This march has not created the local organizing efforts that the previous marches have. This time, very little organizing has happened around the country. We believe in community efforts that are accountable to the community. Instead, this march has handpicked individuals to make decisions in secret. We believe in carefully assessing when it's appropriate to take resources and energy away from local communities in order to make a national statement that can't be made any other way.
National marches are phenomenally expensive and take years to organize.
Further, no reason has yet been articulated by the march organizers as to why this march is so necessary and so important to do right now. Previous march organizers spent much time in broad-based discussions as to the crucial political message to convey to the people of this country and to our policy makers. As members of the Ad Hoc Committee for an Open Process, we have been calling for a change in the organizing process since the march was first announced in the Fall of 1997. Let's just go party with queers from around the country. But, in fact, we think there are critical lessons to be learned from this debacle.