Following on from my last message about the bombing of the Admiral Duncan, I
thought I would share with the CGF some more considered responses to the
attack and reflections on the demonstrations and vigils of the last two
days, as well as raising some topics that have cropped up on other lists
that the original message was posted to.

I couple of members of the Queer Studies list have expressed guilt, in the
light of Friday night's bombing, at not having been more enraged or upset by
the Brixton and Brick Lane attacks. I can identify with that. While I
*was* disgusted and angered by the first two nailbomb attacks, I feel that
Friday night's attack has affected me on a more personal level. This
sentiment was also expressed by a couple of speakers at the vigil in Soho
Square this afternoon [see below].

Now, I could understand that if, as a gay man, I spent a lot of my leisure
time in Old Compton Street, but I don't. I actually quite dislike the place
and the exclusionary, pretentious attitudes of many of the men that use
those bars. I only live about fifteen minutes walk from Brick Lane, and
have spent far more time round those streets than I have in Soho over the
last few years; politically I've been involved in a lot of anti-racist work
in the East End of the last decade and, professionally, I have done a fair
amount of 'widening participation' work with local Bangladeshi youth. Which
all poses some very unsettling questions about identity, community
affiliation and race...... why should I feel more hurt , angered and
threatened when a 'queer space' that I don't like or enjoy very much is
attacked, rather than an area virtually on my doorstep where I have more
personal contacts. Curious also, that many more friends and family have
phoned in the last 36 hours to check that me and my partner (who is also
white) are safe and unharmed than rang after last Saturday's bomb just down
the road.

I just want to finish by reporting on three events that have taken place
over the last three days in response to the bombings. The demonstration on
Saturday afternoon that I publicised late on Friday night was about two
hundred strong, although it was almost entirely made up by queer members of
the Socialist Workers Party and others on the Left. I only stayed with the
march on the short journey from Leicester Square to Trafalgar Square where
it met up with the march from Brixton and the North London May day march, so
I wasn't present when the gay contingent later reformed at marched up to
Soho where they stopped for a minutes silence.

This morning I went along to a March in the streets round Brick Lane; again
this was a small, but vocal, affair and made up almost exclusively of the
white Left, although groups of local Bengali youth did join in along the
route. Despite the large gay population in the Tower Hamlets area, the only
gay people I saw on the march were again members of various socialist groups

Finally, I have just got back from a vigil organised by the London Gay Men's
Chorus, London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard and the owners and promoters of
various West End venues. This was a very different event - march larger
(several thousand, I would guess) and far more grassroots, with a very
diverse crowd. It was part political rally, part a demonstration of
solidarity and pride and part an opportunity for collective grief and
support, which did make it a fairly unique event. It combined impassioned
speeches calling for full legal equality and anti-hate crime legislation
from Peter Tatchell and the club promoter/DJ Jeremy Joseph; curious
statements from politicians of all main parties contrasting the white
supremacist, bigoted views of those behind the bombings with what they
described, in various ways, as the "true British virtues of tolerance,
diversity and respect" (very bizarre and suspect); personal statements by
friends of those injured and killed in the bombing; and songs from the Gay
Men's Chorus.

This has become a fairly long message, so I will bring it to a close. In
one way, this message has just been an attempt to reflect on some of my
emotions and experiences over the last couple of says (so apologies for the
self-indulgence), but I also hope it has raised a few questions that others
may want to take up and discuss.

Cheers

Gavin







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