At 11:17 AM 10/12/98 -0700, Lon J. Rombough wrote:
>I'm not disputing ther seriousness of the issue, but this doesn't really
>seem fitting for SANET.
>
>Diane Cooner wrote:
>>
>> Greetings to all;
>> I live in Guerneville California, a resort town about 1 1/2 hours north
of San
>> Francisco. Our community has served all sorts from the Bay Area for the
last 100
>> years. In the last 20 years it has been largely the gay community that
has come
>> and established 2nd homes, cleaned up the streets from the previous
>> junkies/hippies that were here, kept businesses going and really led the
way in
>> bringing back the concept of "community" to the area.
>>
>> It appalls me to see again and again that perpetrators of these hate
crimes are
>> the 20- something children of our old "Woodstock" days. If this
generation was
>> supposed to be about love, then why do we still have this rampant hate?
Why did
>> we teach our children that it was okay to do these things to others? In the
>> business world, it is also now our generation that is leading the way to
slash
>> and burn small business and our communities in the name of more profits.
What
>> kind of hypocrites have we become?
>>
>> The right-wing zealots are quick to condemn those that aren't like them,
but I
>> agree with Jane's observation that Jesus taught compassion and mercy for
the
>> disenfranchised. In fact, I was always under the impression that this
was the
>> object of all of his lessons. How then do we justify our actions that
are way to
>> the contrary?
>>
>> Many of my closest friends and favorite people are gay and lesbian, and
that's
>> their business. They are among the best and brightest people I know.
America's
>> moral crusade is full of holes.
>>
>> Diane Cooner, straight but not narrow
>>
>> Jane Sooby wrote:
>>
>> > Happy coming out day. Maybe next year we can be more joyous about it. I
>> > share these thoughts with all of you to inspire contemplation about
>> > community and inclusion, and to help break down barriers to
understanding.
>> >
>> > It's a sad story coming from Laramie, Wyoming, a university town that has
>> > had an active gay community for a number of years now and the site of a
>> > conscienceless crime against a gay man last week.
>> >
>> > >From the Associated Press:
>> >
>> > "A gay student at the University of Wyoming was savagely beaten,
burned and
>> > left to die tied to a wooden fence. Four suspects were arrested.
>> >
>> > A passer-by found Matthew Shepard, a 22-year-old political science major,
>> > bloody and unconscious Wednesday evening a mile northeast of Laramie. His
>> > skull had been smashed with a blunt object.
>> >
>> > The man who found Shepard at first thought he was a scarecrow or dummy
>> > because of the way he was positioned on the fence, police Cmdr. Dave
>> > O'Malley said."
>> >
>> > I know a lot of people--gay and straight--in Laramie and in the state of
>> > Wyoming who are walking around in shock that such a thing has occurred.
>> >
>> > To right-wing zealots who insist that homosexuality is bad and wrong,
I say,
>> > "See what your words have wrought." The constant message of hate seeps
into
>> > people's brains and encourages them to act at the most base level that
>> > humans are capable of. It enables them to dehumanize people in the
>> > particular class being characterized as bad, whether it is gays and
>> > lesbians, people of color, or people seen as different from the norm in
>> > other ways. Jesus taught a lesson of love for all including and
especially
>> > the disenfranchised.
>> >
>> > It is ironic that this sad event occurred so close to national coming out
>> > day, a time for gays and lesbians to take the next step in coming out in
>> > their lives. Harvey Milk, another martyred gay man, encouraged gays to
come
>> > out in every area of their lives to raise people's awareness. Gays and
>> > lesbians aren't depraved perverts wandering around the streets of America
>> > seeking to seduce the young or sodomize the straights. We are the people
>> > working at the bank, in the university, driving truck, teaching school,
>> > flipping burgers, etc. etc. We have and care for children, we have
pets, we
>> > love our families. The more you know us, the more you will realize how
>> > average we are. Yet the more we are terrorized, the more being ourselves
>> > threatens others, the more we will be forced to hide, to go
underground for
>> > fear of being the next victim. As we can see, this is not a baseless
fear.
>> >
>> > I welcome any questions or comments.
>> >
>> > Jane Sooby
>> >
>> > University of Nebraska-Lincoln alternative crops research technician
>> > Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society western organizer
>> >
>> > High Plains Ag Lab
>> > 3257 Rd. 109
>> > Sidney, NE 69162
>> >
>> > 308-254-3918
>> > 308-254-2402 (FAX)
>> > 308-254-0725 (HOME)
>> >
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>
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>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amy Little, Executive Director
National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
P.O. Box 396
Pine Bush, NY 12566
914-744-8448; Fax: 914-744-8477
campaign@magiccarpet.com
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