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Over the course of Midsumma to its culmination at Pride I was struck (as many of you seemed to be) by the sheer volume of community organisations that exist in Victoria, many of which seem to be advocating for the same things.
What has led to this kind of splintering? What, if anything, should we do about it?
Chances are the splintering occurred because there were needs in the community that weren’t being met, that existing organisations weren’t servicing, or failing to service them adequately. We couldn’t work together, gay men and lesbians, trans and bis, polyamorous and monogamous. While we share many of the same values, perhaps we differed on the optimal method for generating change. So we split.
Another problem is the existing institutions’ unwillingness to change, to adapt to the emerging needs as our community expands into ever more public domains. Or so I’m told.
One of the problems I have often noted is that there are few who genuinely try to create change within an organisation. They simply start a new one. Rather than take advantage of the existing infrastructure and resources of an established organisation, we begin again although with slightly adapted terms of reference. Is it better to create new organisations and compete for the same funding, or to combine resources (including the human ones) to build more cohesive, inclusive, and compassionate community organisations?
This is not an indictment of those organisations that currently exist, large or small, but a call to action for those of you who simply sit, watch, and complain. Where are your good ideas? Why are you not contributing them in a forum in which they can make some difference?
Now, more so than ever, we face the most insidious kinds of disregard.
We cannot move forward without working together, and we cannot work together while there are those who value their personal reputation over the results for us all.
info: Hayley Conway is co-convenor of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby
Tags: midsumma, Speaking Out
