LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Gay 'n Gray |
by John D. Siegfried |
Beach Business
I don't go to the beach to gather business news or gay political insights but on a recent visit I got both. When I became a full time Rehoboth resident, the "every second in the sun and sand" routine that I'd developed as a Washington weekend warrior ceased. As a full-time resident I went to the beach selectivelywhen my schedule was clear; when it wasn't too hot, or too cold; when guests from out of town visited. The same thing happened when I transitioned from snow-bird status to full time resident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a visitor to Fort La de da I wanted every smidgen of sun and sand I could get. Now, as a full time resident my trips to the beach are infrequent. When I do go it's usually on a Tuesday, when Michael cleans our condo. I clear out so he can work unimpeded. My beach of preference is Haulover Beach, the only public nude beach in South Florida. By unstated convention straights spread their towels at the south end of the beach and gays at the north. Without clothes, however, it's really hard to tell one from the other. Most of my friends don't believe I travel to Haulover simply to enjoy the solitude. So, I must confess, I go for solitude and for scenery. Sometimes the procession of beautiful nude male bodies on the beach interferes with my reading. But of equal importance are the many not-so-beautiful bodies, like mine. I always leave Haulover with the reassurance that I wasn't the prettiest face on the beach, but I wasn't the ugliest. On my recent visit one of the men who engaged me in conversation in the water was a slender, slightly past middle age, attractive dark haired man. He was from Spain and works in a South Florida accounting firm. Actually, I was swimming back stroke and bumped into himalways a great way to start a conversation, especially at a nude beach. Standing in chest high water the waves gently threw our bodies togetherat least I think it was the waves that forced us to have body contact. Later, after both of us were back on dry land, my new best friend brought me a recent copy of Conde Nast Portfolio, a business magazine he'd been reading. "Read this," he smiled, and I did. It was an article titled, California Faces Gay Marriage Fight. "Gay marriage may appear to be one of those cultural issues that should be of no concern to a business magazine. But we feel strongly that Californians face a defining moment that is as much about their economy as it is about social mores. Ever since the seventeenth century Dutch Golden Age, during which freedom of religion flourished, it's been clear that a tolerant society respectful of individual autonomy makes for a prosperous society where creative entrepreneurship thrives. Today, attitudes toward gay rights are an important barometer of a society's broader tolerance and diversity, and arguably nothing is more central to individual fulfillment than the choice of a loved one with whom to build a life together. This is why all good capitalists should join us in supporting gay marriage." All good capitalists should support gay marriage? I couldn't believe what I'd just readand in a respected business journal, at that. The article went on to state, "Corporate America understands that fostering tolerance and diversity is important in order to recruit, retain, and motivate the best and the brightest. Twenty-six years ago the Village Voice, a New York newspaper, became the first U.S. employer to offer benefits to same sex partners of its employees; now more than eighty percent of Fortune 500 companies do so. Among the ten largest U.S. companies, only Exxon Mobil and Wal-Mart do not provide domestic partner benefits. It may be no coincidence that the current centers of technological innovation in the United Statesthe San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, and Austin, to name a feware among the nation's most receptive places to gays." The article concluded stating, "As more countries, from Canada to Spain to South Africa, legalize gay marriage and grant gay couples greater equality generally, the U.S. could lose the competitive advantage of being the world's beacon of entrepreneurship-nurturing tolerance. In an ever-shrinking world with increasingly mobile talent, intolerance is bad for business." That was the most hopeful commentary I'd read in a long time. If intolerance, especially toward gays, is bad for business, it will go. This is a capitalist country and business interests will prevail. Hallelujah! That's a given. What's not a given is whether I'll ever meet my new Spanish friend on the beach again and whether more "wave action" is in my future.John Siegfried, a former Rehoboth resident who now lives in Ft. Lauderdale, maintains strong ties to our community and can be reached at jdsiegfried@comcast.net. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No. 12 August 22, 2008 |