Who is truly to Blame?

This past Thursday I attend a social event with my partner, this was one if his event with his pagan group. The hostess thought I would like to read an article in the most recent edition of Publishers Weekly. It would seen this week theme was GLBT writing and books.

As I read the edition, it was the commentary at the very back of the magazine title Come Out, Where you Are. Here is the link to the article online if you would like to read it in its fullest.
Jordan McAuley writes,

When I moved to New York City from Atlanta, one of the first things I wanted to do was visit the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in Greenwich Village, believed to be the country's first bookstore dedicated to gay and lesbian authors. I was dismayed to find a sign on the door announcing the store was closing, citing the down economy. Soon after, A Different Light Bookstore in West Hollywood, where I also used to live, announced it, too, would close. I was angry. It felt to me like these stores were giving up too easily, especially as we continue to fight for gay marriage and equal rights for gays and lesbians.

To be fair, the community let down the community bookstore, not the other way around.

The Oscar Wilde Bookshop opened its doors for the first time Thanksgiving weekend of 1967 by gay activist, Craig Rodwell on Mercer St. in New York City. In 1973, the store moved to 15 Christopher Street, a block away from the historic Stonewall Bar. Before the days of a village community center, the Oscar Wilde was filled with literature for activists’ meetings, and housed the meetings themselves. In early 2006, the shop was handed over for the last time to long-time manager, Kim Brinster.  With tough economic times, the store closed its doors for the last time in 2009.

So why did the community turn it back on Oscar Wilde Bookstore, was it the easiness of ordering books online for a huge discount. Ordering things online become the way of many LGBT, persons and those who were deeply in their closets... over all the community throw OWB to the curb for Amazon.com... 
I know that the lambda rising bookstore in Norfolk, VA also close due to lack of support.

Lambda Rising, which is in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood, will shut down June 30 after nearly 11 years. For many members of the LGBT community, it served as a second home and meeting place.

It’s was a shame that this store close, more so, since it was closer to me when I lived in Elizabeth City area, then driving all the way the Raleigh to visit The White Rabbit bookstore. What surprise me the most was this,

The store still has loyal customers, some of whom were stocking up on discounted reading material Monday before the door closes for the final time.

With Loyal customer like these who need competition, they couldn’t support the store fully, but could visit the store on it last days to save money, how nice of the Ghent LGBT community...

Therefore, who is really giving up on whom? These Bookstores would still be open if our sorry ass community. I know that whenever I travel to Raleigh for whatever reason, I visit the White Rabbit. When I was in Raleigh to photography the anti gay marriage, which by the way most of community did absolute nothing, no counter protest, well a small group did show. However when I email our only LGBT newspaper to let them know about his small group, and that some member where almost arrest for trying to march on the mall grounds. They didn’t even mention it all, I can only guess it they were arrested then the editor would have written something about it. Hell, even our local nationally known blogger didn’t even talk about this small group at all. It was as if they didn’t even exist...

Face it our community is not what it once was. Today it’s all about me, and what I can get...