 |
|
Pen Points
Letters to Gay Today |
|
Talking Back to Gore Vidal
There are also many books from Japanese, Muslim and other cultures that present gays as healthy and worthy of respect. These were written long before Vidal was born, and even before the term "media whore" was invented. Along with this falsehood, let us not forget that Vidal never has been at the forefront of gay activism. It took a long time for him to come out of the closet to the media. And I mean really, when was the last time Vidal hauled his ass out there and fought for gay insurance rights or any other civil right for that matter? By his tone, one would think he is Coretta Scott King. Well, Gore darling, you're not. Nevertheless, Vidal brought up these important civil rights issues and, of course the media panders. So let's take a look at what he said. And when we look at his opinions we see he takes the narrowest of definitions and sets them up as paper tigers.
What hate crimes legislation addresses is the fact that the courts are prejudiced against racial, gender and sexual minorities. The fact is the Chinese lesbian boiling in wonton would not be included because our bigoted judges would deem it unworthy. Furthermore, the police would most likely not even report such crimes, since they also have a record of bigotry. All hate crimes legislation says is that motivation must be included, and this includes crimes motivated by race, gender and sexual orientation. And to be sure that society gets the message, crimes of this sort will carry stiff punishments. Society needs to get this message. Up until this time there has been silence on the part of the police and the courts, which in turn, makes the criminal think it's okay to boil Chinese lesbians in wonton soup. This is what I mean by Vidal setting up paper tigers. He forgets that the law is fluid and changes with the needs of the society. At the moment, society needs to know that all this mayhem and murder against racial, gender and sexual minorities must stop and it will no longer be tolerated by the police and courts. Yes we should fund social welfare and cut military spending. But funding social welfare isn't some abstract. You must start where the problems are the worst. So we fund our courts and police for hate crimes legislation. We fund gay marriages. Vidal's thinking represents a new trend in gay and lesbian theory. It most often can be heard from those who are wealthy, famous and/or entrenched in large city culture. They live in a pink bubble where they can create perfect scenarios. And since everything goes well in their world, it must be true, for them and for everyone. Then they deem the rest of us as non-issues; the rest of us being anyone who does not fit neatly into said scenario. The list goes on and on: Camille Paglia, Michelangelo Signorile, Gore Vidal, Dan Savage, to name a few. This type of rich and famous thinking has poisoned political activism. The rich and/or famous set the agenda and use their power to condemn those less fortunate. And the condemnation always has the tone of their class. To our lords and ladies, we, the poor and the working poor, are non-issues. We are not on the agenda. Marriage? Well that's for those pathetic little people who can't envision free gay love, as exemplified by the Circuit Party and Fire Island. And Hate Crimes? Well, it's silly. Some working stiff who gets beat up for being queer will get the same justice as, say, a multi-millionaire media star. After all this is America. Well, I say, how nice for Vidal that he does not need the benefits of marriage. How nice that his limo drives him past the streets where he might be harassed and beaten. How totally fucking great that he lives in New York, London, Paris and spends his free time in gay resorts. Not much worry of being boiled in wonton. In fact, the crowd Vidal hangs around is more likely to be doing the boiling. All that American wealth and class keeps a lot of people enslaved so that Vidal can pontificate from his throne and moan about all the non-issues bothering him today. I say, don't be fooled by the demented imaginings of the upper class and the famous. When they have to fight to get a scrap of benefits from this society, when they have to walk down the streets like the rest of us, then they will understand the need for liberal marriage laws and hate crime laws. Until then, they can just fuck off.
Jim Ru The Bible Compared to Mein Kampf?
The Bible is a book, not a doctrine. If churches have doctrines against homosexuality, it is the fault of those in charge, and not of the book itself, since The Bible is comprised of many books written throughout the centuries. The book of Leviticus is, of course, one of them. However, Christ himself came and gave a new light on the laws of that and other books. Take, for example, the prostitute who was to be stoned, and Jesus challenged "those who have no sin, to throw the first stone" The Bible has many interpretations, and a very good one is shared by the gay Christian communities who do find comfort in the book, specially the new testament, for their spiritual pains without having to feel guilty for their sexual preferences. I offer the link of Bahia's gay group, where they have a very interesting article (in Portuguese) on the subject. Speakers of Spanish will have little difficulty understanding it. The link is: www.ggb.org.br/cristao.html
All the best,
Jim Fouratt Says Boycotting the March is Wrong
Guess what! Heterosexuals in the U.S. have SPECIAL RIGHTS!
On Primary day in California a showdown on the right to marry took place. Proposition 22, the Knight Initiative, would make illegal same sex marriage in California. It swept the ballot box. Four million votes for the institutionalization of "special rights" for heterosexual Californians. Again bigots have used the ballot box as a way to subvert the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. This shocking display of California voters naked bias is a reality check to me of just how willing, engaged people are to render us collectively second class citizens. Statewide Results - California Proposition 22 Limit on Marriage YES-- 4,160,706 61.4% NO-- 2,617,838 38.6% 100% of precincts reporting. So it got me thinking about the Millennium March On Washington. The recent move by liberal politicians and a good number of the self declared leaders of the lesbian and gay political movement towards an acceptance of 'Domestic Partner" regulations that grant most but not all of the special rights given to heterosexuals when they are married in a state accepted ritual is disturbing to me. "Domestic Partner" regulations creates a special class of gay and lesbian citizenry that are separate but not equal. Try to tell the US partner in a bi-national relationship that they and their love one will be protected and you will get a painful earful of despair. Deportation is still mandated under these new "domestic partner" rule for same sex, bi-national couples. As a signer of the Ad Hoc Call for an Open Process and until 1/01/00 a member of its core group, I have questioned the PROCESS of calling the MMOW on April 30 in Washington, DC. The discussion initiated by the Ad Hoc call was a healthy one. In particular the questions raised by the People of Color communities have raised consciousness on the issue of access and power in the visible Lesbian and Gay community. I believe we grow as a community when we engage in such a public conversation. Unfortunately much of the current debate centers not on reality but on a goodgal/badgal mentality Many good people are in the middle and confused on what to do about the MMOW. Remember marriage is not the core issue, but equal rights, equal protection under the law. All of us are affected. A call to boycott the MMOW is wrong in my view. Now more than ever it is time for us ... all of us in our diversity ... to COME OUT for equal protection under the law. While we in-fight, the real world crashes in .. I'm going to DC. I'm going to COME OUT and stand up for Lesbian and Gay people. The politics of sponsoring organizations do not take precedence over my fight for freedom. If we all stand up, than those organizations who speak for us will need to become accountable to us. Will anyone else on the fence join me at the MMOW? We can march together. The principles of the Ad Hoc Call remain ... but it is time to stand up for what we believe in the public arena. Marches are a good place to have political conversations with the rest of our collective community. COME OUT and join me. Dare to struggle .... dare to win No more Dr Laura's ..... No more killings,..bashing .. hate COME OUT for Justice. COME OUT for freedom. COME OUT for Equal Treatment under the Law COME OUT and build a visible, diverse Lesbian and Gay Community
Jim Fouratt, |
Gore Vidal recently spoke out against legalized marriages 
Peter Tatchell 
© 1997-2000 BEI