FEBRUARY 10, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

SPEAK OUT

The American Right has sunk back into the ooze of bigotry

by Marvin Liebman

About fourteen months ago, I began writing column for gay publications around the country. I called the column "Conservatively Speaking." Why this title? I believed that my major credential in the gay community was my autobiography Coming Out Conservative, and the fact that I was a mover and shaker in the American anticommunist-conservative community for many years before I came out at the age of 67. There were many gay men who could write a column, but there were not many gay conservative men around, over seventy, who wanted to share their thoughts in the gay press. I certainly had that spot covered with no competition.

Most of the publications printed my columns either regularly or sporadically. However, most of the publications never used "Conservatively Speaking" as the column header, but simply published what I had to say under my own name. I realized that the word conservative repels most lesbians and gay men, as do such words as Christian and Republican. Rightly or wrongly, these terms had become code words symbolizing bigotry, fear, and loathing of gay men and lesbi-

ans.

But I am conservative, Republican, and Christian. God knows, I'm gay, too. Isn't it possible to be all four, or have I become a living oxymoron? The answer eluded me for some time, but is now obvious: No, it is not possible, at least for me, not in today's world.

In my coming-out letter to my friend William F. Buckley Jr., which was published in his National Review in July 1990, I aired a premonition that had been haunting me for a long time: "I feel that our cause might sink

back into the ooze in which so much of it rested in pre-National Review days," I wrote to Buckley. "In that dark age, the American Right was heavily, perhaps dominantly, made up of bigots, anti-Semites, anti-Catholics, the KKK, rednecks, and Know Nothings, a sorry lot of public hucksters and religious medicine men. Now, times are changing. There is no longer the anti-communist cement to hold the edifice together. The great enterprise... is in danger of sinking back into an aggregate of bigotries."

Alas, my prediction has been realized. The words conservative, Christian, and Republican are being held hostage by the same forces that controlled the American Right before Buckley and his band of true believers, of which I was proud to be part, made American conservatism more mainstream and respectable. Of course, even now, there are still those among the Republican ranks, like Senator Arlen Specter, who attempt to hold the fort against the barbarians. But they are vastly outnumbered by the descendants of those from a half-century ago, who would drag the country back into the swamps of intolerance and division. Can the valiant defenders prevail? I don't believe they can, not in the foreseeable future.

Where does this leave me?

I can not associate myself with Rush Limbaugh and other new "conservative" leaders, nor with Pat Robertson and his "Christian" brigades, nor with Jesse Helms and his new "Republican" majority. The only identity of which I am absolutely certain is that I am a homosexual in a country which has little patience with us gay folk.

Millions of American gay men and lesbians-perhaps a great majority of our would-

be community--are in the closet, terrified of coming out and standing openly with their sisters and brothers against forces that would see us obliterated. Make no mistake: The ultimate goal of our enemy is to make us disappear, either back into a closet that will make today's seem wide open or dead. Hysterical? I don't think so.

Where does that leave me? Us? I can no longer accept such labels as "conservative," "Christian," and "Republican," which draw much of their coherence from hostility towards people like me. No gay or lesbian American should any longer accept any of these labels, which have become mere codewords for attacks on our collective dignity. We can accept no labels any longer. We must give our allegiance and support only to those individuals and groups who publicly stand with us against bigotry and fear of gay Ameri-

cans.

Forget the hand-wringing over Congress and the federal government. We must focus on our own neighborhoods, our cities, and our states. That is where we will find allies, men and women who have seen our faces, who know who we are. Here we develop the coalitions and power bases who make elected officials—local, state, and national—sit up and take notice. Here, too, we must find and nurture new gay leaders to replace the figureheads of our national gay groups who have accomplished little and at great cost.

No longer can we give our votes, our contributions, and our efforts for the pursuit of vague promises. We mustn't sell the soul of our community for “tolerance.” Although we desperately need allies from America's mainstream, we must be satisfied with only their full and open support for our cause

COMMUNITY FORUM

against our enemies. Indeed, as we have done so often in the past, we will give them our unbridled aid for their steadfast support.

In the past and sometimes to the consternation of my African-American friendsI have compared the gay rights movement to the black civil rights movements of the sixties. I still believe that they are comparable, and we have much to learn from the history of this great quest, both from its setbacks and its victories. Now, however, I believe it even more urgent to draw a comparison between our community and the Jews and homosexuals of Europe in the '30s and '40s. Then, as now, the majority cried out that those who predicted death and misery were crazy, that such things as mass extermination could not happen, that hysteria was dangerous. Until the very last, until they choked on the lethal gas in the extermination "showers," they did not accept the fact that the Nazi state despised them to the point of eradicating them from the face of the Earth.

The Jews and homosexuals of Europe were victims. We are not. We must never be grateful for mere crumbs off the table at which we have no place. Neither must we let ourselves be shamed from claiming our identity as gays, content instead to seek shelter under tents whose stakes are planted in the backs of our brothers and sisters.

I can no longer call myself a "conservative," nor a "Christian," nor "Republican.” I am a gay American, and I will retain my independence from any other label. You may, from time to time, still come upon my thoughts in the gay press. Henceforth, however, my column will be called Independently Speaking.

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fail his Hooked on Phonics? Did he fail to pass rudimentary reading in grade school? To use a derogatory word to name a person (Spic, Nigger, Kike, Whitey) or group is not... "nothing more than a slip of the tongue." It is purely and simply a word of hate and prejudice.

Does the Republican Party wish the American public to believe that their top-ranking legislators are so inane that they think we

that none of your on-air DJs are the kind of people who would support a man's “right” to victimize a woman. Therefore, it is doubly disappointing that you have chosen to highlight this particular piece of music. I would ask you to stop playing this song immediately.

Judith Rainbrook, Executive Director Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center of Cleveland

will believe their hatred and prejudicial name Not a word

calling under any disguise?

Please call or write your senators and representatives and demand a public apology-one that doesn't contain a gross rationalization for hatred and prejudice. Write to Rep. Barney Frank and share with him our support and care. Obviously, we do not want to be as insensitive, hateful, and uncaring as the Republican Party to the feelings of the American public. Barney Frank has been hurt by this attack.

Newtie. Dickey. Let's put your names on the level of your brains.

In Christ, Reverend Dr. Kenneth A. Netz Chicago, Ill.

'Hit' song

The following was sent to Denny Nugent, program director at WGAR 99.5 FM, a country-western station in Cleveland:

Dear Mr. Nugent:

To the Editors:

Why should Columbus people let you know what is going on? [Editorial, January 13] You don't print it! I know from experience.

I opened a gift shop in mid-October and have sent you no less than six press releases in three months. Not a word in the Chronicle! Two other gay-owned businesses opened in the final months of 1994, and not a word! Our community and our paper should be proud of the men and women who are making statements and opening businesses.

I have a truly unique gift and accessory shop, with 80 percent of my merchandise hand-made by local artists, many who are gay or lesbian. I am the only shop in town which donates five percent of sales to the Columbus AIDS Task Force. During the holidays we had a gift wrapping service which benefited CATF also. Again, nothing in the Chronicle!

Columbus' alternative papers have been more supportive of the new gay and lesbian businesses than what you call our community paper.

That's the news from Columbus! Scott Nusbaum Owner, EnHome Columbus

I must strongly object to WGAR's airing of the song "What'll You Do About Me" by Doug Supernaw. This song perpetuates a cultural acceptance of violence against women as a natural outgrowth of a man's "love" for a woman. Standing on woman's porch and threatening all other men who approach with a two-by-two is not a sign of In the trash

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love. It is a sign of massive insecurity tinged

with madness.

As a long time listener of WGAR, I know that you have done programming in support of the battered women's shelters. And I feel

To the Editors:

Have you noticed how very quickly the " Gay People's Chronicle disappears at a cer-

tain coffee shop in the Dublin Village Shopping Center? I can assure you that this is not because interested parties are picking them up. In fact, the Chronicle is being plunked into the trash can by the owner and some of the employees. Though I cannot claim to have heard it directly from the horse's mouth, the owner has been heard making comments such as that she does not "want her business associated with anything gay."

In light of this type of attitude, along with the fact that the papers are now being thrown away, I think that we should oblige her. If she wants no association with the gay community, then obviously she doesn't want our business either. So, if you are still delivering papers there, don't bother. It is a waste of money. And if you are a current customer, I encourage you not to return. We should not patronize a business that so blatantly shows such hatred and bigotry toward our community.

Name withheld by request Columbus

Unfortunately, this is something we, and free-distribution lesbian-gay papers across the country, are all too familiar with. It is fueled by a desire to make lesbians and gays invisible. In some places, where the owner or manager has requested the Chronicle, one anti-gay employee will throw the papers out. Sometimes, passers-by take it upon themselves to heave 50 copies into a litter basket. We will stop sending papers to this coffee shop, and we appreciate readers telling us when this happens. -Editors

No legal recourse

To the Editors:

Below is a copy of a letter I sent to Rep. Martin Hoke in response to a letter he sent me responding to a Human Rights Campaign Fund message sent to him in my behalf, asking for his support for legislation to provide legal guarantees for the protection of gays and lesbians from discrimination.

Dear Rep. Hoke,

Thank you for your letter responding to my message regarding the equal treatment of gays and lesbians.

I would like to think that you do support the premise behind the efforts of those who propose legal prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and that you condemn any form of discrimination. However, it is clear to me from the statement in your letter that you "believe that the rights of all Americans are already fully protected by the U.S. Constitution," that you are not aware of the difficulties faced by gay and lesbian Americans. Discrimination against gays and lesbians exists in numerous areas, including jobs, health care benefits, and housing.

Unfortunately, some organizations have used sexual orientation as the sole factor in hiring, firing, promotion or compensation decisions. Right now, gay and lesbian Americans have no legal means of assuring their rights as do those who face discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, age, or physical disability. In fact, it was my understanding that civil rights legislation was enacted because the rights of all Americans were not being fully protected by the Constitution. Legal prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation are needed at the federal level to prevent the ramifications of unwarranted bigotry against this group of American citizens.

As a gay health care professional (who was forced to resign from the Army when it was discovered that I am gay) and educator-I am a Family Practice physician and Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and faculty at Fairview General Hospital's Family Practice Residency program I have strong concerns about what will come in the future for gays and lesbians in various occupations, including education and health care. There are individuals who would like to see gays and lesbians banned from these professions.

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