2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I hate protestors. it's so....unAmerican [View all]frazzled
(18,402 posts)ACT UP was extremely in your face and disruptive. At times, it offended even me and my family: we showed up at events are were harangued and scorned as "breeders." You remember the language. I was hurt, but I was not deterred. What Act Up accomplished was bringing something previously hidden out into the open. And for all the controversy that the movement of public outing created, it did do a service: it made the country realize how many celebrities, coworkers, neighbors, and friends were gay.
But, while a necessary first step, Act Up did not succeed in getting many laws changed. It wasn't until the marriage equality movement--very insider, very mainstream in most aspects--came along that politicians who could actually change things through the law came on board and the movement took a giant step forward.
If you want to influence people in the streets, that may be useful in the beginning. But to create real change, dialogue of respect, negotiation, and organized, respectful pressure in the halls of power is the necessary way to go in the end.