Queer People Are Not Your Cudgel

Don’t leverage one marginalized group against another.

More than once lately, I’ve heard some variation on the statement, “They all hate queer people in Gaza.” Each time I’ve encountered it, the context and connotation is that the entire population of Gaza and Palestine is known to be so queerphobic as to murder any queers they meet, each and every one, and that for this reason, the queer people of America should feel quite comfortable with Israel’s siege.

This isn’t a new tactic; American conservatives have engaged in this odious talking point before. The logic seems to be: this population of Brown people are uniformly queerphobic → it’s okay for them to die during an armed conflict → queer people will support violent efforts against them. As a motormouth queer with opinions, I want to share the many reasons I think this sentiment is completely and utterly wrong:

• Ethnicities, nationalities, and races are not monoliths. Individuals in these communities do not all hold the same beliefs, opinions, or worldviews. Casting a blanket statement (“they all hate queer people”) over Gaza is a convenient presumption for those against a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, but entirely ridiculous. It’s dehumanizing and it suggests that at anyone’s whim and convenience, people are more or less human depending on someone’s goal.

• For the sake of argument, let’s suppose every single Palestinian is somehow born with a preternaturally bigoted and violent outlook on queer people. So that means they should be killed? The sentiment (“they all hate queer people”) is a revealing one because it suggests that not wanting people to die is entirely transactional, as if someone is meant to decide according to whether Palestinians are progressive enough. Besides, the human rights of others are not contingent on whether they agree with me. To quote Matt Bernstein, “My belief in human rights for others is not conditional on what they would do for me.”

• If the sentiment (“they all hate queer people”) is meant to make queer people supportive of the invasion of Gaza, are we meant to believe there are no queer people in Gaza that will die from a bomb or bullet along with the queerphobes? Sexuality is fluid and queer identities flower everywhere, all the time. Are we meant to feel the deaths of innocent people amount to a fair price if queerphobes are dead? If one is assuming all queer people view this transactionally, for what reason are we meant to feel comfortable with this cost?

• If the sentiment (“they all hate queer people”) is meant to cast the invasion of Gaza in a more righteous light, would that not be a tacit endorsement of bombs and armed invasion as a remedy against queerphobes elsewhere? Should we bomb Hungary for its deeply oppressive and anti-progressive stances as well? What about Russia? The U.K. is virulently transphobic, should they be invaded too? Should we bomb the states in the US that contribute to the many anti-trans bills currently in process? One might argue that doing so would kill many innocent people, including queers and their allies, but isn’t the same true of Palestinians? Or are we meant to operate on a double standard wherein Palestinians are all the same anti-queer bigot, but others are allowed nuance?

• We could drop bombs on every country, province, and city that stands against queer people and queerphobia would still exist in this world. It’s not destructible in that way.

• Speaking of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, in what world does America have the standing to point the finger at anyone else and say, “they kill queer people there”? America kills queer and trans people all the time. Its states have laws to forbid healthcare for trans people and jail teachers as sex offenders for using preferred pronouns or names. The entire Republican Party would gladly see the LGBTQ+ all shunned and converted if not dead, but “they all hate queer people” would have us fighting Palestinians instead.

• Leveraging a marginalized community in America against a marginalized community being bombed abroad communicates a great deal of contempt for all involved. Queer people are not props or cudgels to be wielded at the will of others. Raising the specter of queerphobia to get people on board with mass violence against Palestinians is an incredibly cynical thing to do.

• If we are to believe this talking point (“they all hate queer people”) is genuine and not a cynical ploy, then I suppose we’ll see the suddenly queer-positive war-hawk crowd all marching with queer people? Advocating on behalf of gender-affirming healthcare? Using the space and platform they have to advocate for protections for trans and non-binary folx? If, as the phrase “they all hate queer people” implies in this context, the queer cause is worth mass death in Gaza, then it’s certainly worth significant donations of time, money, and energy to advance the cause of queer rights in America. Or does this concern for queer people activate only when it’s politically expedient?

• If you’re not a member of the queer community, do not presume to tell queer people a single thing about what they should do, say, or believe regarding queer matters. We are not your hounds that you can sic on others. We’re people, entitled to our own thoughts, opinions, and decisions. We do not exist as things to be used. Queer suffering at the hands of bigotry and injustice are not enticements to lure queer people to your cause and it’s clear how minimally we are considered when queer suffering is used that way.