Bash Back and the Limits of Radicalism

Ah, the pleasures, idealism, and misguided energy of youth.

That was my reaction to reading about Bash Back, a group of queers (LGBT are too “limiting” for their taste) whose mission is to use intimidation in the name of gay rights. To date, their biggest accomplishments are protesting churches in Washington, Memphis, and Detroit.

It’s not surprising that a radical gay group would emerge. Even before Prop 8 and the disappointments of the Obama presidency, many people felt the mainstream LGBT community had aligned itself too far with assimilationist goals, advocating for things like gay marriage, military service, and adoption instead of creating a world that turned conventional wisdom on its head. Bash Back is here to provide an alternative to the normalization of LGBT people!

But before you make comparisons to the Black Panthers or ACT-UP, consider some stark differences between them and Bash Back. The Panthers and ACT-UP were very public, had clear objectives, and engaged in focused and deliberate actions. The photos I have seen of Bash Back members show their faces covered, and their agenda covers everything from what they call the “gender binary system” to capitalism, imperalism and most social institutions. That is a lot of ground to cover for a group that formed in 2008.

My experience with organizations like Bash Back is that they disband within a few years. Rage is like a fire accelerant, it burns with great intensity but consumes you very quickly. Without firm principles and goals to organize around, groups fall prey to aimless activities, ego, and in-fighting about ideological purity. Think back to the immediate post-Stonewall era, where members of the Gay Liberation Front split to form the Gay Activists Alliance in 1969. I don’t think it’s coincidental that radical left-wing groups come and go, but fundamentalist organizations manage to survive for decades. I’m no conservative, but I will concede they are methodical, patient, and more organized than liberals.

Perhaps I will be proven wrong about the staying power of Bash Back. Visit their website and tell me what you think. You may also be interested in Pink Pistols, another gay self-defense group.