Interview with Paul Schindler

Paul Schindler is the Editor-in-Chief of Gay City News, a weekly LGBT-focused newspaper serving the greater New York area. Paul isn't afraid to break a story, nor does he shy away from injustices in our community. Here Paul Schindler discusses civil unions versus marriage, media censorship and the dangers of being a walking cause.

Do you think we should settle for civil unions (as opposed to gay marriage)?

I don't think our community should. The problem with civil unions is once you get them people in office say, Hey, you got what you needed. The hard thing about not taking them is that there are people out there—older couples, couples with one sick partner—who could actually benefit from civil unions. How do you say to them, No, we're going to hold out for a few years? It's a tough trade off, but I think we ought to try and hold out. We've only seen Massachusetts get all the way so far. What they are finding out in [New] Jersey is that people don't recognize what a civil union is. People are showing up at hospitals or going to their jobs and saying, We're civil union partners. Marriage is the only currency people understand.

The gay community has been accused of being apathetic in many aspects. Are we tiring of the push for gay rights?

It's hard to be a walking cause all the time. That's an issue women in our society and people of color face. It's a very interesting concept. We're reluctant sometimes to pressure ourselves too much. There is also a very human instinct to want to not live as a victim.

In previous presidential campaigns gays were the ultimate debate topic. What about other issues like poverty, abortion, and the war? Do you see gay rights becoming less of a focal point in future elections?

Yes I do. First of all, the spiraling down of the Bush Administration has born out of the fact that some of these diversions were exactly that—diversions. People are getting smarter. Number two: Some of the voters who might be sympathetic to a Bush or a conservative approach or a strong military defense get irritated when these gay marriage amendment things keep coming up. They're worried about working two or three jobs and getting their kids to college. They're worried about attacks from oversees and the safety of airports. Then the Republicans hold a hearing for a week on a gay marriage amendment. That pisses people off.

The final thing is the demographic: Younger people are a lot more comfortable about gay issues. There is an aging of the population and the people who are least comfortable with us are the oldest people. They're becoming less of a factor all the time.

Is there a disconnect between the activist and today's post-label youth?

To some extent. It's not my place as someone who came of age and identifies as a gay man, to sort of say their self-identification is inauthentic or they should see the world the way I do. The whole point of my being a gay man is I want to be able to self-identify. So everyone else should have that right too. The only thing I would throw in there is I think it's important to find ways in which we have common political, and maybe even cultural, interests. We don't have to call ourselves the same thing, but I don't think we should be naive about the fact that there are a lot of other people who lump us in the same group. If we're not listening to each other and showing real sympathy for each other about what we both need or what we're looking for then there's a chance we'll get overpowered by our opponents.

There are more and more public figures saying inappropriate things while the tape is rolling. Are they exercising free expression or abusing their social responsibility?

I want to be able to have a wide range of view points in my publication. The government can't play the role of censor or culture cop. When a lot of people use the word 'censorship' to talk about the Imus situation, I don't know if they are using it right. For MSNBC or CBS to fire Imus is not censoring him. Those organizations, my newspaper, every publication in the world makes choices everyday about who's going to have time on their thing and most of us don't get time on MSNBC. Imus doesn't have a right to that time.

I think it's perfectly fine to tell people their time is over. There's no pressing debate on which one side is 'nappy headed ho.' It doesn't have any particular expressive meaning. That's not to say that everything that is risque or controversial shouldn't be on; that's not what I'm saying. I'm simply saying that people, just because they're famous, don't get a license to do whatever they want without repercussions. Imus had a long run and made a lot of money saying outrages things. Now that run has ended because he said an additional outrageous thing.

I do think it's fair for people to organize and to express their views about expressions they don't like. At the same time there is a bit of a Puritanical aspect in our culture which basically says we should carefully monitor and make sure we have socially acceptable forms of expression. That concept can easily run amuck and suddenly all kinds of expressions are not acceptable. That's the kind of attitude that has often hurt queer people.

It seems as if most gay publications have lost their substance. Most have shirtless covers every issue. Are we feeding into a stereotypical frenzy by focusing on the sexual aspect of our culture?

One of the things I feel fortunate about doing Gay City News in New York City is that New York City, first of all, has a very large gay population and New Yorkers are fairly sophisticated people. I feel like there is a market for a more intelligent form of media. People are glad to find more serious discussions of things. So much of the media today is constructed like popcorn.

What makes Gay City News unique?

We're smart and we're committed. We take an affirmative bet on the intelligence of our readers. There's so much in the media world today that gambles on the lowest common denominator and we can't do that. We're so used to thinking we have to dumb things down. I don't buy that.

Paul Schindler is the Editor-in-Chief of Gay City News.