HIGH GEAR/FEBRUARY 1977

FROM THE YEAR OF '69

was busy studying Gay culture, theraputic community for Gay

in the lakes region. north of Ohio, but after I'd returned in the late summer of "74" a noted change in the attitudes of the people became very unsettled in my mind. King Ritchard had just left the White House, and our king ritchard had just come to power. The subversion of Gay consciousness had begun. THE LATTER DAYS

His name I will not mention. King ritchard is apt and suitable. Never have I met another whom I and others have regarded with such

pity and revulsion simultaneously. The pity that others felt for him was turned into a terrible weapon. A bit of political chicanery brought him to power in the summer of "74". With an Alliance quorum of four or five, king ritchard became president. His immediate subjugation of Alliance meetings and all people in his personal sphere were the beginnings of a dictatorship which was not broken for one full year. The straight stereotypification of the Gay was king Richard's living motif. His desire to be hee constant center of attention.was the law. His thoughts upon identifying with the role of business man rather than that of his own personhood led me to believe that he had no pride in himself. My major thought was, "How could this person who did not know who he was champion the causes of Gay people? Friends and acquaintances from meetings asked for my help. Many said that they would never. attend another Alliance meeting. A decision was reached and strategy was laid. Our glan was implemented.

the.

!

Gary McIntire, I, and others began to battle on the floor of the meetings, in the office, and at social functions. The politician machine of king ritchard was broken in the early fall of "75", but from the ashes of a small man's empire a new stage was already set.

I returned from my study of San Francisco's Gay culture on Dec. 23, 1975. I was disturbed at the number of Holy Bibles and Catholic Missals present at the first Alliance meeting in January. The third dynasty was about to begin. The great war of the ring had already begun. THE THIRD DYNASTY

It is sufficient to say that the Holy Bible's Leviticus, 20th Chap., 13th verse, sums up Christian attitudes toward Gays for the past two thousand years. "... It shall be called an abomination and they shall surely be put to death." I think the Dark Age, the Crusades, and the Inquisition were lesson enough. The Bible bearers were affiliated with a local so called, "Gay Catholic", group titled Dignity. Where there's a fire. there's going to be smoke. I

wasted no time. Stonehenge

was formed on March 1, 1975.

stonehenge and

christian consciousness

電帳單者 The Sto Stonehenge was

people with special problems. It served a two fold purpose. First, was guidance for individuals experiencing personal crisis and/or personality disorders. Second was to offset incoming Christian influence into the Gay community. The Stonehenge served 18 people at the cost of Approximately $100 each. The institution because a legend by June, but its secondary function hadn't even remotely been fulfilled.

I met Ronald Johnson sometime in May of 1975. He said he was a devout Catholic. He was also a devout capitalist and elitist. If you didn't made $15,000 a year you were trash and he told you so, in public. His preoccupation with money and class bordered on the fanatical. So in public, I stated that I felt he had a problem and should seek out professional counsel. His reply was rhetorical.

In June, Ronald was ordered from his parents' house. An intrusion into his privacy had. brought him out of his closet faster than he had chosen to come. A plea for help had brought him to the doorstep of Stonehenge. Around the third week of June Ronald moved into Stonehenge. Shortly after, others in the mini-community began to move away. The situation became so problem ridden by the end of July that a simple calculation showed that the experimental community could not exist by the end of the year.

Financial problems followed by social disorder were taking. their toll. A call for help was put out. When it was learned that Ronald owed $80 to the collective and had bank accounts totaling around $2400, it discouraged all. It was two early in Ronald's progress at Stonehenge to press this issue. We didn't have long to wait. Ronald and his ring of Catholic friends made their move at the last Alliance meeting of the

summer.

They nominated one another and ran unopposed. There were complaints but the position of, "give them a try", was assumed. So we waited. In the fall the meetings took on a really dictatorial atmosphere. The convention of separation between the church and the Alliance was ignored. The stewardship of meeting chairperson was forgotten. Calls for Ronalds impeachment were ignored. A petition listing Ronald's offenses under the charge of conduct unbecoming was deleted from the meetings minutes and records. Robert's Rules of Order were ignored. In a fit of anger and despair I resigned in open session. The impact of my act was so great that at the fall meeting for officer nomination that only one member affiliated

with the Dignity clique was present. I was present, amazed, but present.

Ronald Johnson gave

Stonehenge a parting shot. He refused to pay his debt owed to the collective. Due to this vinIdictive act, the financial structure of the collective snapped. Stonehenge fell Nov. 7, 1976. The Catholics were defeated at a terribly high price to the Gay⚫ community. The great war of the ring had ended. DAYS OF

FUTURE PASSED

It is the opinion of this scholar of social behavior and information, that the Columbus. community has been under • psychic assault from an arm of our government. It is inconceivable that a few adult Gay people can appear to consciously be as inept, as they might have others feel that they are. There are serious questions relating to detajls upon motives and the mechanics of implementation. Although these questions and others will be answered in time, consideration should be made as to a plan of affirmative action for the present. Any suggestion is welcomed.

Thus, this is a short history of the Columbus community since the year of "69". Love is liberation.

Jay Abdon The Ohio Union 1738 N. High St. Rm, 323 Col 43201

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Feb. 14:

this month

Page 9

Dennis Nahat and lan Horvath of the Cleveland Ballet. Feb. 21:

The artistry of Charles Laughton and Jonathan Katz, author of Gay American History.

Feb. 28:

Jonathan Katz interview Part 2. 'Mar. 7:

Chairman of the National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties and a report from the Mar. 6 O.G.R.E. meeting in Oberlin.

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