Safe Space Quotes

“As had been the case in the founding of Citizens Alert in 1965, the point that most linked gay politics to the struggles of other marginalized communities was that of state violence—in particular, police brutality.”
― Christina B. Hanhardt, Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence

“When the world isn't all wrong or right And the truth isn't clear at first sight And you don't know who you ought to fight— That's contradictions! —“That's Contradictions!,” from “Count the Contradictions,” by Lesbians Against Police Violence”
― Christina B. Hanhardt, Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence

“Our most immediate oppressors are the pigs. We are beaten, entrapped, enticed, raided, taunted, arrested and jailed. In jail we are jeered at, gang-raped, beaten and killed, with full encouragement and participation by the pigs. Every homosexual lives in fear of the pigs, except that we are beginning to fight back! The reasons are not that the pigs are just prejudiced (which they are) or that they “over-react,” but that they are given silent approval by the power structure for their violence against us. Since our lives are defined as illegal, immoral, and unnatural, there is no reason why the pigs shouldn't harass us—and they are never punished for it.16”
― Christina B. Hanhardt, Safe Space: Gay Neighborhood History and the Politics of Violence