But what about the mainstream gays?
On Sunday, a gaggle of queer folks will be joining the “People’s Climate March,” a rally in New York City projected to attract more than 100,000 attendees. Unfortunately, those who could help the cause the most are the least likely to show up.
Marching under banners such as “Queers for the Climate,” LGBT climate activists are, first and foremost, agitating for action on climate change. But they are also saying something about what LGBT activism should be about, and saying something quite different from the (current) gay mainstream. The question is whether they can make an impact.
The trouble is that while the radically minded queers may be more inspired to march in the People’s Climate March, they may be the least likely to convince others.
....To a “mainstream gay,” having a group called Queers for the Climate may make little sense. I mean, there’s no harm in it. But other than perhaps getting someone’s phone number at the climate march, there doesn’t seem to be any particular reason for it, either.
To a “radical queer,” on the other hand, caring about climate change is an essential part of queer identity. It expresses solidarity with the oppressed—which in this case may include almost everyone—opposition to the one percenters who got us into this mess, and a righteous indignation nourished by decades of LGBT activist experience.
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