ag5@pucc-i (Henry C. Mensch) (10/08/84)
<<here we go again. another Frankenstein monster in the works!>>
==>stuff preceded by cutesy arrows provided by:
==>
==>Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,nsc}!amdahl!gam
==>
==>Andrew, I think you and many other people are missing a lot that
==>Ken has to say. (Yes, I'm serious!).
==>
And, pray tell, whose fault is this? If Ken wouldn't go
out of his way to offend people, they might actually listen
(even if they *do* disagree). This, in turn, would make
his message more effective, and then *maybe* it might serve
the good intentions that Ken *claims* to have for the gay
community.
Form *does* count. If you don't think so, then maybe you
ought to check out the discussion in net.flame (unfortunately
this discussion only addresses grammar/syntactical problems).
==>His anecdote about kicking the guy in boot camp was an interesting
==>point that no matter how wonderful and loving we think we are
==>we like to follow the crowd ('we' is us people generally). (Ironically
==>enough, that appears to be the attitude taken towards Ken by some
==>readers of this newsgroup).
==>
This doesn't mean that this sort of attitude is admirable, or
even desirable. It does seem that Ken presents this sort of
behavior as being both admirable and desirable.
By noting this behavior of his to the net community, he has
shown what little courage that he *does* have. Should we
take the words of such a wimp so seriously?
==>One of Ken's points is that many homosexuals may be kidding themselves
==>that things are just getting better and will continue to do so.
==>I agree that things are better for Gay people -- in urban centers
==>and tolerant communities; but what about in The Sticks, in
==>Podunk, etc?
==>
And, if we don't educate our communities (both in the urban
centers and in the sticks), then we will have no right to
bitch about things *if* they do get worse. And, if nothing
is said, then it only *can* get worse. Sitting on our asses
and being quiet isn't the way to get things done.
And no, things aren't better for "Gay" people. Generally, races
and nationalities are capitalized when referring to people;
pronouns referring to sexual orientation usually are not
capitalized. (Unless, of course, Jerry Falwell establishes a
new "homeland" for gays, in which case there will then be
"Gays." :-))
==>Further, Ken points out that this air of liberal tolerance can disappear
==>at any time -- Mr. Falwell reaches far more people than any Gay spokespeople.
==>Ken is right on this point, too, and I think that is something to
==>worry about. Not that Mr. Falwell does not have his right to speak
==>but that there isn't really "equal time" (and no I don't suggest
==>legal enforcement of equal time, either).
==>
If there really isn't "equal time," and you wouldn't suggest
legal enforcement for it, then what *would* you suggest?
Sounds like a Catch-22 to me . . .
If there had not been any support for racial minorities from
the legislative bodies in this country, do you think that
they would be where they are today? I don't think so. Some-
times legislation is the cough medicine that makes our
country better.
==>Ken is an abbrasive annoying person, but he makes many points I think
==>should be heeded. I am beginning to believe that he IS trying help Gay
==>people, in his own irritating insulting way. It's just that by paying
==>attention to the form and not the content, you're missing it.
==>
He also introduces many points which are not pertinent.
For many of us, time is quite valuable. If we are going
to put the time into reading and contributing to the net,
then I would expect that he would be considerate of this
and post pertinent discussions. "What are gays going to
do about pedophilia?", Ken asks. That's a dumb question;
perhaps a better question would be to ask what straights
AND gays (i.e., society) is going to do about pedophilia?
Of course, the answer to this question escapes us: I don't
have it, I don't see that Ken has it, and I don't know who
does.
==>Also quoting the Net Etiquette to Ken won't help. He's clearly
==>beyond that now. Not that his behavior is something you want
==>to encourage, of course, but Ken doesn't strike me as someone
==>who'd fall on his knees begging forgiveness for transgressing
==>against Rules of Etiquette.
==>
Agreed. Besides, past experience with Ken has shown
similar behaviors in other newsgroups...
Unfortunately, his behavior seems to be the reason for the
need for mod.motss (which now *does* exist; please refer to
earlier posting for more on this).
==>Again, don't mistake the form for the content.
==>
I'll try, if Ken tries to make appropriate presentations
of his views to this newsgroup.
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Henry C. Mensch | Purdue University Computing Center
{decvax|ucbvax|sequent|icalqa|inuxc|uiucdcs|ihnp4}!pur-ee!pucc-i!ag5
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" . . You'd better smile when they watch you,
smile like you're in control. . ."
-- *Smile*, Was (Not Was)