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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1995)
VIEWPOINTS EDITORIALS. OPINIONS. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Governor announces gay and lesbian history month ■ OUR OPINION: Acknowledgment ol gay people's contributions is long overdue Believe it or not, lesbians and guy men have been around for a long time — .is long as heterosexual people. Despite their presence in the world and the country, their voices were continually silenced prior to the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. This spontaneous response to police harass ment launched the modern gay and lesbian rights move ment. Now, 26 years later. Ore gon becomes the third state to at knowledge the contri butions of gay. lesbian, bisexual and transgondered people by proclaiming Octo iMir Gay and Lesbian History Month. Governor John Kit/haber's support and endorsement of the aware ness campaign oases the sting of the many blows dealt gay and lesbian people in Oregon and the nation in ret ent years. Shu t* the Oregon Citizens' Alliance began its mission to prevent civil rights pro test lion for non-heterosexual people in tin* early '90s, les bians and gay men have had to spend hundreds of thou sands of dollars and count less labor hours to prevent anti-gay rhetoric from becoming pari of the state constitution The (X'A’s Measure ') in 1992 and Measure 13 in 1994 sought to dot lam homosexuality an abomina tion and endeavored "pro let t our children" by pre venting the teaching of homosexuality in public schools. The bitter irony of tin* (X'A's agenda, however, was that none of the "spe rial rights" it was try ing to deny lesbians and gay men had ever been won. Oregon’s constitution does not prohibit discrimi nation on the basis of sexual orientation. Non-heterosex ual people have no protec tion from dis< rimination in employment, housing or access to education in most parts of the state. As such. Measures fJ and 13 wore aimed at "protecting" Ore gonians from an invented threat that does not exist, Men n wh i I a. Col or*do fa< ed its own battto against discrimination with the passing of Amendment 2, which nullified city gay rights ordinances ami pre vented further attempts to win civil rights for gay men and lesbians. The constitu tionality of tile amendment will lie argued before the U S. Supreme Court this month If the Court finds Amendment 2 unconstitu tional. it could prevent gov ernment sanctioned d is < rimination nationwide. Through it all. gay men and lesbians have continued to fight for their basic right to live honestly with them selves and the world. Every day. gay and lesbian people stand up for who they are and refuse to cower to the fear and ignorance of others They refuse to feel ashamed They have marched and protested, painted and writ ten They have lived, loved and died They have gained civil rights protection in nine states and hundreds of cities They have battled against AIDS and ignorance They are succeeding because they have refused to remain silent And that's something worth celebrat ing. in* (kopon (WilwM n MKntml am, thongti t.Mn a&ny ro kkw* «w *<« iwut om IBM win *o«8 ** wnram ti w» Oagop (Ski I •« PuEroms tow M EM wrotw* tK »agu> l>ogon AwtogiiiatuKitiMitM MliMMcnwnftI«arai>«idMDiMilii>*i j"M» *1 SMM iOOoO EM I'6 Momma tmon (Main ivnM IM apron ai #» tnwou aaavtoi h»a wjrw) mm room* mo opn ion OE EM OOEUMMII EM IimiM *1 f«s**e (wopni* IM oofis-okaf torom Of uw eo poon'i n e*uokouem Em Ion loro IS COMO 0»no IIU< *IM|»| iro laiftsanmu Boo** Oum*o> Sorvor Moo*™ MlMtoro oiMtobroo Crooooookv Union™ I Mui mow «n I u«Md* umu i row Somomho Mow M«*0' tOotoMo tody lom. «Ma> Hagono Enono ui > Sons. #n»n Wcroco HoOool OcBiMot *my CeknntK «K> Jaonro Coro Ooufl n wr\j toora IiOrtS *n»M* s»s- Ms t Mctyi* mmOMrnma *ow»u Oort*** Put Sdinnro ton Mmol Iomoisim««l lonoMnonto Oma MOiMo t«nma «•** iu« worn ountMooro M Boys toroi Pome «me» ImiMO m*. tM« ski Ooltoo soon (Mon oM> Urotol uoina 8*t»fl l >! 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Snowss mro-m UMkoot Voovg konoou *on> toBuno wanooto* Judy C<mno»y Ottorooon MI JGMfOA jflkftlonj kkorooro MO Mil Otioioy Unumi MO 1111 Ontoaoto (Mtt* MO MU Ciotomoo OOontnoo MO OM) 2a Oregon Daily EmerakS Tuoosciay Octobei 3. 1996 I GRADt/ATfO FRoHV MK»H SCMOOC Z wjfwT cook»hc> *or a joe. f INAUV, VCABf CATER ( Z WAVS EvERy DEGREE THERE IS ^ Tt> GET. Vcx/CC Tt>o you»4<. 4M0 u*»€f>ucAT£0. GO SACK TO Sc«£>oC. SO TXJfN GRATKMTf JCHOOt. mtu **OTWH<>. r MK* Hx, 11 StT>nLm\n) JJ LETTERS The ‘Big Lie’ The purpose of tins letter is to warn those college students among your readers who are about to make the mistake of their lives by tolling their souls and entering the U S. military with the hopes of a c enter. l urge you all to ignore the recruiting hype, atul look at the reality that has tie fallen those, who like me. bought into the "Big lie" a gen eration ago As a bright young unuurgrad, I foil for the hype of the military, "Bo ait you tan tit', gain valuable experience, the discipline will help you later on." etc. Now I find. J7 years later. I am a prod uct of the military-industrial com plex, with lots of knowledge about how to eliminate an ene my, hut without marketable skills ■ mi etime > my, I \ en w orse, when l interview for new toils, most companies' personnel manager* are hyphenated-named feminists who have always viewed the military with open hostility Military members receive this kind of treatment even though wtt brought an end to the Sovvet menace and have placed our lives on the line for this country in numerous “regional conflicts." I am so 11roil of boating "Wall, we really have nothing for a man with your background, perhaps something in maintenance?” Get a clue. The military is down-siting, and at the same tune the leadership is falling all over itself to increase minority percentages, t.e white males need not apply However, minority members also need to think about where they will lie in the military 10 years from now, compared to how far a real fob in the civilian sector might take them. Our civilian leaders contin ue to use the military for every social experiment that they can dream up. instead of as the fight ing force it was meant to be 1 suppose those smug SOBs will feel great as the l S, Army goes down in defeat in the next major war Well, at least we had a sta tistically representative sample of the population annihilated. they'll say I do no! oppose a short two vivir tour in the military, hut don’t throw your life away by serving a government that doesn't give a damn about you or your fami ly Our military will string you along until you ore at the peak of your financial obligations, then announce it is time to “right siae,” mooning you an* fired. And you are left without any retire ment. or the civilian-oriented skills once promised in those flashy "He one of us” ads Don't be like me. don't buy into the "Big Lie." J. Tyler Richmond, Va Poor inevitable It soerns strange to read an tsdi torinl in a student newspaper al»out poor young people need ing to be eliminated from public: streets as part of a "clean up," it makes me wonder if the author of tins unsigned editorial is actual ly taking classes at this great uni versity or just sitting in an ivory tower writing hate mail. If the editor wants to look at this situation from an economic point of view, he or she should read John K, Galbraith's Eco nomics and the Public, Purpose, whic h describes our economy as the best-regulated in history The U S. economy uses money sup ply and interest rates to control unemployment, growth and demand If Alan Greenspan wanted to reduce unemployment to 3 or 4 percent, he could do it easily. Of course, he realizes that this would drive the price of lalxir up. People on the street are money in management's pocket in view of present policies, unemployed people are inevitable, structural. Tlie Emerald recommends that these poor apply at fast food restaurants Of course, many have, and some are presently working — say 26 hours at S5 an hour That won't get you into an apartment. Others could have afforded to go to the University a few years ago Just what would the Emer ald have them do? This editor is upset because these poor people sometimes smile. I say thank God for the human spirit. Larry Rude Philosophy. Central Washington University Jesus anti-family? 'Hie Christian Coalition's "Con tract with the American Family" is n hi# lie and a misrepresenta tion of Jesus Christ's scriptural teachings, which are actually quite anti-family. In Matthew 10:34-38, Jesus said he had come to bring intra-family discord and urged people to leave their fam ilies and follow him In Luke 14:26 he demanded that his dis ciples “hate" their families. In Matthew 19:29 he urged his fol lowers to "forsake" their families. In Matthew 8:21-22 and Luke 9:59-60, he denied a disciple's request for family leave to bury his father. Jesus curtly replied, "Follow me and let the dead bury their dead.” In Mark 3:31-35 and in Luke 8:20-21, Jesus snubbed his bio logical family who had come to see him. He claimed that the assembled crowd, not his moth er and brothers, was his family. Yes, Jesus had brothers — and sisters - us related in Matthew I t 55-56. Mark 6 3, John 7:3, 7:5, Galatians 1 19 and Acts 1:14 Many Christians are so blinded by the doctrine of the perpetual virginity «t Mary and the ideal of sexless, alistineiit "(anphite" mar riage that they are too ambarriuwod to bring themselves to admit this. Partly based on the false prophecy that the Second (dom ing was imminent (Matthew 16:2B, Mark 9:1 and Luke 9:27. 21:32). early Christians such as St. Paul (1 Corinthians 7:B-9. 29. 32 34) frowned upon marriage but patronizingly granted "permis sion" for those lacking self-con trol since it was "better to marry than to bum." This anti-sex. anti marriage ascetic bias lives on today in strict celibacy require ments for the ruling hierarchy of the largest Christian sect, the Roman Catholic Chun:h Clearly, they believe that having a family is detrimental to religious life. Jim Senyszyn Highland Park, N.J. TtWUF/C CREDENTIALS ] BUT WERE Looking ,» for ionveowe I \ Vt>ONG£R TVALSf 7?
