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RE: ABC and Benjamin Bates

It is incredibly refreshing to here an eloquent post based upon
open-mindedness rather than bigotry.  I won't go into a long post here
because I think Bates said it quite well.

>I am not telling you what to watch on TV.  If you see a program and you
>disagree with its content, turn it off.  I don't think that a public forum,
>like the airwaves that are owned by the federal government and ONLY leased
>to the corporations, should have its content restricted.  If a company is
>willing to pay to make a commercial that portrays homosexuals or an actor or
>actress is brave enough to portray a homosexual character on a regular show,
>then why should the lesee of a public forum (who is supposed to abide by the
>currenntly dormant fairness docctrine) be able to restric tthe voices that
>are heard.
>
>More importantly, I think the underlying attitudes of some posts about
>homosexuals show that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of who
>homosexuals are and how they act.  This misunderstanding is what breeds
>contempt, violence, and discrimination against homosexuals and weakens our
>societal fabric.  I think that this is a clear call for a broader discussion
>of civil rights and liberties in the community, either as next year's topic
>or in other fora.

I hope there is a tremendous response to TD Barnes post because the
acceptance of bigotry and violence that is implicitly condoned is revolting.
Barnes wrote:
> Besides, the reality
>is that Gays are not "oppressed" unless they choose to reveal there specific
>"BEHAVIORS".  (That's' right, BEHAVIOR, not some genetic trait like skin
>color.)  The military is a perfect example of this.  The Don't ask, Don't tell,
>Don't pursue policy is one thing that Clinton got right.  A
>soldier/sailor/marine/airman that reveals an unacceptable behavior like
>homosexuality, beastiality, pedophilia, or just dressing up like Zsa Zsa Gabore
>will face consequences for choosing that particular behavior.  In my
>opinion...what someone does in their bedroom is none of my business...if they
>choose to make it public, then they can face the public's reaction.

Ben made the appropriate distinctions between consensual behavior and the
criminal acts against non-consenting children clear.  To equate the two is
disgusting.  And to silently acquiesce to the "public's reaction" to a
public admission of identity is HORRIFYING.  Why is there a difference
between an admission that one is gay and the visibility of a person's skin
color, other than that color is immediately visible?  I won't get into this
silly dispute about whether homosexuality is a choice or genetic trait.  The
point is that it sounds like TD is the type of person who would stand
silently by on the sidewalk while a gang of whites beat the shit out of an
African-American because of his color, or a Hispanic person, or an Asian
American.  That kind of passivity to blatant discrimination, violence, and
hate turns my stomach.

A civil rights topic sounds highly in order.

Kevin Ayotte
University of Pittsburgh
Archive created by Jonathan Stanton (jonathan@cs.jhu.edu)
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