MIM Notes 211                   June 1, 2000

Benefits from imperialist plunder are not just for heterosexuals

by a MIM-led study group 

On April 30 hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Washington 
D.C. as a part of the Millennium March for gay, lesbian, bisexual 
and transgender rights. Demonstrators' calls for support of Al 
Gore for President and other conservative demands for greater 
access to the benefits of Amerikan imperialism dominated the 
rally. Demonstrators put forward the call for an end to hate 
crimes. But speeches demanding harsher laws against hate crimes 
like the one given by the father of Matthew Shepard, a gay college 
student who was beaten to death, only fuel the fascist prison 
system. Shepard's father said, "Let people know you are a part of 
America, you are a solid God-fearing part of America, and you 
deserve the same rights." This is a call for Amerikans to band 
together behind their imperialist flag. Sharing access to Amerikan 
rights, in fact, increases oppression for the world's majority and 
does not fundamentally change the Amerikan system in which humyns 
beat and kill others because of heterosexist chauvinism. In 
contrast, MIM makes the call for a genuine end to hate crimes but 
ITAL without END trampling on the majority of the world's 
oppressed, including oppressed nationals within Amerika's internal 
semi-colonies that bare the brunt of increasing Amerika's police 
powers. Clinton addressed the crowd by videotape. He praised his 
administration as "inclusive" for appointing 150 openly gay men 
and lesbians. MIM firmly opposes the battle for greater inclusion 
within the imperialist system. This amounts to a call to join the 
imperialists in raping and plundering the rest of the world as 
long as equal access to the booty is shared with all Amerikans. 
Gore also addressed the rally by videotape, supporting the anti-
crime (pro-police state and prisons) demands for punishment of 
hate crimes. Calls for the imperialist state to protect against 
hate crimes means calling for more cops and more prisons. This is 
a demand Gore can get behind. People serious about struggles for 
justice and equality should consider the rights that the police 
force and criminal injustice system (that integrationists hope to 
use) trample on every day. In contrast, it is not hate crimes and 
murder that this system successful combats through increased 
incarceration as the most vicious murderers are the ones running 
corporations and government. This system will only protect its own 
people -- those supporting imperialism. Equal rights for people of 
all sexual orientations will not be won for the people of the 
world by increasing inclusion of gay Amerikans in the government. 
These rights will only be won as a part of the battle against 
gender oppression within the anti-imperialist struggle. For gay, 
lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the oppressed nations, 
the principal enemy is imperialism. Only white gay people within 
imperialist countries enjoy the luxury to demand equal access to 
the wealth and resources of their country. MIM talks about 
oppression in terms of the principal contradiction and distinct 
strands of oppression to help clarify the most important work at 
hand. We define three strands of oppression: class, nation and 
gender. We consider these relatively autonomous but interrelated. 
This means that if one strand is abolished the others will not 
just fade away without struggle. One other candidate for a 
separate strand of oppression is sexual orientation. But to be a 
separate strand of oppression it would have to be possible for 
this form of oppression to continue to exist even after class, 
nation and gender oppression are eliminated. MIM believes that 
abolishing gender oppression will eliminate the basis for 
oppression based on sexual orientation. This means that the 
struggle for gender liberation includes the battle against 
oppression based on sexual orientation. Conversely, those who call 
themselves feminists but oppose any orientation that is not 
straight are not carrying out an effective fight for gender 
liberation. After defining the strands of oppression it is 
important to define the principal contradiction at this stage in 
the struggle. The principle contradiction is the one where 
revolutionaries should focus their fire to do the most to end all 
oppression. The national contradiction is principal at this time 
and by this we mean that focusing on national liberation struggles 
and the fight against imperialism as the principal enemy will do 
more to end class and gender oppression than naming either class 
or gender as the principle contradiction. For those fighting 
against oppression based on sexual orientation this is very 
important. If you truly want to end this oppression, not just for 
yourself but for all people of the world, you should join the 
anti-imperialist struggle. In this country, focusing on the rights 
of the already privileged does not support anti-imperialism. In 
fact, this struggle generally takes the side of imperialism by 
demanding greater access to the imperialist state, greater 
privileges from imperialist plunder, and an expanded 
military/police force to defend these privileges. 

Notes: New York Times, 14 May 2000. p. A14. For more on gender 
oppression and privilege order MIM Theory nos. 2&3 "Gender and 
Revolutionary Feminism" for $6.