I read a letter in the Philadelphia Inquirer today. Outraged that a columnist would dare compare the black civil rights movement to the gay civil rights movement, the author stated that one movement was to help people who had been oppressed for hundreds of years, and one was just encouraging perversion.
I guess he thinks they'll get ideas in their heads. Go after the white women. He'd have to share his bathroom!
Oops. Wait. The letter writer was actually in favor of continued oppression of gay people, not black people. The reasoning seemed to be this: I have nothing againt black people, but gays? What if they came after me? Icky!
But not so long ago, the black civil rights movement was eyed with the same kind of fear and loathing by people on the same wavelength as this solid citizen.
Here's a scenario: You're part of a heterosexual couple. You and your spouse like to play bondage games, or perhaps you're into S&M. One day, you have the boss over for dinner, and somehow the subject comes up. Your boss looks uncomfortable, and excuses herself in a hurry. The next week, you're passed over for a promotion you thought was in the bag. People begin to look at you strangely. They seem reluctant to shake hands, or be in the same room with you alone. Friends are suddenly busy whenever you call.
Then your closest friend comes over and sits you and your partner down. She says that what you two do is disgusting, a crime against nature, but there is hope. She hands you a business card. They'll cure you, she says. Fix you. It isn't like you were born this way. God hates pervs, you know.
Would you call?
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