Michael Lucas’ Asks The Advocate “Where Is The Gay MLK?”
We normally enjoy teasing International porn mogul and Lucas Entertainment founder, Michael Lucas for his over-the-top publicity stunts. Who can forget his studio cockfight with Raging Stallion, his joke letter asking President Obama to support Piss! and Farts!, and of course stealing the spotlight from Brent Corrigan at the GayVN Awards?
But Lucas recently penned an article for The Advocate, and this time Mr. Lucas isn’t playing press hound. His article is entitled “Leaderless: Porn impresario Michael Lucas looks for the country’s gay Martin Luther King Jr., and finds little to celebrate.” And in it he raises a serious political issue; namely, why America’s gays remain so powerless despite our Democratic leadership:
Our so-called leaders won’t acknowledge this. They’re not really leaders but extremely wealthy fundraisers whose desires have nothing to do with fighting for our rights. They use their status and fundraising campaigns for their own personal agendas. It seems that their goal is to be invited to the White House and have pictures taken with the Obamas and the Clintons. But these “leaders” are not interested in demanding action from the powerful people with whom they’re partying. They’re afraid to upset the powerful. We raise money to fight, not to kiss ass. The purpose of giving money to political campaigns is to get results, not to host lavish fundraisers and parties. Remember the Human Rights Campaign dinner last year where Obama spoke and received multiple standing ovations from a room full of wealthy gay donors? Yes, his speech was full of beautiful words. But where’s the action to match the rhetoric? The HRC is a very easy-going crowd that will applaud any glamorous personality. But they’re always intimidated. We need leaders and organizations that are not intimidated by anyone, not even by our most eloquent president.
As we can’t depend on straight Democrats, we need a gay Martin Luther King, Jr., to fight for us. Someone who will face arrest, enact civil disobedience, and raise a ruckus on our behalf. We need to choose a leader who cares about us and not just him or herself. Those are the actions for which MLK is so admired today. But gays seem to think that giving lots of money to political candidates is all that needs to be done. Making political donations is important, but it has to produce results to be effective. The people who deliver our money to the president should not just be delivery boys; they should be fighters, they should be crusaders. Why are we content to have them merely rub shoulders with the powerful?
And in true Lucas fashion, Michael illustrates his point with an anecdote gleaned from gay upper-crustiness:
Last year, I saw Jane Fonda at a Broadway fundraising event for gay causes. This is a woman whose contribution to the world was 25 aerobic workout videos. Many will never forget her visiting Communist troops in Vietnam. At the Broadway event, Fonda got a standing ovation before she even opened her mouth. Why? She’s a tired diva. But when Harvey Fierstein, one of the most celebrated gay artists in America, came on stage, he didn’t get a standing ovation. He gave an amazing speech that was directed at Obama, demanding that the president fulfill his campaign pledges. This event occurred a long time ago when people were still excited about Obama, and yet Fierstein still chastised him harshly for his lack of action.
Maybe the crowd didn’t applaud Harvey because he isn’t a diva. He didn’t produce workout videos, nor did he ever express support for Vietnamese communists. Perhaps if he had, the left-wing gay community would cheer for him. Even that scumbag ex-governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey, is invited everywhere. I was actually shocked to see him speak at an event for the Stonewall Community Foundation, an organization that I respect. This corrupt ex-politician, who had to resign because he put his lover on the state payroll, was giving a speech and the entire gay crowd was applauding him? What a shame.
He concludes by saying, “It’s time for a new generation of gay leadership,” and we agree. It’s kinda crazy that hundreds of thousands of men from around the US visit QueerClick and other gay porn blogs to share in their love of mansex, but when it comes to creating a national political strategy for LGBT rights, we’re left holding our dicks. Granted, jerking off’s a lot more fun and a lot less risky than sticking your neck out for gay rights, but we’ll still be here when you return from the march, we promise.
Also, if our QComments are any indication, there’s a lot of infighting within the gay population alone, not to mention the L, B, and T groups. Our readers disagree on whether porn stars should trim their bush, go uncircumcised, or do bareback, so getting an entire country of horny agitated gay men to agree on a nationwide political strategy might be a bit like “herding cats.” But here’s our two cents:
Maybe the current generation of LGBTs needs an AIDS epidemic survivor of the ACT-UP variety to teach them how to effectively organize and speak truth to power. The internet and web media could quickly mobilize thousands of LGBT folks and also insulate the leader from ultimately sharing MLK’s fate. It’s a big responsibility and a lot of work, but our leader’s time is long overdue.
Stepping down off of soapbox. Please enjoy the porn and discuss.
