You are correct Mercury. I do bait Jake2001. It puts him on the defensive. All you need to do is take a position that doesn't "conform" to his radical viewpoint. His adhominem attacks, frustration and anger speak for themselves.

Like all movements for social change, the gay and lesbian struggle for equality has spawned radical offshoots. Sometimes these radicals supply energy and verve as we saw with the early incarnation of ACT UP. But, sadly, these radicals fall prey to a nihilistic impulse and a counterproductive collectivistic ideology.

To be certain, these radicals are getting attention in the various media. They are getting lots of negative attention. The anti-gay activists on the far right are using the radical's own rhetoric to buttress anti-gay arguments that homosexuals are out to subvert the moral order. The radicals in the gay rights movement have made it a very easy and clear choice for mainstream America to make.

It isn't just the far right who are using the radical's leftist rhetoric against gays. Last year, the New York Times specifically focused on the radical group Sex Panic. The New York Times told America how Sex Panic bemoans the backlash against the sexual practices of homosexuals. The New York Times quoted Sex Panic who argued that "anonymous sex with multiple partners" and "having as much sex as possible, as publicly possible" is the cornerstone of gay liberation. The New York Times also noted that the debate occurs against a backdrop of evidence that homosexuals are returning to what they called 'bareback sex', a practice that's been defended by some Sex Panic activists. If the anti-gay right and not the Liberal Times newspaper were promoting this image of gay life, our media watchdogs would be up in arms.

When radicals, like Sex Panic, presume to speak for the entire Gay civil rights movement, it should not surprise anyone (including radical pinko leftists) why mainstream America rejects us outright. It is also for this reason why it is important for Moderates and Independents to counter the radical image of the extreme left.

So, what do we make of a group of radicals that is in open revolt over efforts to gain acceptance by mainstream America?

It is mainstream America's attitudes, not the far right's, that we must change toward us. When radicals within the gay movement are in open revolt against mainstream America, I can guarantee you that acceptance of gays into general society will not be the choice of mainstream America. And make no mistake about it; Gays will never gain acceptance into society by revolting against and attacking mainstream America.

Back to you ... Jake2001 or Bongo, whatever.



[This message has been edited by SunDogg (edited April 07, 2001).]