Sartain’s opinions went way too far

In response to Joel Sartain’s column on Thursday, April 6- One of Joel’s first points in his article regarding the gay community involved what he referred to as “overkill-Too much is too much.” Would you define the protests and sit-ins during the civil rights movement overkill? How about conventions and picketing during the era of the suffragettes? After reading your article, I wouldn’t be surprised if you do. But, your opinion on these influential historical movements is aside from the point. The point is that people have not always been as tolerant or accepting of certain groups of people — in these cases minorities and influential women — as they are today. Our country is one of change, one of revolution. These revolutions don’t come about because people sit around discriminating against others who aren’t exactly like them, or because people who are in the minority accept and tolerate the unjust treatment they receive for being different. You cannot deny that homosexuals are and have been victims of prejudice. Maybe not by you, since you seem to be such an ambassador for the gay community, but to say that it never happens is ignorant and wrong.

If I’m not mistaken, the use of stickers plastered on cars and walls around the country, as well as marches, conventions and editorial columns (lousy or not) are very common and effective devices used to display loyalty or show public support for any number of causes a person may feel passionately about. This was especially the case in the 2004 presidential race. Did you, Joel, get annoyed by the abundance of Bush pins, shirts, catchy bumper stickers and conventions here in Texas? I’m guessing that kind of “overkill” of support toward a political candidate didn’t bother you, although to other people, it might have had a different and more disturbing effect. Now, I’m not here to talk about Bush or Kerry or Nader or Kinky Friedman. I just wanted to question your blatant attack on flamboyant public support in a similarly flamboyant situation that might be easier for you to relate to.

I also couldn’t help but notice your obvious “us vs. them” mentality. You very sensibly pointed out that “we’re all in the same race we call life,” but then went on to say that while you don’t mind employing one of “them,” working for one of “them” or eating dinner next to one of “them,” “SMU and Dallas, Texas, are not the places for an outspoken, offensive, anti-Republican, flamboyant, gay movement.” First of all, what is so offensive in trying to promote tolerance of homosexuals? Secondly, let’s not make this argument partisan by calling it “anti-Republican.” Strange as it may seem to many people, I have met homosexuals who are in fact Republican, and I’m sure they would not appreciate you forcing them into some simple-minded stereotype. And if you think that the gay movement in Dallas is flamboyant, I sure feel sorry for you when and if you ever venture to another part of the country such as San Francisco, New York or even Columbus, Ohio. The fact of the matter is, that wherever they go, there will be people who discriminate against them, and wherever you go, there will be homosexual people.

As to your comment that if homosexuals feel unwelcome then “they should migrate to a more welcoming area,” I wouldn’t be surprised if some have, but why should they be the ones to have to leave their home and be shipped off to a strange and new place far from friends and family? Why are you going to suggest their banishment from “your” society if, as you claim, you don’t mind them? In fact, you made a communal statement that “we like you, gay community.” If you like them so much, why don’t you make an effort to make them feel more comfortable in an environment that is currently “not the place” for them instead of writing a column grouping them all as “flamboyant” and all of their actions as “overkill.” You claim they “have a place here in Dallas and in our hearts.” If they have a place here, and in your heart, then as American citizens, don’t they have the right to display support for each other and to fight against violence and discrimination? Even though you claim this doesn’t exist, I suggest you start reading the newspaper, maybe even *gasp* The New York Times, where there have been many accounts of discrimination around the country including homosexuals being sought out and beaten simply for their sexual preference. I don’t see anything wrong with trying to widen awareness of the gay community. Acceptance of homosexuals has already improved much from what it used to be, and in many years our children will look back on this time period much as we look on the civil rights and women’s rights movements and wonder why we didn’t realize sooner that prejudice against homosexuals is wrong. The gay community is there, like it or not. So the sooner you learn to tolerate it and its flamboyance, the happier you will be, because you will not be able to stifle it, make it go away or change who they are — even through politically incorrect articles like the one you wrote in The Daily Campus.

Jocelyn Lancaster is a psychology and business major. She can be reached at [email protected].