On This Day In Gay History-July 4th... The Annual Reminders

I love this country. I really do. I am very much an American, a direct descendant of founding mothers & fathers on both sides of my family. On my mother's side I have a direct line back to Martha Washington & on my father's side I am a relation to Edward Rutledge (my father's name also), a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

I have major quibbles with a great many of my fellow countrymen. At the very least, I don't believe it is an American value to put the basic civil rights of a minority up for the popular vote, a very bad idea for advancing society. This is why our form of government is such a superior system: We elect fellow citizens to make the big decisions & figure out a way to implement the plan. I insist that this country is an on-going project & I reject the Republican/Conservative notion of returning to "Those Good Old Days When America Stood For Something".

Only a week ago I did a post on Stonewall & what that night & those days that followed mean to gay Americans. But Stonewall, watershed moment that it was, is not the only baby steps taken by brave gay people to claim our basic rights.

July 4th commemorates the "Annual Reminder," the first public demonstration for gay rights in the USA, which began on this day in 1965, 4 years before the rebellion at the Stonewall Inn in NYC. The name of the event was selected to remind the public that a substantial amount of American citizens were being denied the rights of "life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness" as put forth in The Declaration Of Independence.

The peaceful, orderly protest of 39 brave souls, with lesbians wearing dresses & gay men in suits & ties, circled in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with signs bearing slogans such as "Homosexuals Should Be Judged as Individuals", & 15 Million Homosexual Americans Ask For Equality. Opportunity & Dignity." The "Annual Reminder" continued at the same spot on Philadelphia through 1969, but after the Stonewall riots the movement shifted to NYC.

There was very little press coverage, although Confidential magazine ran a feature- HOMOS ON THE MARCH!

The organizer was Craig Rodwell, an early gay activist, one time lover of Harvey Milk & Founder of The Oscar Wilde Bookstore in NYC. Behind the protest was Barbara Gittings, who had moved to Philadelphia in the 1950s & became one of the country's most important gay activists. She also helped organize picket lines at the White House and the U.S. State Department. Among her many accomplishments, she was instrumental in getting the American Psychiatric Association to drop homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 1972.

 

The Annual Reminders were commemorated in 2005 by the placement of a Pennsylvania State Historical Marker at 6th & Chestnut Streets in Phili.

Wouldn't it be a kick & plenty subversive if at the 2012 Pride Parades, all the marchers showed up in dresses, suites & ties?

 

He's A Grand Old Fag...

The Husband had surgery on Wednesday for Dupuytren's Contracture, a medical condition is a hand deformity that usually develops slowly, over decades. Dupuytren's Contracture affects the connective tissue under the skin of the palm. Knots of tissue form under the skin, eventually forming a thick cord that will pull the fingers into a bent position. Once this occurs, the fingers affected by Dupuytren's contracture can't be straightened completely, which can complicate everyday activities such as placing your hands in your pockets, putting on gloves, shaking hands, or masturbating. In later stages of Dupuytren's contracture, cords of tissue form under the skin on the palm & may extend up to all the fingers. As these cords tighten, the fingers may be pulled toward the palm, sometimes severely.


Indeed the Husband was diagnosed decades ago, but surgery is not performed until the condition is at its worst. The procedure is rather gruesome. It involves the slicing of the tendons & muscle in the palm & bending the fingers back into position. After recovery, the Husband has been in severe pain, unlike anything he has ever experienced. Is now on 2 Morphine based medicines that kill the pain, but make the Husband queasy & he seems to go in & out of consciousness. Amazingly, I have not dipped into his stash.


On one of his visits "to the surface", he reminded me that we had a long history of making fireworks of our own on this holiday. The Husband: "Honey, I am sorry for the low key 4th. We have a long tradition of taking Acid or eating Mushrooms, & then later in life Extacy, as a way to note & celebrate the USA's birthday. I'm sorry I am such a drag now. Me: "Well, not for 15 years have we done hallucinogens., But I do remember. It was such an American thing to do. You are so nostalgic! You are on your very own trip this year, & I am gonna be really wild with some Pinot Grigio. This getting old is for the birds. Bird shit, that is".


We are having a quite day at home, taking comfort in each other's company. One long standing tradition of the 4th of July did stand up to the wave of aging. I watched Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), as I have for many Independence Days.


James Cagney portrays the legendary Broadway songwriter & performer George M. Cohan in this rousing, flag waving classic. This was Cagney’s favorite film role, & it shows; he’s obviously having a blast: singing, dancing & cracking wise. He burns up the screen like a 2-legged firecracker & deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar. The toe tapping score includes the title tune, Give My Regards to Broadway, Over There, & Grand Old Flag. Pay attention to the final scene as Cagney dances down the White House staircase after being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His dance was completely improvised & is absolutely brilliant. I love this era in show biz & I never get tired of this film.

Also on this day, for your viewing pleasure, the Post Apocalyptic Bohemian offers up:

1776 (1972) This movie version of the Broadway musical depicts the events leading up to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence & our nation’s 1st 4th of July. Ken Howard plays a handsome, stately Thomas Jefferson, Williams Daniels is an irascible John Adams, & Howard da Silva, in a role I was born to play, is the witty Benjamin Franklin. Many of the song lyrics are based on actual correspondence of the time & include The Lees of Virginia, But Mr. Adams, He Plays the Violin, & Molasses to Rum. American history has never been so male & gay.

The Music Man (1962)  One of my favorite musicals & one of my 1st shows as an actor, this movie version of the Broadway hit is a nostalgic slice of Americana, circa 1912. Robert Preston stars as Professor Harold Hill, a slick con man determined to fleece the good people of River City, Iowa with promises to form a boys’ band, while secretly planning to flee with the money for the instruments. Shirley Jones plays Marion the Librarian, who soon finds herself falling for the charming rogue. Highlights include, Trouble,(sung by Preston like a Pentecostal preacher looking to convert the masses), Til There Was You, & the rousing “Seventy-Six Trombones,” performed during the movie’s 4th of July celebration.

The Stars & Stripes Forever (1952) Gay actor- Clifton Webb plays John Philip Sousa in this enjoyable film which focuses mostly on Sousa’s home life & as conductor of the Marine Corps Band. Webb is his typically droll self, & a young Robert Wagner plays Willie Little, a fledging Marine band member & inventor of the Sousaphone. Debra Paget portrays Lilly, a showgirl that Willie wants to marry, but Sousa’s rules forbid married couples from touring with the band. The movie is a wonderful mix of comedy, drama, &, of course, Sousa’s glorious music,

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) I didn't see this movie or read the novel until 2002 & now both are on my favorites lists. The character of Atticus Finch, played by Oscar winner Gregory Peck, was voted cinema’s top hero by the American Film Institute in 2003. Atticus embodies the qualities which with America prides itself: decency, fairness, tolerance, courage & the conviction to always do what is morally right. As a small town lawyer in the Depression era South, Atticus defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. He challenges the jury to put aside its prejudices & judge the accused based on the central principle of the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal...That’s no ideal to me. That is a living, working reality!”


All The President’s Men (1976) From Hollywood's 2nd great Golden Era, Robert Redford & Dustin Hoffman star as Washington Post reporters, Woodward & Bernstein, whose investigation into the Watergate cover-up led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. It’s an engrossing mystery that reminds us why the founding fathers placed such great value on freedom of the press. But more importantly, this movie emphasizes the American principle that no one, not even the leader of the free world, is above the law.


Independence Day  (1996) Leave it to Hollywood to produce a film with a title that has nothing to do with history & everything to do with America saving the world from devastating alien invaders.Are the French going to release a thinly veiled remake of War of the Worlds & name it Bastille Day? Only in America. I am a sucker for watching iconic national monuments getting blown. The powerful forces of American ingenuity, American firepower, & a ridiculous American President combine to blow the bad guys, with a little help from The Fresh prince of Bel-Air. While all the other nations of the world are presumably scratching their heads in utter incompetent confusion, the USA saves the day. Plus Harvey Fierstein!



& the most Patriotic Film of all time. It never fails to bring a lump to my throat... plus puppet sex! Team America: World Police (2004)
Popular Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited by the elite counter-terrorism organization Team America: World Police. As the world begins to crumble around him, he must battle with terrorists, celebrities & falling in love. Brilliant screenplay. a 1st rate score & unbridled Americanism. I love it! Fuck, yeah!

"Those Who Deny Freedom To Others Deserve It Not For Themselves.” A. Lincoln

"Hey, Neighbor... we just wanted to let you know, we are goin' to put cherry bombs in our compost heap tonight"

Next door neighbor-Dan

I am proud that we celebrate our Great Country’s independence form the tyranny of the British Crown, by having giant appliance sales & making as much obnoxious noise as possible & blowing off the fingers of children from sea to shining sea.

One of the set questions in The Proust Questionnaire is: What do you think is the most overrated virtue?


For me the answer is fairly straightforward: Patriotism/Nationalism, or rather blind patriotism. An inability to question your country’s policies & actions is as freighting as spouting off “Biblical truth”. & yet, once a year I am reminded to consider my place in the United States of America’s foundation & on going struggle to remain the greatest experiment in government of the people. I have never missed the opportunity & obligation of voting in an election, no matter how small, in 38 years. Now that is patriotic!

I am the only child of Edward Rutledge, the direct descendent of Edward Rutledge, the youngest signer of that remarkable document- The Declaration Of Independence. Rutledge was born in Charleston, & represented South Carolina in the Continental Congress. He would later serve as governor of South Carolina.

I was once in a production of the musical-1776, in which I did not play my great-great-great-great-great grandfather. I had the small role of the Courier, & I watched every evening as a tall, handsome, chesty redheaded baritone portrayed my famous relative. Cast today, I think I would make a swell Benjamin Franklin.

On my Mother’s side, I am a direct descendent of Martha Washington (nee Dandridge). The Father of our country had no children, but Martha had 2 children from a 1st marriage & her grandchildren were raised at Mt. Vernon.

With all my colonial & revolutionary heritage, I should be more patriotic, but even with the giant strides made in my lifetime, I am still always reminded that as a gay person, I am still considered a 2nd class citizen & my rights are all too often denied: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness

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IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776


The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world:

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within
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He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands
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He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.


For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:



For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

.The United States' Declaration of Independence may well be the most cited yet least read or understood document in American history. I suggest that each responsible U.S. citizen should take the occasion of the Nation's birthday to read this document every year, something like pausing at Thanksgiving to give thanks or at New Year's to ponder what's past & what's ahead. King George III seems to have more than just a little in common with our own King George W.