In-Fighting

FRESNO BACKLASH: Meet In the Middle For Equality? Or Exclusivity?

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Looks not attending Fresno’s Meet In The Middle “Leadership Summit” — where some 250 activists gathered to plot strategy to repeal Prop 8 and learn about new poll data — wasn’t a requirement to generate criticism over the Courage Campaign’s handling of things there. While Queerty wasn’t there (like many media outlets, we didn’t receive an press invite), one attendee tells us Robin McGhee’s weekend of action was anything but. Relays a source (emphasis ours):

I’m sure most of us were at “Meet in the middle” this Saturday. “Wasn’t it a great?” is what I would be saying if I was still drinking the Robin McGehee Kool-aid. I, like a lot of the gay Fresnans was involved with Meet in the middle. I went to every meeting so that I could help put together this monumental event. Despite the petty fights between a local group or two everything went rather smoothly. Fresno was about to put on a huge event that the entire state would attend and support.

fresnorally44

It’s now Sunday, the morning after Meet in the Middle and I feel like a mushroom. Kept in the dark and fed shit. Robin played Fresno like a violin. Most of us that volunteered were nothing more than pawns used to do all the grunt work. The real power was held by the Courage Campaign. Not the local branch of the Courage Campaign but the main L.A. branch. I wonder how much of the money that was used for the event went to Fresno businesses and how much went to L.A. businesses.

I’m not going in depth about anything. What I’d like to do with this short message is get some of you to ask questions and find out what really happened and what you actually volunteered for or gave money to. I’m gonna end this with something I noticed during the ending speech given by “The gay mayor of Fresno” (Barf). Between fake tears she managed to thank a plethora of people for making this possible. Never once did she thank a single person from Fresno. Perhaps our money and manpower should be used to support something that is really local. Fresno Rainbow Pride is coming up and it has got short changed thanks to meet in the middle.

I will not be posting my name on this letter because it seems as though anyone who has had a descending voice against Robin has been dismissed and labeled as being against our community. I would still very much like to work in the gay community and help in any way I can. I just think that someone needs to say what we should all be seeing.

(Photos: AP; Steve Bott)

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