My first impressions of Venice were hostile. Ail the interminable churches and many tourists made me wonder why this place should be chosen for an anarchist gathering. But I was soon won over by the thousands who came together as anarchists and by the many charms of the city. While the merchants of Venice had been on the cutting edge of commercial capitalism, their streets and canals preserved many corners not yet conquered by monopoly capitalism. And 1 met many gay men both from the city itself and from those gathered for the anarchist meetings.

I was disappointed by the lack of Lesbian/gay visibility in the official conference program. Not that Lesbians and gay men had been excluded—many were giving papers and working in the book, wine, food and entertainment activities. But they were mainly invisible. At the Living Anarchy session, I stressed the importance of visibility. Homosexuality is not new but visibility is; and past invisibility has caused incredible misery among anarchists. ! cited the pederast (man/boy) love relationship between Bakunin and Nechaev, Because they could not be lovers openly their personal lives and the advancement of anarchism were sadly retarded. ! held up a copy of Fag Rag and explained that visibility was a central concern of gay liberationists today—a visibility which would bring benefits to everyone, not just Lesbians and gay men. 1 mentioned one of our projects had been the abolition of the vice squad in Boston, where we had successfully organized a large demonstration in which anarchists participated. Our visibility, however, still carried high costs and dangers. A few days after the vice squad demonstration, an arson team from the Boston police and fire departments bombed the Fag Rag, Gay Community News and Clad Day Bookstore on July 7, 1982. We recovered and perhaps even grew stronger after the complete incineration of our offices; nonetheless, visibility carries for us dangers unknown to heterosexuals.

A group gathered informally to discuss the issues of our Lesbian and gay fives. Many had come to the gathering but found little to interest them in the formal sessions. Representatives from the Greek publication Kraximo were there. The Greek government has waged a long campaign

of harassment against Kraximo. Paola, the editor, had been dragged into court for writing that "Kraximo wishes to talk of the problems of the people that society has marginalized: prostitutes, prisoners, transvestites, homosexuals, psychiatric patients, junkies, petty thieves, motorcycle freaks, callboys and desperate people." In the face of the continuing censorship, trials and harassments, Kraximo responds: "There is no advice. Simply resist. Alone or in companies, with groups, organized or not, with all possible ways. Resistance not only to the practices of authority but especially to the ideology of individual inertia which is so consistently cultivated."

ome of the Kraximo people raised the question ror our group of how anyone could be both an anarchist and a faggot. This was not ap easy question to answer and it was closely related to the discussion in the session on Feminism and Anarchism. A woman from Frankfurt had asked whether feminist thought could fit Anarchism and said the costs were incredibly high for women to conform to what anarchist men expected of them. Too often, she said, women were left with a feeling of being insufficient in anarchist groups. Many had difficulties with the poster for the gathering which had a cloud-breast-vulva-angel flying over a man-beast-intentinal-snake-penis. tf the poster meant to suggest men should spit snake/cocks out of their mouth, I pointed out that many of us loved to take them in our mouth.

Our gay liberation group mulled this over and we tended to split much as women had in the formal session, some felt that homosexuality itself was a form of anarchism, that heterosexuals who pretended we didn't or shouldn't exist were actually anti-anarchists, authoritarians mouthing big slogans, but that we in our sexuality were keepers of the true spirit of freedom and rebellion.

Paul Goodman once said he never made out at left gatherings but he always did well at more conservative conferences. I had this feeling. While I talked with a lot of wonderful people and made many new friends, the anarchist gathering was something of a sexual desert for me. I met native Venetians in thegaoinett/ (toilets) and on the Lido (locale of Venice's nude beach), who didn't even know a conference was going on. They were gay enough to have sex with me; they liked the idea of the conference, but they felt little happening there that related to them. Some Venetians joined the gay circle, and I (with my tourist Italian) had to try to translate for them. Two teenagers joined us because they thought we

had some good grass; they didn't understand what the word omosessuali meant, but when 1 explained cazzo in culo (cock in ass), they slipped away. But another faggot laughed and joined us when he found out what we were up to.

\ felt a great sorrow that I could not bridge the gap between those faggots cruising the gabinetti or the Lido and the great ideas and wonderful freedoms being proposed at the faculty of architecture sessions. I also felt that everyone —not just homosexuals —needed to know about Fag Rag, Kraximo and other struggles among Lesbian and gay anarchists.

The division between faggots in the streets and those in the university hails resembled that between the Punks in the carnpo and the more scholarly speakers. The latter could learn a lot from the Indianerkom-mune, Nerberg, West Germany. I hope their manifesto stirs some echo in your hearts: "Our political demands: 1) the right to leave home whenever we wish and to live with whomever we wish; 2} abolition of ail legal penalties against runaways; 3) abolition of compulsory schooling; 4) abolition of all children's homes, psychiatric institutions, and other prisons; 5) the right of children and youth to enjoy their bodies as they themselves choose and to choose their own friends; 6) abolition of all laws which punish loving sexual relations between and with children; 7) the right to travel anywhere we wish without adult escort; 8) financial independence from adults; 9) recognition that children are not lap hounds to be fondled and pampered by bored and lonesome mothers." Nor by fathers or lovers, I might add.

Perhaps too many anarchists are still debating issues of the nineteenth century or the 1930's. As important as these might remain, we need to be open to anarchist ideas among women, faggots, children and others. No one, of course, needs to have anarchist ideas applied to them, but most anarchists could be better listeners. Our cries may not be the last word in justice, but those who cannot or will not hear us will never know the meaning of justice.

Charley Shively