in Gean Page 7

Laboring under a misapprehension

By R. Woodward A person inclined towards sarAnti-gay activists like to make casm might very well be tempted themselves out to be loyal and to make some unflattering comresponsible American citizens parison, by mentioning, for who are truly religious. The sucexample, that if the behavior of cess of their doing so depends on the conquistadors in Mexico and getting those around them to South America w a s reprehensforget that there is more to citi-ible, with all of its robbing, torturzenship and being truly religious than manipulating laws and ideas to assert and indulge personal appetites and personal hangups.

American citizens who are truly loyal and truly religious. tend to follow certain principles which may be briefly summarized like this:

America is a free country, meaning that it is composed of citizens who are free.

"Free" does not mean, of course, that any individuals can do just anything they want. The basic responsibility, obligation, and duty of every citizen in a truly free country is to respect the basic rights of all other citizens. These rights are legally owned by every citizen.

The basic rights of Americans are at their strongest and most beneficial when they are shared openly and unbegrudgingly by all citizens (which is when powerful, pampered individuals, who style themselves members of majorities, can manage to behave like responsible human adults in their dealings with those of their fellow citizens who happen to have been styled members of minorities).

American citizens who are truly loyal and truly religious will tend to insist that other than obeying divine behests and not overstepping limits clearly stated in writing in the United States Constitution, no adult American citizen can rightly be forced to be subservient to anybody or anything.

Anti-gay activists, by contrast, believe that Americans they disagree with, gay men and women especially, should be forced to be subservient to all of the various moods and whims of antigay activists.

Fostering this belief, anti-gay activists have invented a new form of colonialism.

Instead of invading some foreign land for the purpose of conquering, plundering, and enslaving foreign natives who are minding their own business, antigay activists arbitrarily define as being a separate alien group more than 20 million of their feĺ low citizens, including some of their relatives, for the purpose of conquering, plundering, and enslaving them.

00000000000000 APPLICANTS FOR HIGH GEAR EDITOR BEING CONSIDERED

The position of permanent Editor of HIGH GEAR is open at present. Those interested in applying for the position should submit an application by May 10, 1981. Mall it to P.Q. Box 6177, Cleveland, Ohlo 44101, to the attention of Pat Baskin, HIGH GEAR Committee.

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ing, and slaying of Native Americans, the conquistadors, at least, are not noted for trying to give the same treatment to neighbors and to members of their families back home in Spain.

that nobody can be expected to be absolutely perfect, that pure motives in human beings are rare, and that anti-gay types really do seem to be more sincere than colonizers of the past when they say that their chief motive is bringing salvation to the restless and benighted heathen.

Anti-gay activists can easily be seen laboring long and hard beneath the misapprehension that if you dislike gays, having heard of God means that you are But it is only fair to point out God, or at least His radiant and

Cleveland's gay hotline

(Cont'd. from previous page) volunteer to work the line but would like to help in some way, a monetary contribution can be made. Even with limited hours the Hotline costs about $1,200.00 a year to operate. Currently this money comes from membership, fees, benefits and donations to

the Foundation. Your donation will go towards the phone bill, resource books, printing costs (the Hotline has a 20 page training manual), and our dream-a new answering machine so we can tape a message for hours and other information for callers to hear when the Hotline is closed. THANK YOU.

Notable quote

A comment about those who think themselves above considering the everyday physical aspects of human reality (from Jonathan Swift's THE MECHANICAL OPERATION OF THE SPIRIT, published in 1704):

"Too intense a contemplation is not the business of flesh and blood; it must by the necessary course of things, in a little time, let go its hold, and fall into matter. Lovers, for the sake of celestial converse, are but another sort of Platonics, who pretend to see stars and heaven in ladies' eyes and look to think na lower; but the same pit is provided for both; and they seem a perfect moral to the story of the philosopher, who, while his thoughts and eyes were fixed upon the constellations, found himself seduced by his lower parts into a ditch."

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sharp-eyed avenging angel.

(Whether an anti-gay activist thinks he is God's specially chosen prosecutor or God Himself depends on which particular religion he is instinctively grasping as his most handy tool. When Jewish and Protestant anti-gay activists break wind, they insist that they are delivering God's

admonition. Anti-gay activists who are Catholic, on the other hand, like to insist that their emission is God's actual substance.)

It is especially easy to admit that many, if not most, anti-gay activists are truly sincere if you keep in mind that true sincerity is no voucher for insight or sanity.

An opportunity for you

Besides being a big help to us, contributing some of your time and talents to HIGH GEAR each month is a way for you to learn, from first hand experience, just how a publication is put together.

Even the best classes in writing, in layout, in handling advertising, and in handling distribution are no substitute for actually doing these things for a real publication.

We do not expect you to know everything. (We hope, in fact, that you do not assume that you know everything) What we are looking for are people who take pride in completing whatever they start, no matter how large or small the responsibility Involved.

We want people who will regularly do their best, people who are willing and eager to learn what they do not know already. We want people who are interested enough that they will become better and better at what they are doing as they go along.

HIGH GEAR is not a pretend publication. It is a real publication. Working on it is like making a real home for yourself. It is not like playing house.

Reality is a stimulus. Even with drudgery Involved, working at dealIng with reality is more Inspiring than spending all of your time devising theories and fantasizing. It also tends to make you less boring to those around you.

Human minds, like human bodies, tend to be healthier and more attractive with regular exercise. STAFF WE NEED

1. Assistant Distribution Manager. Responsibilities: Contact between the printer, the bindery, and the drivers. Substitutes as needed for drivers.

2. Layout workers. Steady hands needed one weekend each month. 3. Proof Readers. Those with a good grasp of the English language who can't wait until the paper hits the streets to carefully read it. 4. Out of town reporters. To report on conferences, meetings, important events outside of the Cleveland area.

5. Local reporters. To cover all Cleveland area news, especially women's events and bar happenings.

To volunteer for any of these positions, please call the GEAR Foundation office at 621-6546 any evening from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and leave a message for Dianne. She will get back to you as soon as possible.

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