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From: sdyer@bbncca.ARPA (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: Jason's "Gay Satire"
Message-ID: <1131@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 11-Nov-84 00:20:42 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.1131
Posted: Sun Nov 11 00:20:42 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Nov-84 01:14:05 EST
References: <1126@bbncca.ARPA> <1129@bbncca.ARPA>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 40


      >I found Jason's satire quite amusing. There seems to be a facet
      >of net.motss submitters who think that gay issues in general are
      >humorous...

Yeah, and that's why mod.motss was formed :-)

      >...and that other facets of net.motss submitters need to
      >lighten up. I agree in principle with this faction, as long as
      >they are not using humor to cloud the issues or generally not
      >deal with them. Comic relief is welcome (that's my opinion!) as
      >long as it is not a replacement for the eventual resolution of
      >the issues involved.

I am all for "lightening up", but I haven't yet seen many submissions from
the faction (or was it facet) you are alluding to.  Perhaps a little less
talk and more typing?

One or two of the observations may have reminded me of people I knew, or of
familiar situations, but, taken cumulatively, the article gave the
impression of not knowing where "bad taste" begins.

Should we embrace a posting like that which deals solely with stereotypes,
even as we know that few gay men fulfill all, if any, of its requirements?
Given that the readership of net.motss is open to everyone, regardless of
sexual preference, it is honorable to publish a document which trades in
all of the stereotypes which many gay people are trying to debunk?  Let's
reverse the situation and imagine that the same essay was submitted by
someone clearly identified as being opposed to gay people.  Would it
engender anything other than universal condemnation?  

I am not worried about issues of "respectability" here.  I don't care
much what some straight people might think after reading it.  What I
do worry about is giving unequivocal assent, either through silence
or through unexamined laughter, to the sentiments and presuppositions
permeating it.
-- 
/Steve Dyer
{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!sdyer
sdyer@bbncca.ARPA