I received this today as a daily quote from a queer list I am on:
"It is a tragedy, I feel, that people of a different sexual type are caught in a world which shows so little understanding for homosexuals, is so crassly indifferent to the various gradations and variations of gender and their great significance in life. Far be it for me to seek to evaluate these people as inferior, less moral, or incapable of higher feelings and actions."
--Emma Goldman, anarchist
When I read this quote, I was reminded of Chris Doss' response to part of the article I posted about queers in Russia that maybe people had the issue of survival on their minds rather than queer rights.
I think it is useful to consider that the right of sexual expression is a matter of survival. Sometimes being a member of the heterosexual elite can blind people to the reality that queer desire needs satisfaction in the same way as the desires for water or food (I read once that all humans possess 4 basic desires: water, salt, food and sex).
I think Goldman is correct to point out the "great significance in life" of sexual desire. I think too often the left dismisses these needs with the label "identity politics" in order to avoid the messiness of sexuality (This also occurs through an exaggerated Puritanical streak).
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister