rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) (06/03/85)
On pages 47-51 of the current issue of THE ADVOCATE, a national gay magazine, are articles on Nicaragua: one by Ron Bluestein about an all-gay Venceremos-type brigade from San Francisco, another on gay Nicaraguans by Doniphain Blair. The latter is a slightly different version (a few paragraphs vary) of an article in the French gay magazine GAI PIED that I creakily translated a while back on the net. Biased Comment by Rizzo: Bluestein's article is a mild True Believer's setpiece that strews bland kudos on the Revolution, Sandinistas, & the Good Gays of the brigade. The original Venceremos Brigades to Cuba (North American enthusiasts who cut sugar cane in the annual harvest) were openly (and ultimately officially) homophobic, even though they contained quite a few gay members. See Allen Young's book, GAYS UNDER THE CUBAN REVOLUTION (Grey Fox Press, 1981). I guess progress here means the right to be deluded & openly so )=:. Blair's own English sounds somewhat more pro-Sandinist than my own wretched translation; ah, the not-so-subtle effects of bias! But (to me at least) Blair's English original now looks even more like a deliberate apology for the regime than before. Un pueblo unido surpresses queers, Regards, Ron Rizzo
riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (06/10/85)
I appreciate Ron Rizzo's articles giving Cuba and Nicaragua hell for the
conditions faced by gays there. Homophobia, especially if it is
institutionalized, is vicious and wrong and shouldn't be swept under the rug
or apologized for.
On the other hand, I wish that he would use equal zeal in condemning the
homophobia which exists in other countries in Latin America. I've travelled
a bit in Mexico, and I've heard some pretty hair-raising stories about
quasi-official harassment of gays there and read the graffiti that is ample
evidence of the homophobia of the general population as well. I'm not
saying that two wrongs make a right, but if the issue is really mistreatment
of gays, why single out two small countries when almost all of Latin America
deserves criticism?
I'm also disturbed (and confused) by Ron's implication that there is a
direct connection between the Sandinista revolution and homophobia in
Nicaragua. Is he saying that Sandinista Nicaragua is homophobic but
Somoza's Nicaragua wasn't? I'd sure like to hear some details.
As for Cuba, I have only one bit of information to throw out: an
acquaintance of mine just returned last month from a trip to Cuba with the
Venceremos Brigade, and one of that was stressed on his trip was that things
are supposed to be different now for gays. I have no doubt that this is
intended to cover up the abuses which do continue (and I hope that Ron will
continue to inform us about them), but I think it bears mentioning that the
open and unapologetic homophobia Ron mentions appears to be a thing of the
past.
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle
--- riddle@ut-sally.UUCP, riddle@ut-sally.ARPA, riddle%zotz@ut-sally