Yes, I do know that the meeting was crazy – but, sitting in the front and counting votes, I was amazed at how focused the crowd really was.

Since then I have found myself embraced by the LGBT community in ways I never expected. I'm now part of the group planning Sunday's working meeting and see how many different perspectives are valued.

It is my greatest hope that many people from the Perpare to Prevail group (aka 2012) will be there on Sunday. Their concerns are important and valid – the 2010 Coalition needs to hear them. I believe that the work CAN be done in time for 2010 if we work hard enough.

Jane

There is no argument that a strong, united, and committed movement would make it easier to achieve our goals. But I find the level of discussion and interaction in the community healthy at this stage of the game. Last time we set back and thought the leaders knew what they were doing. They were wrong and we were wrong in sitting on the sidelines, letting them make the mistakes.

As you can tell this time around it is going to be different. More people are getting involved. More people want to be heard. Yes, it can be messy and disorganized. But I would rather have this level of passion than what we went through last year. So I vote for equality over unity.

As a fellow straight ally I sometimes feel like I don't have as much of a "right" to voice my opinion on when this issue goes back to the ballot as someone it directly affects. (I'm for 2010, too.) But for me the entire issue is a CIVIL RIGHTS issues, so being straight/LGBTQ/black/white/christian/agnostic/atheist shouldn't come into play anyway and civil rights DO directly affect all of us, so I’m going with the notion that my opinion matters as much as anyone else’s. (Okay, did that make ANY sense? )

I've read, with great interest, varying discussions regarding the recent meeting of the minds, and Unite the Fight, I thought your piece did a great job of giving us another perspective. You can have 2 people or 200 people in a room and each and every person is going to see things differently, take something different away from it all, and believe it or not actually agree on some items. The most important aspect of it all to me is that they got together in the room at all! It is a common cause that did that (equality) and one that I have to believe is more important than egos and dates. And after the failure of those opposed to Prop 8 to get voters to see the sheer lunacy of the Yes on 8 argument, and have the proposition defeated on election day, I believe it’s a common cause which will overcome the inner squabbling in order for all to ally as one (albeit a sometimes splintered “one”) against those who continue to choose to deny equal rights to all.

I look forward to helping out in whatever way(s) I can!

Laura
(LauraAndRudy on Twitter)

Susan Berland
http://susanberland.yolasite.com

Cheers!

Though I can't quite agree with you that people are cooperating (I did witness name calling, cuss words, hissing and shouting, and that behind the scenes of the summit, things are tense), I do know that you add such an amazing perspective and I'm so heartened so see such an amazing ally working so hard for our rights. You truly inspire me. And I hope to work with you in person very soon.

People have questioned, with my mission statement to unite, why I wrote a piece calling the summit a failure. Through my perspective, we have no unity. I write that we have failed to come to a consensus, failed to recognize each other and our shared pain, failed to trust each other and especially our leadership, and that how can we move forward when we have splintered groups following their own agenda? (And by agenda, I mean plan, not something sinister.) It pains me to see our community this way.

As I've said before, people have cried out, "Can you put a price on your rights?" If the price is sacrificing the unity of our community, then for me, that price is too high. It's not about 2010 or 2012 anymore. It's about finding a way to unite us. Only then can we win.