Badpuppy Gay Today |
Monday 25 August, 1997 |
In the face of boycotts from radical religious groups, including the Christian Family Network and the American Family Association, Universal Press Syndicate and cartoonist Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse featured a storyline running August 20-23 about Lawrence dealing with his boyfriend's (Ben) move to Paris. While helping the Pattersons landscape the garden, Lawrence tells his straight best friend Michael about the pain that he is going to feel when Ben leaves. He says, "Man, I can't believe I'm actually telling you this." Michael then replies, "And would you believe that I actually understand." On August 22, Michael related his own relationship experiences, "It's the joy of having had that time together that makes it all worthwhile--it's the laughs, the memories and all the good stuff you've shared--that make falling in love...worth the risk." When Lawrence came out, Michael had an especially hard time accepting the news. For Better of For Worse is a family-friendly comic strip, and Lawrence grew up with the Patterson kids as readers watched. His coming out story several years ago, and now the discussion of his boyfriend's move to Paris, underscores how, for many Americans, lesbian and gay family, friends and peers are just part of life. Lynn Johnston has ingeniously included Lawrence as an ordinary part of the Patterson family's world, and Universal Press Syndicate is supportive of Johnston. GLAAD suggests readers thank local papers that have included the gay-friendly storyline. These papers are supportive of a unity in diversity that characterizes Americam communities at their best. Contact: Lynn Johnston, For Better or For Worse, Universal Press Syndicate, 4900 Main Street, 9th Floor, Kansas City, MO 64112-2644; Web Site to access series: http://www.uclick.com/demo/ GLAAD officials are also pointing to those in the media who comprise the approximately 30 newspapers which considered not running the gay-inclusive storyline in For Better or For Worse. On August 20, for example, the Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle featured an anti-gay editorial on the subject. Referring to "'Lawrence and his homosexual 'friend,'" the Chronicle writes, "It's instructive that this be the topic of community debate, especially in light of some successful efforts in recent years by primarily Christian therapists and support groups to convert homosexuals back to a healthier lifestyle." It continues, "Why don't trendy religious leaders want to foster the scholarly search for truth, whose foundations are found in the Scriptures?... Yes, let's talk about 'Lawrence.' Is our editorial opposition to unhealthy same-gender sexual relationships 'an attempt to impose our values on others,' which is the usual liberal line? Our response is simply this: Someone's values are ultimately going to prevail in this ongoing cultural battle. Why not the values of our founding fathers and the Judeo-Christian tradition which made this country great?" The final two sentences strike the heart of the difference between the work of organizations like GLAAD or newsmags like Badpuppy's GayToday and the counterproductive work of radical religious hate groups and ill-informed "journalists" such as the judgmental editors of the Augusta Chronicle. While progressive organizations and individuals see America (and the intentions of the founding fathers) as cherishing of a multiplicity of attitudes, values and beliefs and a tolerance for all people regardless of sexual orientation or religion, the Chronicle editors see it as an either/or proposition: Either everyone must toe the line of a single, rigidly anti-gay fundamentalist value system, regardless of their own individual beliefs or identity, or radical religious groups feel as if they are somehow "losing" the "cultural battle." Freedom and equality are big enough for all of us, even if we do not fit the arbitrary interpretations of the Bible as set out by a radical minority of Christian Americans. The Augusta Chronicle needs to be told that a variety of values can coexist in a free society--that is what our country is based upon. In addition, local newspapers who have denied readers the opportunity to decide for themselves must know that to stand against diversity is to stand for intolerance. Contact: John Fish, Managing Editor, Augusta Chronicle, P.O. Box 1928, Augusta, GA 30903, Fax: 706-722-7403, e-mail: |
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