"losers" with "no life" on Saturday night

[MaggieL]

Originally Posted by Brianna

Oh, but you could plant the seeds of change in their minds by being really, really charming...oh, wait, never mind.

Being the Bill Cosby of Queer Nation? We have the Fab Five for that.

But "planting the seeds of change" in the minds of religious fundamentalists? Puhleeze.

But in fact, there's a kernel of truth at the core of that idea, strategically.

Demonstrating loudly for "gay rights" has given rise to the misperception of a "gay agenda for special privileges and recruiting our children"...and while Pride Parades full of leather boyz, topless dykes and rollerskating crossdressed nuns are fantastic for building a sense of community within the Gayborhood, they're not the best PR for disarming homophobia and fostering acceptance outside the Ghayto.

The US population as a whole isn't quite ready to embrace the idea of giving queer couples the same rights as straight ones. They're one hell of a lot closer than they were twenty, (even ten) years ago. Today it's not unthinkable for queer couples to live openly as queer couples in many areas...it's going to take a few years with that level of tolerance before the culture as a whole will be ready to take it to the next level, after living down the street for a while from that queer couple (who maybe even show up at the pistol range on third Saturdays) who turn out to be not all that different from "us normal folks".

"Affirmative action" and "hate crime" legislation reenforces the idea that what queer folks want is special privileges rather than equal rights. This is not a sensible part of a "charm offensive".

All that said, I intend to continue to be prepared to defend myself from any attacker...be they queerbasher, jihadi, or just a neighborhood crack or ice addict, and if that's not "charming" enough, too bad.