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From: brower@fortune.UUCP (Richard Brower)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: why gays like to be visible
Message-ID: <5120@fortune.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Mar-85 14:37:00 EST
Article-I.D.: fortune.5120
Posted: Wed Mar 20 14:37:00 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Mar-85 04:38:43 EST
References: <201@bbnccv.UUCP>
Reply-To: brower@fortune.UUCP (Richard brower)
Distribution: net
Organization: Fortune Systems, Redwood City, CA
Lines: 49
Summary: 

In article <201@bbnccv.UUCP> jsol@bbnccv.UUCP (Jon Solomon) writes:
>I'm curious. Why do gay people like to be so visible. Why is it so important
>for gays to be able to proudly say in the middle of a crowd that he/she is
>gay.

Actually, it isn't that I want to stand up to proclaim my sexuality before
the world, it is that I do not wish to be bound by any restrictions which
are not applied to *all*.  Straight people think nothing of walking down
the street holding the hand of a motos, why should I be forced to have to
think about wether or not I will be killed for walking down the street
holding the hand of a motss.  Why shouldn't I take my 'other half' to
company picnics and parties?  (I take him.)

>My point is, discrimination based on race is currently illegal. If someone
>actually does it they can get into BIG trouble. This gives the individual
>black (or hispanic) a great deal of power. I question whether this is
>reasonable. Certainly I don't condone discrimination, but I feel that one
>must show a need for the law before one can go making laws. Discrimination
>based on non-job-related things *should* be illegal period. You shouldn't
>lose your job because you are a smoker, for example. Gay's are in a similar
>position. They are different than straights because they don't share the
>same sexual situations. So what. Single men and women don't share the same
>sexual situations (i.e. committment) as married couples do either.

Well, blacks have nowhere near made up from the the effects of the
discrimination against them, they are still paying in that their
unemployment is higher, for example.  Neither have gays, except
perhaps arround the major gay centers like LA, NYC, and SF.  Even
in these "Mecca's" one is more likely to be killed or have other
"personal" crimes (as opposed to purely "property" crimes) committed
against one.  I agree that (skin color/sexual orientation/religion/
marital status/sex) shouldn't make any difference, but untill everyone 
agrees on that fact, it does make a difference.

>Don't get me wrong, I like and appreciate gays for who they are (I'm
>bisexual, and quite partial to good looking gay men myself), I just don't
>feel they have the right to flaunt their sexuality since it may offend
>others. > >Cheers, >--JSol

If I am expected to hide my lover from everybody, I won't be there.
Or another way of putting it is to change every "gay" in your above
paragraph to "straight".  Do straight people consider it to be
flaunting it when they walk down the street holding hands?  Well,
I don't either.

That's it for now,
-- 
Richard A. Brower		Fortune Systems
{ihnp4,ucbvax!amd,hpda,sri-unix,harpo}!fortune!brower