Comments
by Java Mann 
When
the topic of today’s column came to me, I concluded that I would have to
treat it with great care, as I am sure it may offend. Then I thought, what
the fuck, anyone who might be offended probably deserves to be offended.
As a whole, gay people strike
me as rather juvenile and hedonistic, and I find it rather annoying. The
fact is I find it all but impossible to engage any of my gay friends in
an intelligent conversation, even when the topics directly affect the gay
community. AIDS is only mentioned in catty gossip. Politics? Forget it.
I’m sure that Al Gore will get the gay vote (or rather the votes of those
gays who bother to vote) because he’s cuter the George W Bush.
Frankly I am amazed that
the gay and lesbian community has made as much progress as it has in the
past twenty years when as a group, homosexuals are more likely to organize
a party than a protest rally. This year my hometown actually hosted a gay
pride parade, and maybe all of two hundred people showed up to march. I
asked friends who had been absent why they were not there, and the answer
I got was "it started too early". Folks, it started at eleven AM!
Even this year’s Millenium
March in Washington, in reflection, seemed more a chance to party with
celebrities than to change the way the world views homosexuality. The street
parties, tea dances and concerts drew huge crowds. The speeches were treated
as an afterthought, and more attention was given to Anne and Ellen than
to the many non-celebrity speakers who actually spoke of the triumphs and
heartaches of the past and the battles yet to be fought.
I am 34 years old, and though
I was quite young and deeply buried in the closet, I remember the gay activism
of the pre-AIDS, late seventies. And I miss it. Have we as a community
become apathetic, or merely pathetic? Just because a drag queen can walk
safely from the cab to the club without being attacked or harassed doesn’t
mean the world is safe for homosexuals, and I have two words for anyone
who thinks otherwise: Mathew Shepard.
Being me, I’ve asked around
why real, life-affecting issues are so blatantly missing from the gay community
and gay life. The answers I got distress me:
"AIDS means death and no
one wants to talk about death."
"Politics is boring."
"Working for a cause is no
fun."
I am disgusted.
Wake THE FUCK up people!!!
Your "lifestyle" is still
illegal in 48 states.
You can be/are refused basic
human rights every day.
You can be refused housing/a
job/custody of your own children.
Everyday a person in a position
of authority is spreading hurtful lies about you, me, your sister, brother,
father and mother.
Just because you’re gay.
Get off your ass and do something.
Vote. Join a community group. Write a letter to your State Rep, Senator,
Congressman or the editor of your local paper. Do something.
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