Martorano’s opinions don’t represent true conservatism
Guest commentary
Vincent Martorano, in his guest
commentary (“Homosexual men
should hide their disgusting acts,”
ODE, May 9), manages to call him
self a conservative while complete
ly ignoring what are truly conserva
tive principles.
I will not begrudge him the right
to hold such opinions because he is
certainly within his rights to do so,
but the modem political philosophy
of conservatism has no need for po
litical views designed to use person
al morals as a template for proper
societal behavior.
True conservatism, as a broad po
litical philosophy, rests on the sanc
tity of the individual, of individual
rights and individual freedoms. Fur
thermore, conservatism is founded
upon the individual right to choose.
A society is simply a group of indi
viduals who have, for whatever rea
son, chosen to live together under a
set of guidelines. Proper gover
nance, therefore, ensures that the
sanctity of individual rights is pro
tected; and that people do not go
around doing this which will rip so
ciety apart (e.g. theft, murder, etc.).
The second duty is really an ex
tension of the first — for instance,
individuals have a right not to have
their things stolen or their lives tak
en. Martorano apparently does not
understand this and wishes to see
the rights of some individuals limit
ed. There are no societal costs of ho
mosexual relationships, but there
are great costs for the liberty of
those individuals being limited. If
some individuals are told to stay in
the closet, individual freedom is on
a slippery slope to hell. For a discus
sion of exactly why there are no
negative societal costs for homosex
ual rights, including marriage,
check out James Miller’s Informa
tion Sextemalities (available at
http://www.techcentralstation.com/
1051/techwrapper.jsp?PID=1051
250&CID=1051-042403G).
The violations of personal free
dom that Martorano would like to
inflict upon homosexual individuals
are egregious. And, as a conserva
tive, I find them incredibly disturb
ing. Not as disturbing as recent
comments by Sen. Rick San to rum,
R-Pa., because Martorano’s opinion
is only his, but his opinion amounts
to “well, be gay, just don’t be gay.”
It is sad that someone calling
himself a conservative would want
to limit individual freedom, a free
dom that has no costs for society, in
such a way. As the old adage goes,
“Get (the government) out of my
bedroom and get out of my ar
mory.” Perhaps Martorano should
spend more time reading truly con
servative thinkers than being of
fended by two individuals’ display of
affection for one another.
“On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill
would not be a bad place for Martora
no to start, nor would anything by
John Locke, Thomas Hobbes,
Thomas Jefferson or Jean Jacques
Rousseau. Even David Hume or
Adam Smith would not be poor
choices, although the latter is more of
an economist than a political thinker.
Whatever he chooses to do, Mar
torano should realize that he has no
business calling himself a conservative
because he obviously does not respect
individual liberty enough to do so.
Timothy Dreier is a junior economics
major and is managing editor of the
Oregon Commentator.
Letters to the editor
Homophobes should
look inside the closet
May I offer some advice to Vin
cent Martorano, who wrote that
“Homosexual men should hide their
disgusting acts” (ODE, May 9)?
Vincent, if you are not afraid of
homosexuals (read: afraid that you
might be a homosexual) and if you
are so content in a heterosexual
skin, then why do you care what
homosexuals do in the privacy of
their homes?
Usually when a man is secure in
his own sexual orientation, that of
others is of no interest to him. In
fact, tests have shown that the
most homophobic men are those
who are sexually aroused by homo
sexual pom!
When you state that you see the
“absolutely disturbing display of
two homosexual men making out,”
do you mean that the two have
their genitals in view and are per
forming a sex act, or that they are
holding hands and kissing?
The things that we do in pri
vate are exactly the same as
most heterosexual couples do!
See if you can find a TV sexual
advice show called the Sunday
Sex Show with Sue Johansen.
You would learn a lot.
Gil Williams
Spring Hill, Fla.
Martoranos opinion
calls for homophobia,
double standards
This letter is in response to Vin
cent Martorano’s commentary re
garding homosexual behavior (“Ho
mosexual men should hide their
disgusting acts,” ODE, May 9). Al
though his letter was aimed at men
in particular, I fit into the “homo
sexual” category, and I feel com
pelled to respond.
What struck me most was Mar
torano’s insistence that he is not
homophobic, he merely believes
that homosexuality is “a disgrace to
society.” I don’t know what he
thinks homophobia is, but that
sounds like it to me.
However, I do not expect to
change his or anyone else’s mind
from this little bit of commentary,
but I would like to tell him that if
he does not like to see “two homo
sexual men making out,” he
shouldn’t watch. No one is asking
him to watch, just like no one asks
me to look at the numerous hetero
sexuals making out all over campus
every day. And besides, if you can
do it, why can’t we?
In conclusion, I am glad that
Martorano is comfortable with his
sexuality — I only wish that he
would give others the opportuni
ty to be comfortable with theirs.
While he does not have to like, or
even accept, the idea that not
everyone is heterosexual, I do ex
pect him, as “a fairly tolerant
guy” to accept the fact that not
everyone is just like him, and
that we are all entitled to live how
we choose.
jody Gennerella
junior
history, women and
gender studies
Halt-page ads promoted
police state, terror
I was highly disturbed to see a
half-page advertisement in the
Emerald that promoted police state
propaganda. Even more disturbing
is that this ad was sponsored by
two groups set up to address stu
dent issues. Every point in the ad
vertisement is false.
The purpose is to terrorize the
campus community into avoiding
demonstrations, rallies and other
constitutionally protected gath
erings. True, you can be cited or
arrested for not dispersing when
police give an order to do so.
However, no judge will uphold
such a charge unless one physi
cally interferes with the official
duties of a police officer. Stu
dents should never be made
afraid of the police.
They are our protectors, our ser
vants and our employees; they
must never become our terrorists.
Jeffrey Stout
Eugene
segregated prom nas
no place in society
I just want to say good job on
Salena De La Cruz’s article about
the segregated prom (“Turning
back the clock on civil rights,”
ODE, May 12). I myself read that
article, and I was shocked, too!
I mean, what are people think
ing letting something like this go
on? But I just wanted you to
know that I do agree with what
you say — it’s just not right.
Being a Mexican myself, I may
not face the same prejudice as
an African American, but speak
ing as a minority, one can only
hope that eventually people will
realize times have changed. So
once again, I just want to say
great job!
Gabino Salgado Jr.
Northwest Christian College
sophomore, undeclared
Kudos to Emerald for
drug issue coverage
I’ve been meaning to drop you
guys a line all year. I want to thank
you for the Emerald’s consistent
coverage of drug issues. So often
newspaper articles on that subject
present only one side of the story
and leave me feeling that I have
read bullshit smeared on paper
rather than newsprint.
The Emerald is different; I don’t
see any bias about drugs. A college
paper had better have updates
about drug issues because, like it or
not, nearly every college student
encounters them. Keep up the good
work and consider me an ally.
Dan Hanson
Eugene
Anti-abortion ‘shock
and awe’ campaign had
positive effects
I wish to thank you for taking the
time to share your feelings (“Anti
abortion group distorts message
with photographs,” ODE, May 2)
with regard to the bold exposition
of aborted babies. Like yourself,
my original reaction to this type of
display was shock, and I was admit
tedly uncomfortable.
However, I have had an opportu
nity to look into the results of this
exercise and have discovered some
interesting facts. Lives — unborn
babies, of course, but especially
women’s lives — have been affect
ed in a very positive way. Some
have discovered their creator and
others have decided to not kill their
babies as a direct result of having
seen these displays.
I recently visited my alma
mater and experienced these dis
plays. I soon found myself watch
ing not the display, but the people
who would walk by it. I could see
the students’ minds processing
some very new and, for them,
“real” information.
There was one female student
in particular who was riding her
bike and was instantly attracted
to the display. I watched as she
slowed down, took a quick glance
and then stopped, assimilating
the information she had just en
countered. She inched closer,
eventually taking in each and
every picture. She asked for and
received some written informa
tion and then walked off ever so
slowly, taking a look back every
now and then.
I’m still uncomfortable with the
style and presentation but feel I un
derstand what kind of positive im
pact a “shock and awe” campaign
can have.
Jim Harrison
Westerville, Ohio
MAY 12- 18
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