Posted By Irish:
"It seems to me that money, wealth, and materialism are the main focus for all Gays regardless of political idealogy. If consistency is the hallmark of a political ideology, Liberals only need to look no further than its own backyard in San Francisco to see how inconsistency discredits them as a nobler, progressive, and worthy cause. But, of course, Liberal Gays will always deny they have been corrupted by the same money, wealth, and materialism."

I think the point here is that in a lot of cities that formally embraced the independence and liberal values of gay ghettos, you now have an overflow of conservatives (gay and straight) taking over.

This last election, most of the posts here, and the points that you are bringing up all support this fact. It is not so much that "liberals" have sold out. They have been bought out and driven out by very powerful and very rich conservatives. The changes that you are mentioning are happening in several cities across the country as a result.

Blaming liberals shifts the focus from the main core of the problem. In an environment where money, conformity, and power are the bottom line -- you are going to have a conflict between independence (liberalism) and control (conservatism). Right now, those with the money (and materialistic/conservative values) are using their influence to drive independently owned businesses, social reform programs, and the freedom that came with more liberal agendas out of the cities.

The majority of "liberals" that you are accusing of looking the other way were never really truly committed to liberal politics at all. The yuppies and middle-of-the-roaders who voted for Bush and love the changes that are taking place in major cities that used to boast more bohemian environments were (for the most part) never overwhelmingly supportive of liberal movements.

Many people who call themselves "liberals" are, in reality, registered Republicans, conservatives, and cruisers who post at places like CFS condemning a lot of the freedom that this board is supposedly supporting. Denial, rationalizations, and hypocrisy can make strange bedfellows.

[This message has been edited by Jake2001 (edited February 15, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Jake2001 (edited February 15, 2001).]