Pride Violence in Thailand

I was reading the website for my international group IGLHRC and I found an article posted about Thailand's second annual gay pride festival. Apparently the parade goers were locked in a compound for over four hours by a militant group called 'Rak Chiang Mai 51' also known as the 'red shirts'. The parade goers were beaten and held hostage all while the local police looked on and did nothing about it. Here is the link to the actual article http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/partners/873.html


It is so disgusting and sad to know that such hate and violence is in the world. It makes me thankful that I live in country where at least I can hold hands with my girlfriend when we walk down the street (at least in some places) but even here I can't get married, I can't adopt a child and there is still a very real risk of hate crimes to me and all other homosexuals in America. Articles like this make me want to become much more active. It also illustrates part of the reason I chose gay groups instead of specifically women's groups for this blog.

Even now lesbians are seen as second class feminists. So not only am I a second class citizen in this world because I am a woman, I am even LESS important because I am also a lesbian. So far in class we have talked a lot about the differences that separate women and feminists, I just hope that all of you that consider yourself feminists also consider my fight as a lesbian feminists part of your fight as a woman. Because even if you don't directly see it, our fights for equality are intermingled, just like we are bound to the women in the Mexican tomato fields. Just because I am a lesbian does not mean I am not a women, it does not mean that I am less of a feminist it does not mean that my struggles for equality are any less than your struggles for equality.