LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Speak Out |
My lover and I have been coming to Rehoboth Beach nearly every summer since we met nearly twelve years ago. It has become our favorite place because we think of it as "our" place. We just returned home today and I already miss it so much. Many thanks to the local gay community and their friends in Rehoboth for making Rehoboth Beach such a great place to be.
Because we care about Rehoboth Beach and would like to keep up with what is happening, we will be sending a subscription to Letters from Camp Rehoboth in the next couple days. Thank you very much. Randy Moore & Randall Stinnette I was disappointed in Joan Garry's piece in the July 2 Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. Some of my concerns: 1) Garry repeatedly referred to the statements of the various medical and psychological associations as definitive "proof" that homosexuality is normal and natural. Well, homosexuality was normal and natural even when these associations had the opposite viewpoint, and if they ever change back it will still be normal and natural. Do we really want to put all our eggs in that basket? 2) I believe she shows either an ignorance of or a disrespect for the sincere religious beliefs of Evangelical Christians when she says "You don't pursue people compassionately." Christian missionaries who provide food and medical care for the poor in Latin America and Indonesia are pursing people compassionately; they are helping instigate religious conversion through genuine (even if manipulative) caring and help. Many (even if not most) of the Christians who pursue gays (and Jews!) to encourage us to accept their religious beliefs are indeed sincere and compassionate, even if their behavior makes us uncomfortable or seems rude. What irks me most about her statement "you don't pursue people compassionately" is that she used the AFA's position of pursuing gays and lesbians as proof of what she calls "mean-spirited campaigning in their private discourse." If this is the closest she can come to evidence of mean-spiritedness, then she has no point whatsoever. "Pursue" and "repent" are hardly "dirty faggot" or "sick dyke." 3) I'll bet you a nickel that Garry took Exodus International way out of context when she quotes them as saying "we want to see gays changed but we don't want them to get too close." Taken alone, that sentence implies a distaste for individual gays and lesbians. But since EI is an organization run by "ex-gays" who continually search for new members, the quote makes no sense whatsoever unless it was part of a paragraph like: "All too often we are only willing to give lip service to the importance of maintaining heterosexuality as the necessary and blessed norm. We get uncomfortable talking to people about their sexual practices and beliefs. We want to see gays changed but we don't want them to get too close. But Exodus International has been working directly with these misguided souls, helping to bring them to Christ...." If as I suspect GLAAD has grossly misused its source materials, then it needs to think seriously about its adherence to its mission of "fair, accurate, and inclusive representations in the media." Physician, heal thyself. David Bianco In the last issue of "Speak Out" in LETTERS (July 16) there was a request for each of us to contact Governor Carper's office concerning the identification of HIV positive individuals. Although this policy may be actively debated outside the GLBT community, I think it is safe to say that we oppose the "branding" of sero-positive persons. With that in mind, I find it very disconcerting to hear individuals ask someone about another's sero status and worse yet, to disclose correctly or incorrectly a third party's status. Is there any real difference in reporting to a State entity or to a group of guys playing on Poodle Beach? Actually, the latter may be more despicable! I have overheard these conversations and even had such misinformation repeated 2nd and 3rd hand...sometimes in a manner that seems almost vindictive and malicious. These few members of our own community are spreading rumors (e.g. lies) about fellow gay men. It's nothing short of pathetic! I can assure one such beachgoer that his announcement of two individual's sero-status is simply false. And, if it were true, who the hell is he or anyone else to disseminate such information to acquaintances? Is this a morbid attempt to "cull the competition"? You can still "get a life" even if you can't get laid. This is a dangerous occurrence within our family which needs to stop. While I encourage people to write Governor Carper's office, I must also implore each of us to tie our own tongues. Yes, rumors are a part of life whether we're gay or straight, blue collar or white collar. But, aren't some aspects of our lives sacred? Just as we each should choose when to come out as gay, a sero-positive individual should be able to choose the time, place, and persons to whom this second coming out is made. If I were sero-positive, I wouldn't want a governmental agency to have my name in the "Big Brother" file, nor to be the subject of conversation over a cosmo at the Blue Moon. Would you? I hope we all see that neither is acceptable. Let's straighten our own closet before sweeping someone else's whole house. If you don't know your own status, anonymous testing is provided through SCAC on Thursdays. The results are your business. But, play safe regardless! It's worked for me and my partner and I we haven't missed out on anything. Jake Smithhart I picked up my first Letters from CAMP Rehoboth on Monday and just read David Bianco's Pastout piece on Katharine Lee Bates. Very interesting, very touching. Many thanks. Joe Loughran |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 9, No. 10, July 30, 1999 |