sidered at this convention that all homosexuals who got themselves arrested really deserve it when you get right down to it. Everybody knows that. When an eloquent speaker tried to challenge these decisions, his credentials were found to be lacking and he was denied the right to speak thereafter. When he objected, he was threatened with having criminal charges placed against him as inciting the public to illegal acts. It was a very confused convention.

The appalling implications of this psychotic threat were apparently seen by no one in authority. In spite of the fact that one man was ready to destroy the entire Mattachine and movement to satisfy his personal irritation, his apology was graciously accepted and his words. stricken from the record. It was agreed that everyone should forget the whole thing happened and be friends. He was neither expelled nor reprimanded. Many continue to respect him and those who don't, are afraid to speak out because of his assumed influence in the state legislature. He remains in the Society and continues to shape policy.

It was shortly after this fiiasco that someone had a wonderful idea for improving the lot of the homosexual and firmly cementing relations between him and the public. He proposed seriously

Why Try to Organize a Bunch of Queers Anyway?

It is erroneous to assume that all those who are inclined toward members of their own gender constitute a concrete minority. There are many degrees of both homoand heterosexuality. Actually neither of these words has a valid meaning. To attempt to label everyone either one or the other would require much bigotry or foolishness. Those of homosexual experience have no more in common than have "normal" persons. It would be pointless to give every man who sleeps with women a certain label and declare that he belongs to a special category. He and society would exclaim, "So what!" The label would mean nothing in view of the fact that he shares this habit with an infinite variety of other males. To describe a person as heterosexual is to say nothing about him which conveys meaning. To say he drinks water conveys nothing and to label him homosexual describes nothing about his age, mind, physique or talents. He, too, comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and qualities. Homosexuals do not and cannot share a culture.

But there is one thing that homosexuals do share most definitely. That is the denial of their civil rights. They are victimized by society more than any other

that the Mattachine open a private bar where everyone could come and drink like mad and let down hair after hair. An attorney was fetched and much discussion put into the project before it was dropped as too expensive for the present.

As of today, this is the Mattachine Society.

one

single group. The legal and religious prejudice against them is as ancient as man himself. But when this prejudice goes, homosexuals will cease to be a group. They are not different. All but a tiny few cannot be detected bv proper means. They're just people. The only reason that they should and must organize is to fight cases of entrapment, lobby

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