 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By Marty Beaudet April, 1993 Well, not really--but they could be. I mean, I have nothing against straight people. They're God's children, too, and we should love them in spite of their behavior. We must learn to hate the sin, but love the sinner. We need to realize that, in spite of what we see on TV--the adultery, the spouse and child abuse, the gay bashing, the bigotry--not all straight people fit this stereotype. Why, I know some very dear straight people who are sincerely struggling to repent of their past behavior and have a desire to bring their lives into harmony with the Gospel. Now what they do in private is their own business--I just don't approve of them flaunting it in public. I see no reason why they need to touch each other and kiss in public or parade their drunken revelries on the streets of New Orleans every year. I mean, it's so confrontational. You know they're just doing it to upset people. And while they have the same rights as anybody else, I think we need to protect our impressionable children from exposure to sinful lifestyles. We can't send a message to the children that we condone nudity, drunkenness, hatred, killing, abuse and a multitude of other sins which straight people commit. For that reason I am a concerned citizen seeking to assure that we do not grant special rights to heterosexuals . . . Enough! While attending the recent Sunstone Symposium West I had the opportunity to join a small group of friends for dinner. Among the mostly gay and lesbian group were a few "token" straight friends. One of them, acknowledged heterosexual and frequent Sunstone speaker, Erin Silva, remarked with amusement that observing us in our natural social habitat was enlightening for him. He made this observation after watching me and a lesbian friend scramble through a revolving door in the same "compartment." We giggled that our reputations were going to suffer and that we'd be accused of being straight. While such satirical humor is an everyday part of many a queer reality, it was a revelatory experience for this straight observer. As we continued to discuss this fact, I launched into a diatribe similar to the one above to illustrate my point. Erin had no trouble recognizing how ludicrous the rationale sounded when the tables were turned. We all had a good laugh and Erin reiterated how glad he was that we were there and that he could learn from us. This kind of experience is exactly the reason I have set the goal of establishing greater bonds between Affirmation and Sunstone, as well as with other friendly organizations who share some of the same goals. Affirmation's charter establishes "education" as one of our mandates. I can think of no better way to educate than by letting people get to know us. And we, in turn, can learn much from them. Sunstone symposia are always uplifting experiences for me. Not only is the subject matter stimulating and testimony-stirring, but I have not attended a single symposium where I have not met new friends. We need to realize that gay issues in the church do not exist in a vacuum and neither can we. Women's issues are our issues. Intimidation of intellectuals is our problem. Academic freedom at BYU is important for us, too. While I may not always agree with the opinions I hear expressed in Sunstone and Dialogue, I am happy to have heard them, just the same. It enriches me and invigorates me to be part of the discussion. I wholeheartedly encourage and invite Affirmation members to become involved in the process. |
www.affirmation.org