There's a new worrying twist every day at the moment, with Tony Blair, and the few people who are going to go the distance with him, seeming to snowball in arrogance, like a Kamikaze mission. While there is some opposition to to the Blairite agenda, with Brown (who's never voted either way on any gay rights legislation) hovering to take on the mantle and go further, it is, taken as a whole, a worryingly small fractured and shrill opposition, not really confident of the politcal ideas and forces that might stand up to attack.

In this general context - of war, privatisation, growing poverty, islamophobia, attacks on pensioners and the criminalising of asylum seekers and young people - are groups that are thriving and strutting forth with new confidence, sure of a more favourable hearing. If you destroy the insitutions and reforms fought for by the working class and ride roughshod over the princinple of human solidarity and agency on this planet, then the usual mass parasitic organisations become hopeful; the fascists and reactionary religious institutions, brothers in arms. With a sympathetic police force prepared to clear the ground. And we can not afford to give an inch.

The mobilisation of bigoted Christians outside Parliament, ostensibly to demand freedom, was a worrying one. I have a general perspective about the need to speak to people, while there is still space to open dialogue, though I must say the whole scenario infuriated me, including the lack of queers there to come back at these bigots.

When I arrived, there were a handful of counter-demonstration bodies, so I don't think I could have cut a very threatening figure. I'd ask the christians why they'd come, as my opening gambit. Some who were better briefed would say they were here for the freedom to practise their faith. I'd ask what's stopping them. This little query was enough to elicit hysterical torrents of feeling. Not one spoke about the legislation. They had bigger fish to fry. They were there to stop their children being corrupted in school by people intent on telling them that it was alright for men to have sex with men. Bible this and bible that.

I'm in two minds, as a secularist, about feeling the need to counter bigots with their one book, but I did offer some small christian tenets forth, like love, casting stones, the fact that Jesus according to the bible never uttered a word himself about gays. To no avail. I'd put to the many black people there the analogy of segregation in the provision of goods and
services. They'd reply with some inane comment like, "I believe in Jesus, do you?". I'd ask whether they thought it was was in any way christian to be adding to the climate wherein gay children are the most at risk of any group in society to commit suicide. No answer.

Within seconds, the stonewalling would start, the hard face set in, and a steeliness in their eyes. The children were the only ones who seemed engrossed and interested. Many were probably eager to hear their no doubt oppressive parent figures queried on their stifling doctrine. The organisers went down the front line and would stop conversations and ask them to concentrate on their hymn singing. They'd had enough of me, and started
acting povoked. A woman who called herself a nun, with gaudy red beads and picutre frame of Jesus hanging from her stubby neck, came over and thanked the children for doing Jesus' work, he'd be very proud of them. I said I think Jesus, if he were alive, would be very angry with their parents. And I told the parents they were not christians but bigots.

Soon I had police around me, asking me to stop harassing the children. I said that this was a public demonstration, in public, to engage with the public. And I was. And I wasn't calling the children bigots as the 'nun' had reported to a wantonly credulous police. I tried to carry on the onversations, but the police insisted that I represented a threat to public order. I was like, I'm peacable, they're apparently christians, so you don't need to worry mate. They find you offensive. I find them offensive and we have no right to not be offended, policeman. Within minutes I was being physically bundled by about ten officers down the street, to be placed among the couple of dozen gays and chiristians milling about with small banners and a single rainbow flag...

Before walking down to Westminster, to prepare myself, I'd sat outside a cafe re-reading a little pamphlet called 'Radical Chains' [1] by Janine Booth that I'd stuffed in my bag that morning. The opening paragraphs give the story of the sparking of the Stonewall riots. There are few things that provoke spontaneous tears in me, but when the memory dulls of the story and it's brought to mind again, well told, I can't help but feel a surge of affection and pride and solidarity for those brave queer predecessors of ours. I've never felt, perhaps as a previously very fat asian boy, very much part of the gay 'culture', one that previously psychologically tyranised me as much as the homophobes. I often feel an immense contempt for queer brothers, less so for our sisters. Outside this cafe, a young skinny camp gay boy sat down and we talked about a lot of things. He couldn't come, but he later sent me a link to some gay website about the demo, but there's still a gulf between what he represents at the moment and what I do. These
are strange days to be gay or indeed alive, where thousands will march come pride season, many with no broader life view as a queer than the freedom to parade. Which is a freedom that needs defending. However, that liberation, in itself, for mainly wealthy and white gay men is a far cry from the events surrounding stonewall that launched our recent history. It's worth looking at, and the class and race lessons learnt. I really think we're about to need every bit of strength and solidarity and ideas for real freedom that might prepare us for the struggles ahead.