Just like BMG, I feel nothing but the deepest respect, admiration and sympathy for all those who have unjustly suffered in the concentration camps, prisons, torture chambers of the totalitarian regimes throughout the time and around the globe. We certainly owe them debt of gratitude which can never really be repaid since many of our daily freedoms are directly or indirectly results of the worst human suffering they had gone through.
I would also agree with anyone who claims that there are many countries where gays/homosexuals still suffer and are truly second class citizens, if not worse.
Yet, I do not see gays/homosexuals as second class citizens in any of the modern societies of Europe or America. I do see clear or not-so-clear cases of discrimination, though. I also see various forms of discrimination directed at virtually everyone, at some places, sometimes. Unfortunately, much of the societal life has to do with hierarchical structures and once you start establishing such hierarchies, you are actually discriminating, one way or the other. Discrimination is an inherent phenomenon in all societies. Yet, a systematic pattern of discrimination that would lead us to believe that a gay man in America or in Europe today is a second class citizen simply does not emerge.
Which brings us to yet another relevant issue: how would you describe someone who, not being a second class citizen, happens to be well, a first class citizen?
IMHO, this is largely an economic issue within the framework of modern societies. Rest assured that a very flaming queen in his red Ferrari gets far less discriminated against than a hard-working, heterosexual John Doe, who is struggling to make his ends meet, once he paid his mortgage and the proverbial dental bills. Societies that are largely defined by the affluency of its populations discriminate against the poor in favor of the affluent. The poor can still (or rather they believe they can) afford ideology of any kind. The affluent equate their ideology with their balance sheets.
We have been experiencing the rise of unemployment in Central Europe over the few years now. Employers clearly discriminate against women, because they may get pregnant and enjoy huge social benefits, adding to the labor cost of their respective enterprises. On the other hand, employers favor single men, since the absence of family duties, sick children, etc., work towards the much sought after reduction of the aforementioned labor costs. Obviously, being discriminated against when it comes to employment these days is a serious matter.
I agree with Marvin that being gay or homosexual with most of us represents a very limited aspect of who we really are. That might have not been important under the specific historical and social circumstances but it is decisive here and today.
KD
