From: Anton Sherwood (dasher@netcom.com)
Date: Tue Jul 29 1997 - 20:50:16 MDT
I agree with E.Shaun's remarks about Gays and other groups that
"just want to be accepted." Identifying themselves *as* a group
is, to some extent, counterproductive.
To the frequent refrain "Why should I be the only one not allowed
to mention my love life? Why should I live a lie?", I say, false
dichotomy! There's a difference between mentioning one's chosen
partner, in context, and wearing a flag.
Most of my (male) "queer" friends don't go to the parades, don't wear
leather caps, ... any more than I dress as an atheist, whatever that
might mean. It's just something one does, or doesn't.
Natasha said gay pride has become (forgive me if I mis-paraphrase)
an expression of individualism. Around here, I think it's more the
opposite: anyone visibly gay is presumed socialist.
Why one should seize on a matter of taste as the essence of one's
identity, I may never understand (though I did suffer some ridicule
as a long-haired boy).
Anton Sherwood *\\* +1 415 267 0685 *\\* DASher@netcom.com
Everybody wants to be a victim. And the paradox is that victim status
accrues precisely to those who can acquire enough clout to make others
afraid of them. Victimhood has become one of the fruits of power.
Anyone can be an underdog; the trick is to be a registered, pedigreed
underdog. ---Joseph Belloc Sobran
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 14:44:40 MST