Many of us felt powerless and it is from that feeling that ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power, was born. It was an international, grass routes, direct action political group and Peter was a natural rallying point for action under that banner in London. He’d show us how to ACT UP, not with violence but by Zapping. We were peaceful but we could also be very annoying! Unfolding jumpers in fashion stores and occupying tents in outdoor leisure shops was as rough as it got. (Later, in 1990, Peter went on to be a founding member of Outrage!)
On one occasion I attended an ACT UP Zap at the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, Peter thinks it was 1989. The Act Up members had constructed a large green Statue of Liberty out of Papier-mâché and we chained it to the railings of the embassy. It was a Zap about the exclusion of people living with HIV from entering the USA. Again Peter was at the helm, except this time I’d gotten carried away and I found myself accompanying him to make the presentation statement at the door to the embassy.
As we presented ourselves in front of the large expanse of glass door Peter gesticulated for me to make the statement of our demands. I foolishly wasn’t prepared. At that precise moment a marine in full U.S. OF A. uniform marched in front of us to bar our entry. As the marine turned to face us, he stomped to attention and raised his riffle, presumably loaded, across his uncommonly broad chest. He looked me straight in the eye, a real live Action Man, and I went weak at the knees. I was speechless, unprepared and distracted as I was, and Peter immediately stepped in with his authoritative manner and eloquently delivered a speech, thus saving the day. Looking round at Peter, standing there, peacefully yet powerfully confronting the prejudice of a Super Power, I saw a real hero in action.
My involvement in this direct action, small as it may have been on my part, led to my first real sense of what personal empowerment as a gay man was all about. As a youth I’d been active in raising funds for Amnesty International, I’d helped to Save The Whale, went on CND marches, and was very active in Friends of The Earth, but as a gay man I was politically still very much marginalised.
It was on my first Pride march that I realised I was not alone, which was a beautiful feeling. The absence of those now that marched beside me then can still make me sob my heart out. We held hands and shouted camp and catchy slogans but, besides being visible, we still had no real voice and I realised attending Pride marches just wasn’t enough. It was these first few steps with Peter that lead me to seek to find that voice in an affirmative way. That journey then led me to spending the greater part of my life publishing, along with my friend Tony Claffey, QX magazine.
Multiply the affect of this single encounter thousands of times across the globe. There have been 3,000 such peaceful protests by Peter. Personal assistance that has been given to thousands of individuals and hundreds of organisations. We can only try to imagine the impact Peter’s life is having on us all.
“He deserves recognition for his extraordinary contribution to the happiness of millions who have never heard of him” – Stephen Fry
Protests give us our voice, and Peter has been consistently there with the megaphone; rallying, co-ordinating, spearheading, confronting. A river torrent of activism that has been joined by thousands of tributaries as it has constantly flowed for the last 55 years, inspiring so many of us.
I thought about how to celebrate his birthday and his life’s achievements, but I also thought on how he’s suffered for it over the years. The vile assaults by the gutter press were once constant. I know there’s even been an attempt on his life, as someone had tried to run him over while he was out riding on his bike. He came to our office in Denmark Street afterwards, but I couldn’t remember when it was. I know it was the late ’90s, at a guess, so I asked Peter if he remembered precisely when. His response should outrage us all,
“I remember coming to your office after the attempt to run me down but I have no idea what year it was. There have been so many attempts to harm me that the dates of individual attacks are hard to pin down. Plus my strategy to prevent a mental breakdown is to try to erase the assaults from my memory as much as possible.”
This life of struggle on behalf of us, with us, has therefore come at great personal cost to Peter. There has been a great deal of violence against him. The brutal assault by Robert Mugabe’s thugs, the dictator’s bodyguards, in 2001 and the beating by Neo-nazis in Russia in 2007 (after which he was arrested) were reported in the news at the time.
What many may not know is that Peter has suffered 300 violent assaults by homophobes and far right extremists, including 50 attacks on his flat. He has gone on record describing the violent assaults as like living through a low-level civil war. For many years he suffered from PTSD.
“My coordination, memory, balance, vision and concentration are somewhat impaired. Campaigning is more difficult but I still manage. I’ve no regrets. Compared to the jailing and torturing of human rights defenders in China, Russia, Syria and Uganda, I’ve got off lightly.”
Peter has played a monumental role in changing the attitudes of people in this country and to improving the lives of our LGBTQ+siblings across the World.
As it is Peter’s birthday, I wanted to know how he intended to celebrate it. He duly informed me,
“I was planning a big party for my birthday. But because of Omicron, I’ve postponed it to the spring. I would not want to host a potential super-spreader event that could put people’s health at risk and add to the pressure on the NHS.”
And afterwards?
“The 25 January is my 70th birthday, my 55 years of human rights campaigning and 10 years of my Peter Tatchell Foundation. I hope to carry on for another 25 years,”
That just leaves me to say Happy Birthday, Peter. Thank you!
Ben x
If you’d like to show Peter your appreciation then feel free to make a donation to The Peter Tatchell Foundation, or send him a loving tweet: https://twitter.com/petertatchell
Peter Tatchell: A Brief Biography
Peter Tatchell is one of Britain’s best known and longest surviving LGBT+ and human rights campaigners.
There is an excellent documentary called “Hating Peter Tatchell”, and streaming on Netflix.
Peter Tatchell: The 1960s
Peter Tatchell: The 1970s
Peter Tatchell: The 1980s
Peter Tatchell: The 1990s
Peter Tatchell: The 2000s
