The Tragedy of "The Castro"
Chief Thracian
Permission granted by author for anyone to distribute this
writing free of charge (including translation into any
language)...under condition that no profit is made therefrom,
and that it remain intact and complete, including title and
credit to the original author.
Ezekiel J. Krahlin
http://surf.to/gaybible
ze...@chiefthracian.mailshell.com
--------------------------------------------------------------
THE TRAGEDY OF "THE CASTRO"
(c) 2001 by Ezekiel J. Krahlin
(Jehovah's Queer Witness)
November 16, 2001
Dear Editor,
After having hanged out (and lived) in "The Castro" for the
almost-continuous span of years from 1973 to now and beyond, I have
come up with the sad conclusion of its tragic outcome: a washed-out
neighborhood rife with cynicism and homophobia, with but little more
than lip-service as to its gay hospitality. The same can be said for
this entire "Gay Mecca" rotten to the core like you'd never believe.
For the sake of brevity, allow me to focus solely on the neighborhood
I facetiously call "home", described in maps of this unfair city as
"Eureka Valley":
I am both a freelance LGBTQ (or "queer" or "gay") activist, and a
homeless (or "houseless" or "residentially challenged") advocate (and
formerly homeless myself). Thus, I have intimate knowledge of the
street scene, as well as of the privileged classes blessed with roofs
over their (for-the-most-part) clueless heads. While these same
bourgeoisie skirt around and ignore the street subculture--hopping to
and fro as is their nature, to their jobs, homes, and this-or-that
social event and club circuits--a burgeoning populace of dysfunctional
and desperate homeless threatens to break through weakened class
barriers, and flood the neighborhoods of the privileged with wave
after wave of outrage and rebellion. (A fate which, I might add, will
be well-deserved if conditions are not rapidly improved by those who
have the power and affluence to turn things around.)
The answer to this problem is not to strengthen these barriers...which
very existence belies the nature of what a true democracy stands for:
equality and respect for all citizens. The solution is, of course,
providing a compassionate program to these unfortunate souls who, for
the most part, have done nothing bad to deserve such incredible
misfortunes. Which solution is: setting up basic, decent no-income
housing for these folks, along with appropriate medical and social
services required, for as long as required...and wholesome recreation
and job training that lends dignity and hope to all. The mark of a
truly civilized nation is benevolence and a fair shake to all
citizens, regardless of their present financial or medical
situation...and regardless of how long each client requires to become
fully recovered. And we (of America) certainly have the resources,
know-how, and wealth, to accomplish this honorable mission. But do
enough of us have the will or desire? That, my friends, is the real
crux of the problem: class discrimination, ignorance, and hatred.
But we here in The Castro--and other so-called gay
neighborhoods--suffer the additional burden of wave after wave of
homeless people who are virulently or surreptitiously homophobic.
After all, many of them hail from the Bible belt and other
conservative areas, including most of California. This ugly situation
results in our own gay (or queer) houseless being terrorized and
driven out not just by arrogant home-owners and renters (many of whom
are also gay); but also by the many hetero and closeted homeless who
seek safe refuge (and/or easy marks) here in Gay Mecca. This latest
influx of homeless to The Castro, includes a rise in gay hatred, hence
more dangerous streets for one and all who frequent and live in this
area.
Rather than fire blame and hatred on all deemed houseless, I'd much
rather cultivate a safe haven for our genuinely gay needy, and drive
out the homophobes. However, I do not see this likely happening,
considering all the class hatred so rife in The Castro, and in the
entire city. This ugly situation not only exacerbates rage among the
dysfunctional homeless, but lots more gay bashing--both verbal and
physical. Personally, I experience daily threats against me, due to my
socializing on the streets. Most of the time, these are not direct
threats, but offhand hateful remarks such as: "Ew. butt fucking is so
disgusting. I don't see how you can live like that," and "If you don't
have any attraction to a female, I don't see how you can be really
human." Of course, there is the constant name-calling on the streets
among the homeless, with the most common expletive being(of course)
"faggot". My request to one guy to stop using that word when angry at
someone, almost led to my being bashed. And he was someone who had
always been kind to me, until this moment.
Not to say that there aren't some really wonderful guys and gals out
there on the streets--both gay and hetero (and bi). In fact, they are
responsible for keeping our neighborhoods a lot safer than they'd
otherwise be, were they overrun only by thugs. Some have even laid
down their lives--and lost them--for the sake of protecting someone
they love (including their housed friends). And some were even my good
buddies (and lovers). I grieve for them most of all, who must live in
constant dread of surprise attacks and thefts by psychotic freaks who
should be locked away; but do feel greatly honored to be part of their
street family. We need these good folks, for they are strong
protection against terrible harm. (Indeed, they are not merely good,
they are MAGNANIMOUS.) We need to seek them out, befriend them, and
make their lives better...in a variety of ways, suitable to the
individual at hand.
Each person who considers my plea, must look deep into her heart, and
find some way to strengthen and improve their quality of lives, by
some form of intelligent, responsible outreach to our queer homeless,
and their too-few hetero friends who are also without a roof. To put a
smile on any of these kind faces, is to be a saint yourself. It is
also very important, not to spurn anyone because of substance
abuse...but discover whether or not you can hang out with them, and if
they'll respect your own limits and value system. For just like anyone
in this world, there are good and bad in the drug scene; and believe
it or not, some make excellent friends without imposing their own
abuses. Just learn to use good judgment. Your positive influence will
inspire them to realize they have much to look forward to, once they
drop that bad habit...and that the struggle to save their own soul is
well worth every difficult moment.
The refusal of The Castro (and our city at large), to accommodate our
queer (and queer-friendly) homeless with grace and commitment, is
shameful, to say the least. The rising tide of street homophobia is
equally shameful, and very dangerous to anyone (both housed and
houseless) who uses our streets. These twin demons can be conquered if
(and only if) enough San Francisco residents with the bucks find it in
their hearts to accomplish this worthy and sacred goal. I am only one
person, even though I do a lot for my street buddies and gals.
However, I must back off considerably, due to this new paradigm of
increasing homophobia...which makes potential friends more of a real
danger, than they would be had not our society swung far to the right
with a predictable increase in gay bashing. San Francisco is no
liberal oasis, any more...and hasn't been for at least a decade. For
in these last two years, I have been bashed (once) and threatened
(many times) by some of the homeless I have befriended...even though
they are gay or bisexual, though closeted; and even though we were in
each others' arms on numerous joyful occasions. Those queers on the
street are too-often coerced to act macho, even violently so, in order
to protect themselves from real or perceived bashing by homophobic
thugs.
And this, my friends, is the tragedy of Castro Street, and its aborted
dream of gay liberation.
Sincerely,
Zeke Krahlin