The controversy surrounding Roland Emmerich’s upcoming film Stonewall has reached the steps of the titled New York City bar as two (of four) statues commemorating gay liberation and the legendary 1969 riots located outside the Stonewall Inn in the West Village have been painted brown and redressed in wigs and bras by activists.
Related: Stonewall Star Jeremy Irvine Comes Out Swinging Against The Proposed Boycott Of His Film
“Those sculptures are supposedly there to commemorate the Stonewall riots, but there isn’t a trace of the actual riots in them,” the anonymous activists/vandals (depending on how you want to look at it), two queer gender non-conforming women in their 20s, one white and one a Latina immigrant, said in an interview on AutoStraddle.
A sign was placed next to the statues which reads, “Black Latina trans women led the riots. Stop the whitewashing.”
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Related: “Stonewall” Trailer Gets An Amazing Parody Worthy Of An Oscar
When artist George Sagal was commissioned to create the monument by wealthy arts patron Peter Putnam in 1980, his instructions were that it “had to be loving and caring, and show the affection that is the hallmark of gay people…and it had to have equal representation of men and women.”
But for those who already feel that Emmerich’s film erases trans and POC history, the statues represent yet another whitewashing of the queer experience.
“Black + Latina trans women led the riots: Stop the whitewashing” #NotOurStonewall pic.twitter.com/nkKk5p6JCI
— Not Our Stonewall (@NotOurStonewall) August 18, 2015
The art-modifiers were inspired by trans activist Miss Major Griffin-Gracy (who was present at the riots), who recently had this to say about the statues:
“It’s bad enough that across the street from Stonewall, they have statues up to commemorate that night. That’s cute, but there’s not a black statue there! The statues look like they’re made from flour and sugar! What is this? Why can’t one of the girls go up and throw up a little makeup on one of these bitches? And I’m sorry, but the last time I checked, the only gay people I saw hanging around there were across the street cheering. They were not the ones getting slugged or having stones thrown at them. It’s just aggravating. And hurtful! For all the girls who are no longer here who can’t say anything, this movie just acts like they didn’t exist.”
The anonymous painters had one final message to the people who would inevitably be cleaning the defaced sculptures:
“Brown and black lacquer exists. Think about what it means to repaint the statues white, and then stop.”
According to Tweets, the alterations have already been removed:
.@gaydadproject @autostraddle You’ll be “happy” to know it’s already been whitewashed again. pic.twitter.com/0M4v8ImtB3 — Kenneth M. Walsh (@kenneth212) August 18, 2015
Is this an appropriate act of defiance or merely a disrespectful defacement of art?
Masc Pride
So “whitewashing” is wrong but vandalism is totally okay?
Milton Appleby
This is vandalism. Disregard for the artist and his work. Total lack of respect.
http://allofusgaymen.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-future-of-stonewall-by-milton.html?m=1
SeeingAll
“Historically accurate ” ? Only in their own hormone-popping-induced nutty fantasies.
Creig Stearne
Disgusting childish act done by vandals not Activists! Shame on you.
NJjoe
This isn’t “whitewashing” by all means. And if taking it out on the statues is going to make their statement they are trying to make anymore stronger, they’re dead wrong. As Masc Pride said, it’s vandalism.
bobbyjoe
I’m similarly outraged! Why was Alan Turing played by Benedict Cumberbatch? Why wasn’t he played by Laverne Cox? Anyway, why make a move about Turing at all? Everyone knows black and latina trans women single-handedly ended WWII after Sylvia Rivera invented the Enigma machine. Sure, she wasn’t born yet, but she also wasn’t at the Stonewall riots and still manged to throw the first brick. I hear there’s a Turing monument in Manchester, England. Get the spray paint!
jwtraveler
I’d love to hear some Stonewall veterans weigh in on what and who went on there.
dbmcvey
It’s not actually historically accurate. There have been a lot of legends that have grown up around Stonewall and these vandals seem to have bought into them. It shows what a poor job we’ve all done in educating people about our history. Vandalism is shameful, no matter how good your intentions might have been.
Micheal Clark
such norseshit. How do two twenty year olds know what happened at stonwall. Perhaps they should read some history
Joseph1969
No, they didn’t give the statues a “historically accurate” makeover; they vandalized a work of art in order to satisfy their own created mythology. I’ll let David Carter, the author of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution (2004), who spent 10 years researching the event, tell us the truth:
“My research for this history demonstrates that if we wish to name the group most responsible for the success of the riots, it is the young, homeless homosexuals, and, contrary to the usual characterizations of those on the rebellion’s front lines, most were Caucasian; few were Latino; almost none were transvestites or transsexuals; most were effeminate; and a fair number came from middle-class families.”
That the gay press is going along with the trans fringe re-writing of history is shameful and appalling. Aside from Carter’s book, there is also the PBS American Masters documentary Stonewall Uprising (2010) and an AARP short documentary celebrating the 40th anniversary of the riots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTujTI8rGBg); there are sources out there with the truth. Stop supporting and spreading the lies.
MINTCREAM
I want to send the guys who did this some flowers and a muffin basket! Thats right give tribute to the true heroes of stonewall!!! Bravo
Pitou
How dare they?
That statue is not yours, it is everyones. If you want a brown-trans commemoration of whatever event you think happened, then you can pay for the design, construction and installation of one yourself. You do not get to destroy what already exists for the rest of us. I hope the gutter trash who did this are caught on camera, found, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
What the hell do they know happened at a time when they weren’t even a tickle in their daddy’s sack.
Get a job, trash.
ka_1984
@bobbyjoe: I literally LOLed when I read that. Too true.
MarionPaige
You know, this reminds me of the f-king NYC Fireman’s union complaining that a sculpture commemorating 9/11 wasn’t historically accurate because one of the figures shown in the exhibit looked black.
\
LongIslandGayPhotos
At the Stonewall Veterans web page there is a small photo gallery. The first item in it is captioned “This is the one and only — known or unknown — New York City Police Department (“NYCPD”) mug shot as a result of the total of 21 arrests from the notorious 1969 Stonewall Rebellion in Greenwich Village, New York City….. ”
The photo is of a young white male. His hair is long, but in a male style, and what little is visible of his clothing is not feminine looking.
http://www.stonewallvets.org/NYCPD-mugshot.htm
http://www.stonewallvets.org/photos/images/mugshot.gif
Ummmm Yeah
These aren’t activists they are criminal scum. Hunt them down and jail they.
BitterOldQueen
@bobbyjoe: Perfect.
Creamsicle
This is going to be letting my ignorance show, but I was under the impression that the Stonewall riots were triggered by police brutality as they were enforcing city ordinances that required gender conformING clothing at all times.
Joseph Jones
No, they didnâ??t give the statues a â??historically accurateâ? makeover; they vandalized a work of art in order to satisfy their own created mythology. Iâ??ll let David Carter, the author of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution (2004), who spent 10 years researching the event, tell us the truth:
â??My research for this history demonstrates that if we wish to name the group most responsible for the success of the riots, it is the young, homeless homosexuals, and, contrary to the usual characterizations of those on the rebellionâ??s front lines, most were Caucasian; few were Latino; almost none were transvestites or transsexuals; most were effeminate; and a fair number came from middle-class families.â?
That the gay press is going along with the trans fringe re-writing of history is shameful and appalling. Aside from Carterâ??s book, there is also the PBS American Masters documentary Stonewall Uprising (2010) and an AARP short documentary celebrating the 40th anniversary of the riots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTujTI8rGBg); there are sources out there with the truth. Stop supporting and spreading the lies.
DAVMuray
This isn’t political activism – it’s criminal behavior. It represents the action of a very small number of people who believe their own opinion is better than others. And even facts – or the artist wish for an art.
Avery Alvarez
I would rather listen to an evangelical pastor preaching fire and brimstone than listen to an SJW preach their version of reality or history.
I wonder when we’re going to hear the first story of SJW terrorism?
blackberry finn
Easy solution: don’t vandalize. Fund and create your own tribute statue!
Robear
The thought that these statues were vandalized not by homophobes but narrow minded fools from our own community makes me sick. The idea that a film that celebrates us as a people is attacked not by the Christian Right, but self-righteous censors in our on community is ironic. Lets face the reality that there will ALWAYS be someone pissed about how the community is represented in the arts. However these are interpretations of our community NOT the actual reality. Every time we have something positive, be it finally being represented on television in Shows like Queer as Folk and Looking, or movies like Stonewall or art like the Gays Rights statues in Christopher Square it is members of our own Community that attack–how sad.
David Battaglia
They should be arrested and thrown in jail.
David Battaglia
I am just going to say it…
I am getting really sick and tired of hearing about Trans this and Trans that.
mujerado
“those who already feel that Emmerich’s film erases trans and POC history” are doing nothing more than making a guess based on a 2 1/2 minute trailer. Civil disobedience really ought to be based on more than a paranoid supposition.
SarcasaticMisanthrope
The Trans activists are not going to be happy until the entire queer history is rewritten to their version. I have a very good friend who transitioned a number of years ago and identifies as a Hetero Male and is currently married to woman. He want’s no part of this foolishness. None.
Ladbrook
Inmates are running A LOT of asylums these days… this is just another example of sane people being too scared to beat back this kind of craziness.
mz.sam
All these anti-Stonewall film protestors and activists are crazy lunatics with no life. Yet must be thanked, turning an indie film with mild distribution coverage into a exponential publicity boost. Yay!!!
Jacob23
This is an anti-gay criminal act. Call it what it is. This is similar to the vandalism perpetrated by “queer/trans activists” a few months ago in New Zealand. But this is worse, because in this case the target was art. These moralistic bullies, who are incapable of making art of their own, instead violated an existing artistic work and replaced it with their own political message. Calling this a “makeover” is vile. Imagine that some Christians who felt angry and entitled and justified, had painted burning flames on the statutes and dressed them up in chains to reflect their future in hell. Would that be a “makeover”? Or is it that different rules apply so long as you call yourself “queer”?
Almost as disgusting than the vandalism is how Queerty and Dan Tracer try to justify it. There have now been many, many comments from Queerty readers, myself included, setting forth with sources why this notion of Stonewall as a riot by Black transgenders or drag queens is false. But it doesn’t matter. Over and over and over, Queerty keeps reporting rubbish such as “Marsha Johnson threw the first brick.” or as in this case that the “leaders” of Stonewall were ““Black Latina trans women.” None of this is supported by any evidence and all of it conflicts with the extensive historical record of the event. There were no “leaders” of the riot, there were at most a dozen transvestites, and the number of transwomen ranged from zero to 2, with zero being the most likely. Queerty doesn’t interview any historians. It doesn’t review any documentation. It just spews the same lies. This site has an ethics problem.
Cam
“A sign was placed next to the statues which reads, “Black Latina trans women led the riots. Stop the whitewashing.””
___________________________
So once again the Trans Activists are showing that they do not care about REAL history, they just want to lie, and erase what actually happened so they can make false claims.
The person who threw the first punch at Stonewall, was a black lesbian Drag King named Stormee. But the Trans Activists want to erase her from history, and then lie about a Latina Trans woman being there.
Silvia Rivera, whom Trans activists claim was one of the leaders, was asleep in Bryant Park according to witnesses, and later, when she tried to claim she was there, said she remembered it because she was there for Marsha Johnson’s birthday, the only problem with that is that Marsha’s birthday is in August, NOT in June, when Stonewall occurred.
This is well known and verifiable, but Trans Activists are actively lying to rewrite history under some bizarre misguided idea that if they can claim that anybody important was Trans, then they somehow “Win”.
Here’s an idea, maybe if the Trans Activists spent more time fighting bigotry and right wingers wanting to pass laws against them, and less time attacking lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trying to erase them from history, they would waste far less time.
Clark35
Pointless vandalism by ultra PC types who are not even correct about LGBT history or what really happened at stonewall.
Kieran
“two queer gender non-conforming women” Can someone translate that?
James R Carter
Some folks need to get a life. Is this really what is important right now?
MikeSauce
SJW’s sure are doing a good job completely destroying everything for the LGBT community, especially for trans people. All this time we’ve been trying to get equal rights, but their extremism is going to put a lot of people off because they’ll think SJW’s represent the LGBT community as a whole, and there will be a huge backlash, undoing everything we worked for.
pjm1
@Joseph1969: Will be interesting to see
if anyone responds to your post with anything historically accurate or anything at
all. But also, you will find in the same book that Carter cites Marsha P. Johnson as
one of (if not the very) first protestors to resist physically.
pjm1
I think it is great that the trans community is finding a voice and being heard. One of the
great reasons for the success of the lesbian and gay political movement has been building
bridges and allies with the straight community and other repressed communities (think, the NAACP
endorsing freedom to marry).
There are elements with in the trans community which are really acting out and being heard right
now but in the wrong way. They are not building bridges but building fences and divides. I am not
sure how these trans folks think things are going to play out. Will the lgb community support the trans
community when the trans community, thinking it is making a statement, is actually fracturing their
alliance? They may say they do not care but they should.
For example, there is a very high probability that the trans friendly law in California (AB 1266) is
going to be subject to a ballot initiative in 2016 that will overturn the law in a very big way. THe
trans community will need the support of its LGB allies and straight allies. With the hostility being
exhibited at many levels, will the trans community than expect support?
SeeingAll
@pjm1: Ditch the T and let them stand on their own. I wish them the best and don’t want them discriminated against, but……their struggle and my struggle (as a male who likes males) are very different. And I certainly don’t consider them my allies after vandalism like this.
SportGuy
Awesome, glad that people are standing up against the whitewashing in the gay community. Sad that there are still people with race issues within the gay community, which should know better.
dbmyers
@Creamsicle: They were harassing gay clubs, but in particular, they were repeating their history of periodically raiding gay bars and rounding up persons in drag as it was called then, and some of the charges were wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. This does not mean that all of those in drag were trans persons (at least to the point of wanting the sexual re-assignment surgery. That is an issue to be defined personally by every individual themself, so calling all of those in drag trans or denying that any of those in drag were trans is presumptuous.
The night that began the Stonewall riots was already a very sad night being mourned by the gay community (as it was called then) because Judy Garland had just died. It was the queens being rounded up at Stonewall that decided that they weren’t going to take it, not this time, not this night. They started throwing things and many of the rest of the bar and neighboring crowd joined in. The police were temporarily trapped in the bar and the riot continued over the next three days (total of four days/nights).
SeeingAll
@dbmyers: You ??? What do you know, hiding up there in Canada ?
Professor Fate
Gotta love that Revisionist History created by present day Political Correctness.
dubstepskater
Ok, something that I want to know is…. What does it matter if it was a trans, white, black, short, tall, ugly, hot, or whatever person who “started” the riots? For crying out loud… the gay community has had to “fight” with the straight community for decades… Now we finally get treated as equals and suddenly the gays are fighting other gays!!! This is stupid!!! It only makes us look petty and childish… I have always referred to other gays as my brothers and sisters. I love them for who they are. But now it seems like one “clique” thinks they are the Alpha Gays… This ain’t High School, this is LIFE! I don’t care if you’re Trans, Twink, Bear, Jock, Geek, Otter, etc…. YOU ARE ALL GAY… Gay gay gay!!!!
mikestrawn
First, the work is by George Segal–not Sagal. He was probably the most important pop art sculptor of the ’60s and ’70s. His signature work is comprised of realistic figures carried out in white. The Gay Liberation Monument, as it’s called, is made up of two figures of standing men, and two women sitting on a bench. It was commissioned in 1979 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Stonewall, and was completed in 1980, it was so controversial at that time that it couldn’t be installed in New York. I remember thinking, even on Christopher Street, we can’t be honored. And it wasn’t until 1992 that it finally was installed. I was too young to be at Stonewall–and don’t live in New York–but I did read about it. Yes there were drag queens and kings involved, but almost no one was self-defined as trans then anywhere in the world, and most of the people were actually young gay guys who were part of and at the same time rejected by the counter culture. I think it has to do with AIDS that this kind of discussion is even taking place–too many people who would be old enough to remember are dead. And that goes for the fact that no one on this thread knows anything about the monument–there just aren’t enough elder gays around to pass this down to the younger generations. Even Queerty spelling Segal’s name wrong is part of this lack of cultural transition of one generation to the next.
EvonCook
Is it an accident or just a coincidence that the two specific figures to be defaced of Segal’s four were the male figures. LOL. This is the same stunt we’ve seen and put up with again and again. First it was lesbians who demanded priority and precedence and enforced that it was only politically correct if one said lesbian first as in Lgbt (otherwise you must be against them and they would not cooperate). GLBT was not pandering enough to them (guess, they were just used to ladies first and certainly demanded it). Now, some lesbians and gender challenged individuals want to rewrite history, or at least put themselves in the forefront of it, so naturally they attack the males. Interesting also how many lesbians and people of color have been supported and received recognition in GAY founded and predominantly GAY organizations, yet, what a howl and rumpus would occur if a Gay man, especially a white gay man, was to achieve the leadership position in a minority organization. We must remember that racism and bias work BOTH ways. My support and resources do not go to any organization that caters to this kind of PC “me, me, me” attitude. And when enough gays get fed up and stop the monetary support, you will see how quickly these once vibrant organizations stumble if not fail altogether. If one does not like history, please add something to be proud of, don’t try to simply decry, deface or disrespect those that have gone before. And if you feel put upon or discriminated against, the answer is not to try to discriminate more yourself. Two wrongs never make a right.
jwtraveler
@Joseph1969: It’s been my experience that most people don’t like their delusions, prejudices and misconceptions complicated with the facts. That’s why all the freedom-loving Christians in this country think homosexuality is contagious, sex education promotes teen-age sex, evolution, global warming and science in general are liberal conspiracies and, most idiotic of all, gun ownership prevents violent crime.
jwtraveler
@EvonCook: NO, racism and bias DON’T work both ways. That’s why it’s called “bias”. If it worked both ways, it would be called “balance”.
VampDC
Vandalism like this really makes me hate our community.
Why don’t we just not get any memorial because dip shits are selfish and can’t appreciate anything
queertyreadr
@mikestrawn Wholeheartedly agree. @Queerty It’s Segal S-E-G-A-L. The fact that you can’t even spell the artist’s name right in the single place it’s mentioned in an article entirely about the defacement of his work displays the same type of ignorance that led these “activists” to vandalize the work in the first place.
Secondly, no matter how relevant whitewashing is in LGBT history, this act shows blatant disregard for the artist’s integrity and personal vision. Any decent search into Segal will turn up the fact that nearly every single one of his figures is white – he originally used medical plaster of paris bandages brought in by a student of his at Rutgers University, procured from the nearby headquarters of the bandages’ manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson. To spin this simple coincidence turned artistic innovation to fit a modern story of racism is simply incorrect and disrespectful of the history and integrity of the art.
SeeingAll
@jwtraveler: ..and transgender folk think CIS white men (especially straight ones, but gay ones too) are the cause of every ill in the world and always have been.
EvonCook
@jwtraveler: That is the exact blindness and self-righteous delusion that keeps hate upfront in human relations. You are seriously misguided if you think racism and bias don’t work both ways. Obviously you haven’t traveled much or been in many different societies or seem how minorities are treated in other places like Africa. Just as slavery through history has been a human problem, not a white on black problem, or those who want to demand “Black Lives Matter” and are not respectful to others or satisfied with “All Lives Matter.” These are people who want their own race, their religion, their caste. their group, their interests to be foremost and whose resentment and arrogance make them basically just want to exchange places with the perceived oppressors. They are no more fair or kind or considerate or generous than those they complain about. In fact, I rather think they are worse as they have not even managed to learn from their claimed oppression to treat others with the greater dignity and respect that they claim to want. Minorities over and over repeat the same monstrous indecencies and inhumanities that they claim to have suffered –just look at Zionists and their treatment Palestinians. All people suffer from and are capable of racism, bias and prejudice –but some create a civilization that struggles more against these human frailties. Aren’t you lucky to be in the succession of great Western enlightenment so that you were not enslaved, hanged, beheaded or other mistreatment for your complaints as you would likely be today in so many less tolerant societies and places.
Josh in OR
Can we use this vandalism and ahistorical behavior as an opener to addressing the whole ‘CIS’ vs. ‘trans’ nonsense? ‘CIS’ and ‘trans’ were taken from medical terminology – referring to chromosomes and atomic composition – and were used primarily by sociologists in their work with sexuality and gender until relatively recently. So, the argument I’ve heard is that since these are terms used by sociologists, that makes them OK to use in common conversation, right?
Does this mean that, since anthropologists use terms like ‘negroid’ and ‘caucasoid’ and ‘mongoloid’ in discussions about racial taxonomy, that we should use those terms in common parlance instead of ‘black’ or ‘white’? I dunno about you but I think that MIGHT cause a lot of problems.
‘CIS’ and ‘trans’ have been co-opted by the radical trans movement as a way to make members of their fringe community – and their hangars-on – feel like special little flowers, and all it does draw yet one more line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ that keeps us from finding anything resembling real peace. Trans folks aren’t the enemy. As ever, radical separatists and people willing to lie and deny or change history to make their no-no feelings go bye-bye are.
Josh in OR
PS – By ‘fringe community’, I am referring, of course, SPECIFICALLY of the radicals who desperately seek validation at the cost of historical accuracy and community.
gaym50ish
These people need to get a life. The statues don’t even depict the riots — they’re just two guys hooking up.
OhHellNo
White Man Group.
Clark35
It’s time we drop the T from LGB.
Cam
@OhHellNo:
You can always tell the lying trans activists, because they make vague statements attacking others. The reason is, because every time they have tried to put up something specific, their lies and rewriting of history was called out.
So, nice try.
Maude
I lived on Sullivan St., just a few short blocks from the ‘Stonewall’.
My friends and I were inside at the Stonewall the night before, and outside with all the gawkers, the day after.
I remember talk at almost every dinner party, dance, or club, about ‘they should put a statue in the middle of Sheridan Park’ which is a little triangle shape Island park in the middle of the street, and directly in front of the Stonewall.
Several years passed, and the idea was lost in limbo.
Then the park, became a hangout for bums of every description….Finally, the park was cleaned up, and ‘our’ people felt comfortable there once again.
When I left NYC for good, the statue was still not there. I’m happy to learn that it is now, and apparently has been for some time.
Injecting Race into this almost sacred monument dedicated to the brave, beautiful
people that brought our cause to the attention of all the world, goes beyond vandalism, it goes to the depths of the black hell in the hearts of all the persons of such despicable conduct wallow.
They know nothing of the Honor and Dignity that statue represents.
tricky ricky
that is not historically accurate! there were no trans women in 1969! there were drag queens and transvestites. stonewall was white men and some drag queens. this is another rewriting of history by transsexuals to insert themselves into something they had no part in.
Pitou
I have to comment again…
There has been an enormous struggle for what, 20+ years? to pass ENDA and any local non-discrimination protection. We have found time and time again that the biggest stumbling block is the Trans protections we seek to include. HRC and Gay, Inc. never want to accept anything that doesn’t include trans protections.
With this crap, I say fuck that.
These idiots demand a ticket to be included on the Gay-Rights train, yet have the audacity to attack the same people who are probably their largest supporting demographic, and worked hard to help get them the protections they so greatly enjoy. Trans wasn’t trendy until just recently. Gays have been at it a LOT longer. And if it wasn’t for the same “cis-male” (I hate that term) gays and lesbians that normalized “the gay” to their family, friends and co-workers through the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s, these militant in-fighting assholes would still be hiding out in their dark musty subgrade watering holes afraid to publically demand their civil rights on their own.
As a very proud gay biologic male… I say its god damn high time we cut the fat that’s holding us back. ENDA wouldn’t have so many hurdles.
Time for LGB to drop the T.
Cam
Somebody remind me, when has the trans community showed significant organization and attacks from their Activists on Right wing bigots? Or for inclusive laws? Because most of what we see are attacks on Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals.
They spent far more time attacking RuPaul than they have lobbying for job protections as far as I can see from looking at some of the sites.
jwtraveler
@EvonCook: Really? Is there a lot of racism by black people against white people in Africa? I hadn’t heard.
Jacob23
@Maude –
That’s an outstanding comment. Thank you so much for sharing and I couldn’t agree with you more.
@MikeStrawn –
Another amazing comment. Thank you for adding to our knowledge about the Segal work. I was wondering about his artistic choice to make the statues all white. It is obvious to anyone with a working brain that the use of white was not to make the figures Caucasian. Caucasians are not people with white hair and white lips and all-white eyes and whose every stitch of clothing is precisely the same shade of white. You would think that these “queer” vandals would understand that. What was less clear to me is what the all-white color scheme was supposed to represent. I thought that maybe it was meant to portray them as ghosts of of the past, people who may not be around but who should not be forgotten. But you are saying that Segal used all-white for all of his work, so maybe I was reading too much into it.
@pjm1: There were only a dozen drag queens at Stonewall. There is no evidence that Sylvia Rivera or Miss Major were ever there. You are right that David Carter does report Marsha Johnson being there. But your statement that “Carter cites Marsha P. Johnson as one of (if not the very) first protesters to resist physically.” is incorrect. He does not report that she had any role in the initial events leading up to the riot. She is described by rioter and witness Craig Rodwell as climbing a lamp post and dropping a heavy object onto a police car windshield. This was after the riot was already in progress. This claim that is being repeated over and over that “Marsha threw the first brick!” and initiated the riot is a fabrication.
Jacob23
@mikestrawn: Oh, and please note that Queerty and Dan Tracer *still* haven’t corrected the spelling of the artist’s name. So the writer gets it wrong, and there’s no fact-checking or editing. And even after the error is identified and brought to their attention on a silver platter by you, they don’t issue a correction. That’s representative of the level of professionalism to be found in Queerty’s “journalism.”
pjm1
@Jacob23: Of course, I must disagree since
I have the book in front of me at this moment. If you go to the footnotes
for Chapter 9, in particular, footnote 11, which goes on for a full page in very small print,
you will see what Carters research says. In the book I have it is on pages 298 and 299. It is
to long for me to rewrite here, but, among other things, it says:
“For instance, both Robert Heide and John O’Brien saw Marsha in the crowd outside the club on
the first night and both independently described her as being in semidrag, not full drag. Heide
says he saw her ‘just in the middle of the whole thing, screaming and yelling and throwing rocks
and almost like Molly Pitcher in the Revolution or something. I mean a loud yelling and
screaming *you can’t do that. Who the hell, who the fuck!*’ He [Heide] is also clear, however, that he
cannot say that she was the first to throw an object . . . ”
The footnote goes on for a number of paragraphs and Carter writes:
“It seems clear that whether it was Jackie Hormona who was the first person to be violent (or to perform
the first act of violence that precipitated an outpouring of violence), it seems reasonable to conclude that
Marsha Johnson was almost indubitably among the first to be violent that night and may possibly even have
been the first.”
So, Carter does in fact say Marsha was there the first night and had a significant role. But, the footnote
speaks for itself.
pjm1
hmmm, not sure why it printed that way . . .
pjm1
By the way, Jackie “Hormona” (not the real last name), is credited time and again
with being one of the progenitors of the Stonewall Uprising. Jackie’s is in the one
authenticated picture from the first night of the uprising.
Though there is information on what happened to a good number of
the Stonewall participants, I have never heard/read
anything reliable about what happened to Jackie.
Does anyone know of a source or of
credible info about Jackie’s life post uprising? Thanks.
Avery Alvarez
The worst enemy of the LGBT community is SJWs.
They are too cowardly and chicken-ish to stand up to the real enemy (the right wing who is making all those laws to make you life worse, spreading cruel and demeaning propaganda about you) because those SJW losers know they would get their asses handed to them.
So they attack the low hanging fruit; other minorities, allies, people who are already sympathetic, but not sympathetic enough for the SJWs.
I believe in Social justice, privilege, the whole nine yards.
But SJW’s don’t. It’s not about justice to them. It’s about revenge. Revenge on white people, revenge on cis people, revenge on the whole male gender. Sorry, justice and revenge are two different things. One is morally correct. The other is never morally correct under any circumstances. They dont’ want to make things better for POC, or trans ppl, or women, they want to personally stroke their own ego. They want praise and validation, not through accomplishment, but through appropriating the accomplishments of others, by just being part of a minority. “Hey guys. I’m a minority. That’s all i need to accomplish in life. Give me ALL THE AWARDS”
There is so much social justice work that needs to be done. These SjWs are a hinder to that. They totally discredit the movement and ruin any chance it has to accomplish its goals.
John D. Plume
QUEERTY:
Get your facts clear!
Your byline should read:
Anonymous Activists Give Stonewall Statues Historically INaccurate Makeover
John D. Plume
@MINTCREAM: And by “true heroes”, you mean mostly white, gay men, going by, erm, things called facts.
John D. Plume
@Clark35: Agreed. The homosex community, we LGBs, have little in common with the transsex community.
They don’t like us and we are sure as hell learning to not like them.
John D. Plume
@Pitou: @tricky ricky: Didn’t you know??–Joan of Arc was TRANS. She didn’t know it but WAS–they didn’t have the term back then–but wiser mind of today KNOW and will speak assuredly of this as fact, no doubt.
John D. Plume
@Cam: AND the moderates in the trans community, when its members unfairly attack gays, say they disagree and this view is not held by most in the trans community–but they never speak up, they never create an action that heals what has been harmed, they never DO anything concrete to show support for us as we have for them.
Users. Just take, take and then demand “Gimme more!”
Jacob23
So it turns out that these trans/queer vandals are part of a tradition of anti-gay violence directed against this artistic work.
First, the statue was vandalized by anti-gay bigots in 1984:
“200 AT STANFORD ASSAIL ATTACK ON ‘GAY LIBERATION’ ARTWORK
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 12— Nearly 200 people rallied today at Stanford University to protest the vandalizing of a sculpture titled ”Gay Liberation.”
The white bronze work, by the artist George Segal,was damaged last week by 40 blows from a hammer and was promptly placed in storage. No one has been arrested.” . . .
Reached at his home in New Jersey, Mr. Segal said he was distressed about the attack. ”The statement I tried to make in the sculpture is not a political one,” he said. ”It’s rather a human one regarding our common humanity with homosexuals. I’m distressed that disagreement with the statement took this violent, brutal form.’
Mr. Segal said he would wait to see pictures of the damage before judging whether the sculpture could be restored.”
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/13/us/200-at-stanford-assail-attack-on-gay-liberation-artwork.html
It was restored, and 3 years later it was attacked with spray paint. Someone sprayed “AIDS” on the sculpted figures. More attacks occurred when it appeared in Wisconsin. And then in 1994 came an attack by football players:
“6 Stanford Athletes Charged in Attack on Gay-Themed Statue
STANFORD — Two Stanford University athletes were charged with felony vandalism and four others with misdemeanors for allegedly attacking a campus statue to protest its gay liberation theme.
The athletes were arrested May 16 after someone poured black paint on the bronze statue of two men and two women crafted by George Segal. The statue was also rammed with a bench. University officials said the damage totals at least $7,900.
The athletes charged with felonies could face a prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.”
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-05-28/news/mn-63234_1_stanford-university-athletes
You won’t read any of this history on Queerty, which couldn’t even spell the artist’s name correctly and which justifies the current vandalism, calling it a “makeover.” Well this year’s group of thug vandals is a lot like the thug vandals of years past. They express themselves with aggression. They damage property in order to intimidate gay people, whom they disdain. The fact that the latest group of thugs calls themselves “queer” and spouts cult-like faux-social justice jargon doesn’t mitigate what they are in the slightest. Shame on anyone who supports what they do.
Jacob23
@pjm1: Thank you for that. I accept that and stand corrected regarding violence. I do distinguish that from “resistance” which is the word you initially used. As Carter states, the resistance occurred on a continuum and it escalated. It started with sullen, slow compliance with police orders to mockery to outright refusals to comply. He credits the first physical act of “resistance” outside the bar to an unidentified lesbian who refused to get into, and then remain inside, a police car. Although I accept that Carter gives MJ special credit in a few places, including that footnote, he does not have her “leading” the riot (as the vandals seem to think) or throwing the brick that started the riot. He is clear that there was no dramatic “brick moment” when the riot suddenly took off. He specifically says there was no one tipping point, but various important moments. And there certainly was no leader, let alone a group of “Black Latina transwomen” leading the riot.
In any event, it is great to have a discussion about actual historical research regarding this event. That’s the way you sort through historical events. By reviewing facts and sources. Not by tweeting hashtags, creating memes, and vandalizing art.
Brycedavid
Drop the T
hex0
Disgraceful, I am sick of trans. It’s LGB, gays owe trans nothing.