In describing the arc of the struggle for justice, Gandhi once said, "first they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you; then you win."

In her final comments at the closing plenary of this past week's conference in Los Angeles, titled, "The Global Arc of Justice: Advancing LGBTQI Rights Around the World," former President of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Paula Ettelbrick, used Gandhi's words to give us some perspective on the progress of our movement for LGBTQI rights. 

Now I may be a bit cliche, and may or may not spend far too much time on famous quote websites, but I appreciated this Gandhi reference--and I will tell you why.  But not yet.

Jointly hosted by the Williams Institute of the University of Califonia, Los Angeles, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Law Association, and the City of West Hollywood, the Global Arc of Justice Conference convened legal leaders of the LGBTQI rights movement from around the world.  With a specific focus on the rights movement in Latin America, the conference was presented with simultaneous translation in English and Spanish (and in one session, Portuguese!).  This allowed for the exchange of ideas across geopolitical and cultural borders about the LGBTQI movement that I've never before experienced.  (More importantly, I got to show off that I didn't need a translation device.)  

The gamut of discussion was wide.  I heard Supreme Court Justices from Argentina, Australia, and Nepal discuss their rulings regarding LGBTQI rights; I learned about the legal barriers to access for transsexual minors in various countries; and I considered the hypothesis of the "law of small change," which asserts that LGBTQI rights are, when considered in a global historical context, achieved one small step at a time over a long period.  

I was struck by the Gandhi quote because I attended this conference with two goals:

1.  To explore the challenges of advocating for a western model of sexual identity, the   
      LGBTQI framework, in non-Western cultural and political contexts;
2.  To place myself, and my generation, in the history of the global LGBTQI movement.  

Of course I only inched closer towards these goals (I tend to be a lofty goal-setter), but the Gandhi quote seemed to frame it well.  All around me--in the presentations, in the conversations, in the very fact that we were all there--I could see that we are no longer just being ignored, we are no longer being laughed at--we are fighting for our health, our rights, and our lives.   Especially in those momentary steps back that we have all experienced (cough...Prop 8...cough), we must remember that we are on the path to a very, very big win.  But we must not give up. 

So Gandhi's quote might be famous, but Paula did a good job with her own material--I must say--especially with regards to my second goal.  Describing the global movement for LGBTQI rights, she noted that "this is not a static process.  It will grow and change and be re-interpreted with each generation." 

Now, to my next question: how are we re-interpreting it? 

(Ahem: that is not a rhetorical question.  leave a comment)