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PAGE 12 THE WEEKLY NEWS

BY JAMES CAPLINGER

Picture this: A small, effeminate man cooking breakfast for a group of overtly macho cowboys somewhere on the great plains. One of the cowboys approaches the man and says to him in a surly tone: "Hey, Cookie! What's for breakfast?" The chef replies "Nut 'n Honey," referring to the new Kelloggs cereal, Nut & Honey. The cowboy and all of his companions immediately snarl and draw their guns, pointing them directly at the cook's head. Blackout.

We are, of course, left with the impression. that the cook will have to go to some great lengths to prove that he is a real man. And, if he chooses to admit that he is as sweet on the cowboy as he is on the cereal, he will probably be killed... or at least severely beaten... but that would be OK.

It would be OK because the Pope's encyclical says that having a gay orientation puts us in a position where we should expect and deserve to be victimized by society.

It would be OK because the Army says that Perry Watkins cannot continue to serve his country in the armed forces because his sexual orientation will make him an object of natural despisal by other servicemen.

It would be OK because there are thousands of years' worth of laws and prohibitions against being attracted to one of your own sex as referred to in the Hardwick decision by the Supreme Court. So I ought to expect that if I intimate such an idea I will probably need to make an appointment with my dentist to get my caps redone because no self-respecting man would allow me to suggest that I am attracted to him without paying me my due... with violence.

It is OK because every year juries try cases of murder and assault where the perpetrator's only defense is that the victim "made a pass at me." And those juries acquit these people because it seems to be a part of our societal consciousness that it is OK hurt or kill gay or lesbian people. And these same hateful jurists were in court the day that Dan White was all but pardoned from his cold-blooded murder of Harvey Milk and George Moscone based on the belief that he had ingested too much sugar and junk food, and that he was temporarily imbalanced. Based on the sugar content of Nut & Honey cereal, it wouldn't surprise me at all if

MARCH 9, 1988

SOUNDOFF

TONY THE TIGER: GAY BASHER OF THE 80s READER COM EN ARY

THEY'RE GR-R-REAT!

White had eaten an entire box of the stuff before he sneaked into the basement of city hall that day and made his bid for Hell.

And we now have a multi-million-dollar food corporation re-enforcing the idea that if you are perceived to be of a different sexual orientation than the majority of people who populate the society in which you live you should expect to be terminated or at least roughed up. And it will be OK with Kelloggs if this happens to you, because they are paying to have this commercial run. And the message which they are sending to children and teenagers, to your grandmother, to your uncle Harry and to the family dog is that It is OK to hurt or kill or threaten people who are of a different sexual orientation than you people who are of a homosexual orientation. And, if you are a fag or a dyke and you see

that same commercial, something inside of you will tell you that you had better learn to butch or femme it up real fast, because you will be recognized by anyone else who sees it, and society will think that it is OK if you suffer.

Well, it is not OK with me.

It is difficult for me to describe to you the feeling that it gives me even to think about this pornographic sales effort on the part of Kelloggs. It makes me shiver with a kind of internal rage. The image is permanently imbedded in my thoughts: That dear, sweet little man about to have his head blown off by a bunch of rowdies and nearly as tragic in scale as this is the fact that the rowdies believe that what they are doing is the right thing... because that is what they were taught. This teaching process is where we must make our mark.

The Supreme Court and the Army and the teenagers who cruise the strip in '68 GTOS and even Dan White are not our enemies.

Ignorance is our enemy. Apathy is our enemy. At this very moment, Kelloggs has very little idea that they are encouraging homophobic violence through the running of this ad campaign. They do not know that they are stimulating a whole new generation to go out and bash those whom they perceive to be of a different sexual orientation than themselves. They do not know that Congress is, at this very moment, considering a Hate Crimes Bill which would attempt to serve as a measure to halt the very type of crime which this commercial promotes. They do not know that the number of crimes of violence perpetrated against lesbians and gay men has risen markedly in the last few years.

They need to know these things.

Now... Guess who needs to tell them.

Yes; I know that you have limited time. I know that the laundry needs to be done and that you have to buy a birthday present for your little niece and still need to leave some time for cruising. Because I know that you are working with limited time, I am going to make a few suggestions to you to help you budget that time which you have laid aside to help improve the standing of the gay/lesbian community:

1) Pick a battle you can win: It feels good when you try... It feels even better when you win. This is one I think we can win ... In fact, we are sure to win by virtue of the fact that we will be educating Kelloggs, and it will cost you only a few minutes of your time to make a phone call or to write out a postcard.

2) Do it now: I mean this sincerely. I keep a stack of pre-posted postcards which you can buy at any post office. As I read TWN, if I read of an event or an issue on which it seems likely that my postcard will make a difference, I write it out when I have finished the article. Not taking immediate action on simple nontime-consuming projects, such as the one we are presently discussing, sometimes means that the action just doesn't get taken. So, when you have finished reading this column, go out and get that postcard.

3) Follow-up: If you should choose to call, make sure that you get the name of the person

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