In re Shaun Russell's comments about 'rights groups': I share many
of your concerns, Shaun, and have spent much of my semiretirement as
an activist trying to help my core groups overcome some of those
pitfalls. But I have found in working on several issue areas,
including women's rights, peace, etc., that gay issues really cluster
around the type of 'ground zero' issues that relate to basic human
existence and self-determination. Some time is devoted to fluff
issues involving terminology and whatnot, but most time is spent on
the more serious elements of societal coexistence, and the everpresent
threat of violence directed against the community helps to focus
people.
In re Natasha's response to my posting: I must confess to a bit of
confusion about your reply, because you seem to have broadened your
initial statement to include other groups, whereas I originally
understood you to be making an assessment of the power that my
community supposedly has right now. And, in comparing the two
assessments, I would tend to give more weight to the assessment of the
persons living and working within that community, as I would with
such an assessment about any community or group.
Sin,
Kathryn Aegis