Dear Gigi, Bi-Net, Bi Leaders & Bis Everywhere:
It’s taken me a long time to figure out what to do about the BiNet USA Campaign, which is essentially a last gasp for a national Bi voice to stay alive. I have to say, I’ve had mixed emotions.
Part of me thinks that it may be time to let it go. Part of me thinks it’s wrong to depend on a few large donors to support the group, that the mission statement lacks focus, that there’s no new leadership stepping up to take over the past leadership that made our group so vital. And, like a lot of other people, I have put aside my activist involvement and focused on more pressing, more personal needs and goals.
Donating money wasn’t the question, it was how much. Virtually every dime (and more) I’ve made writing about the B-word (including the fun Bi Book I’ve received an advance on for Alyson, but haven’t even started) has gone to Bi groups and Bi causes for the past 13 years. I have to tell you, though that every day I get e-mails from new Bi friends for my Planet Out and BiCafe columns, thanking me for my thoughts, information and inspiration. That keeps me going and realizing how important what we do is, even on a small scale.
So, I was thinking what I should, what I could give. Faced with a few thousand dollars worth of dental bills, a dying car, a dying father, an ever-increasing mortgage, an unsteady job, mounting medical bills, etc., I could come up with many legitimate excuses for why giving a dime could be difficult for me, and I don’t think any of my friends would have blinked.
Then, I tried to figure out what I got from BiNet and wondered what was that of value to me? Is it possible to put a price on the friendships, sources, companions, compatriots, professional colleagues I’ve gained from this group? Is it possible to put a pricetag on the self-awareness, the knowledge and the self-discovery I’ve gone through meeting the people I’ve met through BiNet?
How many hours of work from my paycheck is it worth to me to save this organization? Putting a pricetag on that even seemed petty, considering the countless thousands of free hours the people involved in the group before me have given up - for me and for us all.
I kept coming back to one number, it’s going to hurt me, it’s going to set me back, it’s going to challenge me, but it seemed to make sense. It doesn’t matter how much you give to BiNet USA to save it, it’s just that we all show some gesture enough to have some input into the organization and to care to give at all.
Enclosed is my check for $2002 to bring us into the year 2002.
Love,
Mike