Posted by: AGuyNamedWayne contact

The Power of F*ck You!

It appears that RuPaul and his crowned queen Raja are not the only ones in the gay community to recently embrace the power of "Fuck You." Activist, and creator of the It Get’s Better project, Dan Savage, whose blog rant to President Obama and his administration saying "Fuck you. We're sick of your words and your speeches. Fuck you and deliver on your promises" was like a shot heard throughout the LGBT community; has now done an extensive interview with Joshua Kors in which he references the power and success of the Fuck You strategy:

Savage: Some things have pissed me off. I remember Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's senior advisers, gave a speech to the [Human Rights Campaign, the gay rights group] and called it "It Gets Better," instead of "We Can Make It Better." And I went apo-f—in'-plectic. In my blog, I said, Fuck you. We're sick of your words and your speeches. Fuck you and deliver on your promises."

Kors: You wrote that in your blog?

Savage: I did. And you know what happened after that? Officials at the White House called me.

Kors: No way. What did they say?

Savage: They said they didn't like my column, and they started pointing out all the things they've done for the gay community. And I kept saying, "DADT, DOMA, DADT, DOMA." The amazing thing is, it was a few weeks after that that Obama went ahead and made the video.

Kors: You know, I saw on Rachel Maddow's show yesterday that the ban on gays in the military still hasn't changed.

Savage: I know. It's amazing how the military is dragging its feet. Still, everything points to the change coming. I just saw a video the Pentagon is now using to indoctrinate Marines, to tell them that they will accept and respect gay soldiers. ... Still, I think if the White House could have gotten away with not delivering on their promises, they would have. But the pressure from their base was there. The money from gay donors cratered, and the gay vote was no longer a sure thing. I think finally they thought, "We can't take them for granted anymore."

And it seems that is indeed the message that President Obama and the Democrats have finally been made to understand. It was not until activists like Dan, as well as ordinary gay citizens, started to put the Democrats on notice that we were no longer going to settle for business as usual, that things began to change. We will no longer support those who do little more than reserve our seats at the back of the bus. If you break your promises, then you will lose our support. The gay ATM will close. If we lose the fight for our equality because of your lack of support, then you may well lose your next election due to the lack of our support. That is the genius behind the power of Fuck You. And it is a message that we must continue to convey. Even now, President Obama still only does the minimum amount required to placate us. DOMA is still being enforced; DADT remains the law of the land (and as referenced above, has built in setbacks even after the so-called repeal is certified) and ENDA has yet to pass. Our message to Obama and any politician that vies for our support must always be conditional upon their actions. We are watching you. And to those within the gay community who continue to preach passivity and place blind faith in any politician, or worse, castigate those brave enough to speak truth to power; I’ve got two words for ya, “Fuck You.”

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