4 J U S t O U t • november 19. 2004
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BfSHN o u t
Blatant bigotry hardly
co n stitutes m oral valu es
brave people who stand up against inequality
Be ashamed of what you have done. Be
despite facing huge personal and political risks. , ashamed of the level to which you have sunk.
To the E ditor :
S parky L indsay
hat an outrage that blame would he laid
for President Bush’s re-election on those
who helped promote equality for gay and les
bian people. W ere the abolitionists who openly
defied slave laws the cause of the secession of
the slaveholding South and the Civil War that
followed.' Were the courageous German citizens
who spoke against the ever-increasing restric
tions and scapegoating of the German Jews
responsible for Hitler’s rise to the chancellor
ship.' Were the clergymen who supported and
married interracial couples in the South respon
sible for the persecution that followed with the
reinforcement of more racist Jim Crow laws.'
If there is a connection between the re-
election of Bush and the issue of gay marriage,
the responsibility lies squarely in the hands of
the “architect," Karl Rove, and the others in
the Republican Party leadership who immoral
ly used the issue to inflame existing age-old
bigotry, fear and ignorance about gay and les
bian people. Also, the responsibility lies in the
hands of the leaders of those evangelical
churches that chose to further heat the drum of
gay-baiting, claiming that sexual minorities
(who, despite false assertions, do not ch<x>se
their orientation) are nothing more than sin
ful, hedonistic child corrupters who are less
than full, real, normal people and therefore do
not deserve equality.
This blatant bigotry is being called “moral
values” even though it is hardly moral to defile,
debase and discriminate against a minority
group just because they are Kirn differently and
are lesser in size and weaker stKially and politi
cally than the majority. It is wrong to practice
bigotry, and it is equally wrong to blame the
D in a h S m ith
i Salem
Portland
An open letter to the
people off Oregon
To the E ditor :
N ice co ver art, but...
To the E ditor :
our Nov. 5 cover is one I believe I shall
keep to show people the day (yes, it WILL
get here someday!) same-sex marriages are given
the same due respect and dignity that opposite-
sex ones receive. The image of the drinking
fountains is powerful and thought-provoking. It
made my heart lurch from myriad emotions.
However, I would just like to say that it
appears a bisexual person like me gets no water
in the dichotomous equation presented in the
cover image. T hat makes my heart lurch even
more from another example of the invisibility (if
some queer people.
ow dare you.' How dare you tell me I’m less
than you.' How dare you have me face
every person I know, meet or interact with each
day and wonder if they are part of the 56 percent
of you who believe you are better than I am and
that you deserve rights I do not have.
How dare you hide behind schxxilchildren
and make this issue aK>ut their “protection.”
W hat aKuit the children in schcxil who ques
tion their own self-worth, their own sanity,
because they don’t fir the mold.'
Do you feel safer now.' Help me understand
how preventing others from marrying protects
your marriage. Are your marriages so fragile they
can he shaken by the events of people you don’t
even know?
In a state where “live and let live” has always
been the forefront of evefy argument, how can
you justify this?
Oregon has joined the ranks of Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia and South C ar
olina (to name a few) in furthering the cause of
discrimination. Don’t ever dare joke aKuit those
states being “backward" and “ignorant” again.
Don't ever dare think of yourself on higher
ground than states that put politics in pulpits and
hedrcxxns, and plaster religious documents in
their courthouses and courtrmms. Don’t dare
look with disdain and distaste at states that allow
a Confederate flag to fly ak w e their capitols. You
are no better. 1 am appalled by your hyptxrrisy.
hoever decided to use the photo of straight
and gay drinking fountains on the last issue’s
cover has the political consciousness of a rix;k.
O ur struggle for equality and liberation is
very real; however, we should use caution when
deciding what images should reflect that strug
gle. It’s not a k x jt the drinking fountains, or rid
ing in the hack of the bus, or fire hoses and G er
man shepherds. O ur work for true equality for us
is sound and right and dixzs not need to he
linked with any other groups’ oppression.
you feel about the 2004 election
results! Should we be grateful for
local victories, or should we be more
alarmed about national setbacks!
end. To Sam Adams and Tom Potter, congratu
lations and hold on tight!
fine, I’m willing to he that villain, and they are
going to regret it.
S c o t t S eibert
Portland
B en S m it h
Portland
ay people must take a gixxl look at what is
going on within the Democratic Party as it
relates to this issue. I saw numerous signs posted
in people’s yards for John Kerry as well as for
Yes on 36.
Combine that with Bill Clinton attempting
to push Kerry to support local anti-gay initia
tives and you really have to wonder aKxjt those
who say they stand with us. I, for one, never
trusted Clinton; now I have the proof.
T he gay marriage issue is never going to work
for us. Like it or not, we will he living with a
Republican majority for several years. It is time to
work with them on a domestic partner contract
law, which President Bush said he would support.
here is no way to predict what impact Mea
sure 36 will have. Safe to say, it won’t he
pretty. All across this nation, gays have found
themselves on the front lines of the cultural civil
war. Measure 36 has relegated us to second-class
citizenship.
If you’re not alarmed, you should be. These
measures send a very dangerous message, and
you can he sure we will he feeling the repercus
sions for years to come. As the battle heats up, I
wonder what’s next. Maybe we’ll see something
like the Japanese Family Leave A ct of 1942,
where thousands o f Americans o f Japanese
descent were rounded up and put into camps
(for their own protection).
I, for one, will not go quietly. Stay vigilant,
and don’t let the bastards grind you down.
ju st hn n rrn i How do
G
S t e v e S m it h
Portland
• • •
T
Portland
Political co n scio u sn e ss
off a ro ck
To the E ditor :
• • •
T
D a vid F lynn
Portland
• • •
hank you to Basic Rights Oregon for fight
ing Ballot Measure 36. We won TWICE
the vole of any other state— due in part to
strong leadership, hundreds of volunteers and
the personal stories shared by thousands of gay
Oregonians with their families, co-workers and
friends. We have come a long way, and I hope
the community doesn’t decide to “eat our own"
as we have in the past just because we lost in the
L isa D essen -O c a o a
I
say we riot like hell. Let’s bum, pillage, bust
windows, flip cars, bring the streets to com
plete and utter chaos. I’m sick of this shit; it’s
time to stop being nice.
If they are going to paint us as people who
are out to ruin the world, I say fine, let them do
it, and then let’s give it to them, give these idiots
what they want. If what they want is a villain,
• • •
W
e should be grateful for local victories,
primarily because there were so few. Each
one is more valuable for its rarity. We should
not, however, he satisfied with those victories.
If the national election tells us anything, it is
that our civil rights and human rights in gener
al are in peril. President Bush’s policies, includ
ing Supreme Court appointments, will only
erode what rights the gay community has and
will almost certainly turn back the chxzk on
constitutional rights for all citizens.
I am particularly discouraged by the passage of
Measure 36. I’ve always felt that Oregonians were
tolerant and open-minded, and I’m hugely dis
appointed to know that the majority of my neigh-
k>rs endorse discrimination for the sake of some
(Xitdated image of marriage and family. Bush’s fear
tactics worked on the majority of Oregon voters.
It is sad that they are unable or unwilling to think
through the issues for themselves.
Bush doesn’t care what “equal protection of
laws” means. He does, however, fully understand
that creating fear and division among the people
gets him the power he wants. Freethinking, rea
sonable people must take the country hack, or it’s
g(xxlbye progress, tolerance and civil rights and
hello 1^50s repression and enforced conformity.
P a t r ic ia H a n s e n
Portland