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The Stonewall Inn: The Gay Ground Zero
6/29/2009 5:58 pm Last Read: |
This afternoon I and some friends made a spontaneous stop at a world famous place in the West Village section of Manhattan. It's located halfway down Christopher Street from 6th Avenue to the Hudson River. The place is the Stonewall Inn. site of the riots that, for all intents and purposes, began the Gay Pride movement worldwide. The Stonewall Inn was a gay bar, a dive that catered to drag queens, hustlers and even gay mafiosi (who ran the place). At 1:30 in the morning on June 28th, 1969 the cops made another one of their standard raids, pretending to ask for the liquor license they knew the owners didn't have. They actually used to arrest drag queens because cross dressing was illegal back then. But that night it was a group made up mostly of young fem boys that had had enough. A bull dike was resisting arrest, and that ignited the fury in these boys who started throwing rocks and hollering at the police. They even used NY parking meters as battering rams. Soon the police were overwhelmed by the shear volume of rioters. What had once been easy pickings for the cops; They used to steal the cash register of the place, harass and bully the customers figuring all the gays would not want to out themselves by publically complaining. But because of the melee, dozens of newspaper and television reporters were attracted to scene. And the rest is history. Around the world, cities and towns now have Pride Day, Gay Pride Week, Gay Pride Month, Christopher Street Day or CSD and even the White House sponsored a gay pride ball this week for the first time. I'll bet most people, even most New Yorkers straight or gay, don't know how and where that all started and why we celebrate it all at the end of June every year. It's amazing for me to believe that there was once a time where gays, who feared getting busted in parks or tea rooms, or risking a busted lip (or worse) when flirting in a straight locale, were nevertheless harassed and humiliated in their own gay establishments. But wait! Some of that still continues. Even in America, Even in Europe where gay bars are still only found in whore house districts or in hidden alleys. We've come a long way, but we still have a way to go. The Stonewall Inn has been recently renovated. It basically looks like almost any bar, gay or straight. But it's still worth seeing if you're in New York. Greenwich Village itself is a definite must for any gay visitor to the Big Apple. It's where WE outnumber THEM, and by a lot. lol I once asked why Greenwich Village is gay. For the answer you have to look way back in history to the 17th century. In New Amsterdam, the Dutch banished misfits, lepers and other undesirables to a village north of the old wall (now Wall St.). Even the deposed Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant was banished there once the English took over. You can see his grave in the East Village. Through the years, artists, writers and poets found refuge there. They were and are known for more liberal attitudes toward homosexuals. Maybe because half of them are gay themselves. lol You can still see where "The Village" was once on it's own. Instead of the common north, south, east ,west grid of streets, Greenwich Village is an almost European jumble of streets. It's one of the few places on earth where you can give tongue to your boyfriend (or not your boyfriend) and no one cares. If you take one message from this post it is this: God hath no fury like a pissed off twink.  Are you Tdot qualified?. Check out T.W.I.N.K.S. to find out |
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 6/29/2009 6:35 pm |
Thanx for this Kev I have been always puzzled why I had never heard of Stonewall Riots before joining OP. I've always been a bit of a news buff. As part of Gay Pride Celebrations in Toronto this year, there was an article that mentioned why it got little or no coverage in Canada. The week before the riots, Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau at time (later to become one of most celebrated Prime Ministers) introduced legislation legalizing gay sex with the line - The Government has no business in the bedrooms of the country. Thanx again XOXO Jack Take the road less travelled.
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6/29/2009 6:36 pm |
Thanks for the great history lesson. I have not been to New York City since 1979. Have a great day! C.
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6/29/2009 6:44 pm |
Great post Kev.Always love to hear History.Espacially when it's gay history. If I ever go to New York again maybe you could show me the place.  Take care.Hugs, Phil
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6/29/2009 7:40 pm |
You can bet your last dollar all who were there at that time and place were everything you will never be,except for gay..Stonewall was just the beginning.Many hard fought battles have taken place over more years than you are old just for you to have what freedoms you and I have..Ya can also bet many conservative dollars were and are being spent to deprive us of the freedom we have..A gay republican in the 60's in NYC had very few friends..Peace
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6/29/2009 8:19 pm |
"Even in Europe where gay bars are still only found in whore house districts or in hidden alleys." You haven't lost your touch.
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6/29/2009 9:04 pm |
I was actually there last wed. We first went to the NY library where they had a seminar on the LGBT. For a place with such a great history the Duplex, Pieces, and the Cubby Hole are a lot better.
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6/30/2009 12:49 am |
Wonderful post. My question is: How as a New Yorker do you put up with the outrageous taxes that have run amock there? In my opinion, they are un-American and perhaps a foreshadowing of what we Americans all have in store for us under Pres. Obama(nation).
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6/30/2009 12:12 pm |
I know the story of the stonewall in Kevie, but thanx for the reminder!! I forgot it was June 28th. Them queens had some guts back then! IDK if I have the same courage! But thanx to them, I always think that when I come by a document of Milk or Mathiew Sheppard or others!!!
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6/30/2009 1:26 pm |
My dad was a Judy Garland fan but thats where it stops lol,I thought it happend because they all wanted to attend the funneral service.
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7/1/2009 10:49 am |
New York has always been one of those places i've wanted to visit for sometime now, i just don't quite have the funds to do it lol... you could start your own touring company with the guys that want to see it lol
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7/2/2009 2:32 pm |
nice kev, very nice... maybe you can give me a guided tour sometime 
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7/3/2009 1:44 pm |
lol, thanks kev 
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