Scouts, arranged by a straight group that is fighting for us, cannot even get more than a few members of the glbt family to take part... when a well-publicized rally against Eminem cannot get more than a hundred or so people angry enough to show up... and when 1 out of 4 who self-identify as G, L or B (sorry no exit-polling stats on the 'T') can believe that life for us will be better under George Bush... we are in serious trouble.

It really makes me wonder about what lies ahead. All we can do right now is take a good, long look in the mirror and ask ourselves... what is it going to take... to once again have a movement of passion and relevance? The future of civil rights for our community depends upon our coming up with an answer.

Until it's over.
-- Scott Miller