Exclusion in the name of "the general public"

[eumelia]

If you are an Israeli gay guy; Independence Park in Tel Aviv will resonate in you in a way that doesn't for other people.
It is a large patch of greenery on near the beach, it's benches, trees and bushes.

The first time I ever went there, I was about 15 and scared out of my mind, there are barely any street lamps and I was pretty much thought I was going to be assaulted.
Luckily I was with a bunch of friends who told me, with a bit of humour, that I would not be approached by any man in this park.

The penny dropped.

Independence Park has a huge amount of baggage when it comes to queer culture - so much that a book has been written about it.

Now the #1 "unofficial" cruising spot is being yoinked from our hands:

T.A. gay community says city trying to evict them from cruising site
[...]
Now, community members say, the Tel Aviv municipality is trying to evict them from the park - installing stronger lighting, getting rid of bushes and trees, and increasing harassment by municipal patrols.

Visitors say that for the last two months, city inspectors have been blocking them from entering areas with shrubbery.

Harassment, by the way, is nothing new.
Obviously, this is not a place for queer women to go cruising, but I know from my gay men friends who have been harassed more often than not by police, that they've often been caught "with their pants down" though they're usually just been shoved around and not arrested for indecency or something like that.
The uprooting of trees and bushes is not something I'd heard of before and I find this worrying. I've always been comforted by the fact the the majority if litter found in the park (and the University parking lot) are used condoms - safe sex is awesome you guys!

The article continues:

The new policy is divisive even within the LGBT community itself, as some of its leaders sided with city hall. Yaniv Weizmann, founder of the Proud Youth organization and a city council member, told Haaretz that the park's historic role was over.

"The community has matured," he said. "We can walk around in broad daylight in Tel Aviv. Something that was relevant when we were a persecuted and oppressed community is no longer relevant today."

Emphasis mine.

What utter, utter bullshit.
I love it how cis gay men in positions of power presume to tell other queers what it means to persecuted and oppressed now.
Especially when we've just had Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Maybe you can walk in broad daylight mister city council member - a bunch of kids who part of your Proud Youth org cannot.

Others see establishment leaders like Weizmann as traitors to the cause.

"There's a coalition of homophobic straights and lush, fat, bourgeois gays who forget where they come from," said Lior Kay, who heads Hadash's Red-Pink forum. "They forgot how they, as petrified teenagers, would sneak off to Independence Park.

"If Weizmann wants to be a representative, he should be representing all of us, not just people who stepped out of the closet and into a penthouse," he said.

I'm glad they put both "sides" in this teeny-tiny article that no one but us queers are going to read about and actually give a damn.
Most straight people will not even realise what this means.
I'll tell you what it means, it means more persecution of gay people, restricting the movement and historical accessibility of gay people and basically policing gay people's behaviour into what is believed to be for the benefit of the "general public".
'Cause gays, obviously, are NOT a part of the general public and why should they (we) even think of retaining some kind of cultural history, am I right?

Director Zohar Kaniel, who frequents the park, believes the municipality's measures will not deter people.

"I don't want to go and pay money to meet people in some club or sauna. As a cruising spot, this place predates the state itself. You have parks like this one even in the most retrograde of countries. When I see a straight couple making out I don't bother them, so why should anyone bother me?"

Emphasis mine.

Israel has been showing a great regression when it comes to tolerating sexual minorities - not that I think we've ever been that great, but really this is plain ridiculous.
Especially in Tel-Aviv which has had a bad few months when it comes to its queer citizens.

Tel Aviv municipality said, "Over the last week, we witnessed activity in the park that appears to be illegal. Law enforcement authorities were instructed to take care of that activity, to allow the entire public to enjoy the park. We should stress there's no policy of driving away the gay community, but merely maintaining the park, just like all other parks in the city."

It just so happens that, de facto, the Tel-Aviv municipality is enacting homophobic legislation.
God, why is the city I plan to live in one day - at least for a bit - deciding to suck so hard?

Comments

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

I have fond memories of Independence Park. This makes me truly sad.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

It's not the end yet, it's just homophobic legislation.

You can't get rid of the boys that easily.

Please don't fuck in the park. Thank you.

[lishablog.livejournal.com]

My subject is tongue in cheek, but this is a problematic issue. On the one side, it is not good that an historic gay cruising site is being turned into a place where you will be harassed for cruising. On the other hand... PUBLIC SEX.

And I know that you are going to think that I'm missing the point, but I'm not. I *don't* want people having sex in the park or in the university parking lot. And no, I don't want condoms as litter. That's a health hazard, too, in the general sense of "bio-waste". We're talking about shared space, not private space, and actual sex, with exposed genitalia and all, is definitely a private space sort of thing.

I don't care if you are gay, straight, or anything else, if you are having sex in public you should be told off, maybe even given a fine, but not beaten or harassed or otherwise abused. And people shouldn't be kept away from public spaces because they "might" have sex, either. That's wrong, too.

[tinyrevolution.livejournal.com]

How many ppl do you think actually WANT to be having sex in public? The whole problem, and the reason these places exist, is there's nowhere else to go. A better way to address the issue would be to put in some private stalls and some trash cans and a shower ... but no, cleaner safer sex is an ~endorsement~ of the homos. Or try for a world where police actually protect EVERYONE and the laws are actually PEACEFUL so escalating enforcement would be nothing to worry about. Or where ppl feel safe bringing their tricks home. Or can meet on craigslist or whatever is the israeli equivalent with less fear of being busted by undercover sting cops. Or where rape and assault can actually be reported by everyone. Yeah I know this is all just daydreaming and the best anyone can do is apparently cut down shrubs. :(