GAYLETTER

“The Inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump” is a string of words whose reality many of us never anticipated. It is still difficult to fathom the events that will unfold in our nation’s capital today. Truthfully, I find our discourse to be tired and our imaginations exhausted. Simple logic has proven fallible and easily ignored by the Right. There are few things left to say that haven’t already been, few fears and other ugly emotions left unaired. Hopelessness has become an attractive affect, I’ll admit.

But this is not a drill. This weekend presents us with a critical moment to vacate ourselves of apathy and numbness. As hundreds of thousands of people will march in Washington to protest this historic election, it’s important us New Yorkers follow suit. The capital won’t be the only place to find resistance and resilience in the face of Trump swearing in tomorrow, January 21st, thousands will also descend on New York — along with countless other places across the globe — to attend The Women’s March on New York City.

The march “will proudly join the international community to march in support of equality and promote civil rights for every human.” It’s an opportunity to find release, to feel heard, and to foster peace. It’s a moment to center the voices of women — trans women, women of color, migrant women, muslim women, and so on — whose rights and protection will only grow more tenuous beneath such a blatantly misogynistic, pig-fucker president-elect. …

I was on the train this morning noticing how wonderful the blue sky looked and I swore I heard a vinyl scratch when I remembered that Trump is moments away from being sworn into office. As I write this post, Tom is asking me: “Am I supporting Trump if I watch the live stream?” And later, “Oh my God, is this a joke? This band has been playing for so long. This is like watching a parody!” He was talking about Three Doors Down and some other idiots playing mediocre farm-Rock on national television. [Editor’s note: Tom continued to complain about whatever drummer was hired to bang haphazardly in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I agreed.].

What really should have happened at the inaugural concert was drag. Drag, drag and some more fucking drag!

Drag queens acquire the rare skill that is essential to pure comedy: total (albeit succinct) deconstruction of a narrative that will teach you a lesson, hunty.  The legendary Sherry Vine is not letting the next four years come for her. No, in fact she’s definitely coming for it. She’s just premiered a parody of Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire,’ but instead completely ransacks recent queer history, from “Mattachine society,” to “Ronald Regan’s tight lips” to Kim Davis. I mean this song literally covers everything. If you’ve lived under a rock for the last 4o years you could watch this video and get caught up to date with recent queer history. …

Between queen Meryl Streep’s speech at the Globes and the laughable scramble for a performer with any name recognition to perform at the inauguration, there’s little mystery as to how our nation’s artists feel about Trump. It’s still powerful, though, to learn about the #J20 Art Strike, which is an “invitation to cultural institutions” to partake in “An Act of Noncompliance on Inauguration Day.” They are calling for “No Work, No School, No Business” so that everyone has the chance to “Hit the streets. Bring your friends. Fight back.”

You can check out the huge list of artists and critics in support of this action here, and it all makes perfect sense, as the livelihoods of creatives and creators rarely fare well beneath fascist regimes or a cultural climate saturated with bigotry. These artists consider “Art Strike to be one tactic among others to combat the normalization of Trumpism — a toxic mix of white supremacy, misogyny, xenophobia, militarism, and oligarchic rule.” Word. Nothing to add there.

A favorite of ours, Printed Matter, reached out to express their participation in the #J20 Art Strike. They also let us know about the Black, Brown, & Indigenous Mobilize Against White Nationalism #J20 march, which will begin on Jan. 20th at 11:00AM at the Harriet Tubman Memorial, a fitting and chilling location for such an action. More info is on the event page here, where you can check out their plans and demands, along with more details about the Why Accountability campaign and ways to further advocate for Black, Brown, & Indigenous people. …