Message Board

Steven writes:

"The character is slowly, inwardly changed by and through God's love. This is not to say that everyone of the same condition has to change or that you're evil and undeserving if you don't change or somehow less important. I go to great lengths to show that (in my story) God accepts us, all of us, as we are."

Whenever I hear arguments such as that presented above, I toss back: If the "condition" referenced were skin color, i.e., if one were black, as opposed to gay, would...or rather, COULD you present the same argument, without being labeled a racist? No, of course not, because being black is not a "condition". Being black is not something that God's love, no matter how almighty, can change. Likewise, gay is not a "condition", anymore than race is. It's a luck of the genetic draw. It's not a 'lifestyle' or a controllable 'condition', such as being predisposed to obesity. Yes, I whole-heartedly agree, overweight persons are, unquestionably discriminated against. However...HOWEVER, simply being overweight does not relegate one to a second class citizenry. The overweight, as long as they declare their heterosexuality, are free to marry, free to publicly express their affection for their opposite-sex partners, free to all the legal perks that hets enjoy under the existing laws that concurrently deny homosexuals THEIR constitutional rights. And, Steven, tell me, how many overweight heterosexuals are, each year, attacked, beaten, and killed because of their "condition"? Matthew Shepherd. Ring a bell? The states which currently have laws specific to "hate crimes" do so with respect to minorities of race, religion and sexual orientation; they do not include conditions such as obesity, as there is not a sufficient record of criminal incidence to justify it.

If you're fully intent on submitting to OUTFEST, I'd suggest you educate yourself more seriously on gay issues. Get to know gay people. Ask them about their lives and experiences. Brandon, a poster whose remarks wreak of "acceptable" bigotry, repeatedly mentioned how sick he was of gays being too obsessed with their own gayness. This is the perspective of one who has no clue as to what it is to be gay in a gay-hating society...or to be any minority of oppression, for that matter. This is the very sentiment echoed forty years ago during the civil rights movement by whites who condescended to the outcries of an entire oppressed black nation, people whose cries simply called for equality: to rights constitutionally accorded them but daily, and often violently, denied. Remember, Christians not so long ago, justified their abuse and social oppression of blacks through "God's word" and the "word of the bible" and today, it's the same--only now that Christian sword of holier-than-thou judgement is levied at society's last remaining scapegoat: gays. The only reason whites/Christians stopped using God/the Bible against blacks was because they were forced to, by federal law...and the fear of race riots. Because gays are less organized and less prone to physical aggression, we have been and continue to be fair game for Christian persecution. Steven, imagine OUTFEST were a black writers' contest, not one for gays, and imagine submitting the premise of "a gay man slowly and inwardly changes, through God's love..." Despite what you may think, to gays and lesbians, this is NOT a gay-positive message. God loves and accepts us for who or what we are...without the CONDITION of change. Don't ask a black to change their skin color. Don't ask someone who's inherently gay...or straight...to change their sexual orientation in order to gain God's love. To do so is not only an hypocrisy, but an indictment of--not the church's--but one's own intolerance.

Frederick, as you've tried to censure me by deleting my original registration, I suspect you'll delete this one too. Have at it. It won't stop me from speaking out on gay rights or rightfully pointing a finger at those who would promote anti-gay, anti-civil rights sentiments. By censuring me, and the voice of the gay community, it's clear which side of humanity's fence you stand on.