Stonewall Uprising
Unlike today, being gay back then was look down upon. Back in the 50's and early 60's everyone had to live a "Normal, Happy, Married life" and if you were anything less than that you were different. Being gay was look at as a form of illness or psychopathy. People were convinced that they were not born like this but made this way. Doctors would talk them into becoming straight by showing them porn and shocking them if they had any homosexual thoughts. They would even go as far as castration or lobotomy. Most homosexuals would just get married and try to live, what society thought was, a normal life. Being gay was the worst thing any one could possibly be.
Living in small towns, where everyone knew each other , it was very hard for some one who was gay to live their own life, without anyone else finding out. One place that they would be able to just be themselves was the village in New York City. There no one would be judged and would not have to be ashamed of who they were inside. It became their "Nirvana" or "Mecca". A place for freedom, or at least that's what they thought.
Soon after the cops started to arrest anyone who was gay or performing any type of homosexual act in the village itself. For example, dressing in drag. They were told to "clean the streets of "weirdness"", which was targeted towards the gay community. There was a new law made that you had to wear at least three pieces of clothing of your gender and socks did not count. If you did not do this and were caught, you were then arrested. Cops would even dress up in drag as an undercover act to make their arrests.
Stonewall Inn was a Mafia owned bar. They had no liquor licenses, and would pay off the cops so they wouldn't get in trouble. The cops would notify the mob before they would raid the bar and would do on a weekday vs. the weekend because there would hardly be anyone there. No one would ever actually drink from there. People would call it "toilet beer" and they would water the liquor down so much and charge them twice as much as they bought it for. Stonewall was just a place for everyone to feel at home and a sense of love that they could not get any where else. Everyone was welcomed. People thought that this was too good to be true.
On June 28,1969, the Stonewall Inn was raided. The Mafia was not notified, and this time the gays were not going down without a fight. As the cops were escorting them out of the bar, they refused to show any type of identification and a crowd started to form. They started to throw pennies on the ground calling the cops copper, because that's all they were worth to them. They started to grab them and touch them, trying to make their lives miserable, laughing and joking with them. Fires broke out and chaos began. For once the Gays were winning and could see the fear in the faces of the cops. The police tried to radio in for backup, but it kept getting cut out. Finally the sound of sirens filled the air, but this did not scare the crowd. They surrounded the bar and took the cops by surprise and attacked them from all ends. Pandemonium began. The police barged in the bar and started to smash everything in sight. Outside, tires were being slashed, garbage cans were being set on fire and thrown at the police. Many in the Gay community weren't thinking of what happened in the past or what was going to happen in the future, all they were thinking about was how they were going to survive the night. What was once their safe haven had been threatened and taken away.
That morning, seeing the broken glass and garbage everywhere, it looked like a "reward" for the Gay community. They felt like they have done it, they stuck up for themselves. But they knew that they were gonna pay for it later. They felt like they had to do something more. Later that morning, papers were passed out all over New York City, describing what had happened the night before and that it needed to all stop. As the day went on, you can feel the tension building up in the air.
Stonewall re-opened that night like nothing had ever happened. Everyone started to support the Gays and what they were standing for. Gays that had everything to loose, a great job, a home, a family, came out to also support. Black-Panthers, Anti-War groups, everyone for once were coming together as one to help put an end to this madness. Cops came again that Saturday night and they were ready for more. It was even worse then the first night. People were getting leg wounds, back wounds, head wounds, even killed. But the chaos continued and even continued into the following night.
I thought that the video was very interesting. It made me see the troubles and hardships that the Gay community really had to go through to get the equality that they have today. I also learned a lot about what actually happened. I knew about the Stonewall riots but never actually knew the details and the history behind it. It was very upsetting to me to see people be separated and judged, just like how the African Americans were treated by the color of their skin, Gays were by their sexual preference. Trying to make them become like everyone else and not just accepting the fact that everyone is a little different. I believe that everyone should be treated the same, no matter how different they may seem.
Source : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/player/
Stonewall Uprising. American Experience. WGBH | PBS
