dgreen@ucla-cs.UUCP (08/30/84)
WE ARE NOT FOCUSING VERY WELL Having been involved in a number of political groups before, the tactics used by Mr. Arndt and Mr. Ted really come as no surprise. Destruction of fruitful discussion is easy if you can appear well-intentioned. Indeed, both may be quite well-intentioned, but our ability to carry on extended discussion of cultural and political issues has been muddied substantially. Under these conditions, the first task is to recognise the goals and the problems. The goals are simple: To discuss cultural and political issues of relevance to gays. The goals do not include incessant defense of gay lifestyles or preferences. I have to defend my preference everyday in everyday life. I refuse to do that here. Its an absolute waste of my time, and yours. The problems are, likewise, quite simple: Distraction from the goals of the group can be accomplished readily in a no-discipline environment. We have no moderator. No one can intercede against one member for the overall benefit of the group. I.e., no one can stop Ken from flaming and no one can stop you from responding. WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? 1. STOP DEFENDING YOURSELF IN SITUATIONS WHERE DEFENSE HAS NO EFFECT. You know, and I know that Ken won't change his mind. With that in mind, who do you think you are helping by flaming back at him? You aren't helping the overall group, certainly. Most of us are gay. We already know that gays are OK. The person you are helping is Ken. He WANTS you to respond. There are many possible reasons for that, but sincere interest on his part is hardly one of them. You might be helping yourself, by getting something off your chest. Please, before you get something off your chest: THINK. Are you doing something constructive ... or is it destructive? Are you destroying the unity of the group for your own relief? 2. START DISCUSSING RELEVANT ISSUES. Here's some interesting ones: a. What distinguishes gay culture on the West Coast from that on the East Coast? I bet they are pretty different. Los Angeles is substantially different from San Francisco. b. What has been your experience in unifying gay men and lesbians in political or social groups? c. Are gays becoming "more right-wing"? d. What are your feelings about the focus of "gay money" in AIDS projects. The ones I know about seem to spend a lot of cash on patient support, and little or nothing on research. When the Reagan administration recently announced substantial cuts in the support of AIDS related research, should we be putting our money in to fill the gap? Or not? e. I liked the review of the Fourth Man. Has anyone seen Another Country? Its supposed to be a pretty good film, with a gay protagonist. f. What companies are known to have non-discrimination clauses for gays? g. Surely, you have some special interests within the gay community. What are they? A FINAL NOTE: Since it is impossible (and perhaps undesirable) to control disruptive behavior in a net group like this, we must impose self-discipline in order to nurture fruitful discussion. Please do your best to be a positive influence in this conference. Don't waste time defending yourself. It won't help. My next entry in the conference will discuss political motivation among gays (or something like that). IF YOU AREN'T PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM. Love, Dan Greening (ihnp4, ucbvax) !ucla-cs!dgreen
jeffw@tekecs.UUCP (Jeff Winslow) (08/31/84)
> Please do your best to be a positive influence in this conference. > IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM. You might try following your own advice. That particular hoary old bulls**t is anything but a positive influence. One always has the right to abstain. Of course, political fanatics don't like that. And they've already decided what the solution is, regardless of what anyone else thinks about it. They are cordially invited, regardless of their sexual preference, to osculate my posterior. Other than that bitter reaction, I liked your article. Don't let your emotions drive you into quoting mindless slogans like the above. Jeff Winslow
ag5@pucc-i (Henry C. Mensch) (09/11/84)
<Boy, is Purdue boring! Better to die in a plane crash than to land here!> One of the points which Dan Greening mentions in his article "What about politics, . . ." regards the focus of "gay money" in AIDS projects. He seems concerned that most of the gay-sponsored AIDS projects spend *lots* of money on patient support, and that not much of the money from gay sources is spent on research. He seems to feel that some of the money should be re-directed from the support functions to the research functions. Although I understand his concern that we should spend more on research and whup this monster for good, we *shouldn't* decrease funding for the AIDS projects which support victims, their SO's and families. It's important to keep in mind that (in many cases) the victim is left jobless (either because he can no longer perform required tasks due to his illness or because he was fired for being gay and having AIDS) and homeless. We have to help support our own. These support groups aren't just rap groups and counseling sessions; they are providing *vital* services to AIDS victims. I'd like to hear more about this. It's important stuff. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry C. Mensch | Purdue University Computing Center {decvax|ucbvax|sequent|icalqa|inuxc|uiucdcs|ihnp4}!pur-ee!pucc-i!ag5 pucc-i.ag5@purdue.ARPA | pucc-i.ag5@purdue-mordred.CSNET -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh brave new world that has such people in it!"