rob@denelcor.UUCP (06/15/84)
I stopped reading and contributing to netnews for a goodly long while because
I was disgusted with the low information content of the articles and the
childishness of most people posting opinions. The objective of most people
seems to be seeing how many people they can convince without bothering to
get the facts. And posting to netnews is an easy way to get your name in
print.
A case in point is the most recent article by Jeff Sargent. Jeff has echoed
his views, with minor modifications, several times in the past. Although he
asserts his opinions as if an authority on the subject, he fails to do any
real research when confronted with facts which contradict his conclusions.
I remember once when he condemned the validity of Boswell's information
without reading his book. It is especially annoying when someone who still
has trouble dealing with his own sexuality can pontificate on how we should
deal with ours! Having been called on his act before, I would expect him
to be more careful about repeating the offense; this does not appear to be
the case. He must believe in Lewis Carroll's rule of three: I've said it
thrice so it must be true.
Unfortunately, most people operate in this same manner - seeking to reinforce
their beliefs rather than validate or alter them. This necessitates forcing
their beliefs on others, so that they cannot be called into question; for
some reason, beliefs must act as rules rather than observations. I once
heard that the goal of thinking is to eliminate thinking; too many people
reach this goal through other methods. The difference between man and
machine is that most machines stop working when they're missing a few cogs.
Two questions:
1) I've been thinking of having my "queer" ear pierced as a socio-political
statement. It is the least offensive sign I know of to state one is (probably)
gay which is widely known to straight society. The question: should gay men
be encouraged to wear earrings as a means of increasing gay visibility, or
would this simply reinforce the stereotype that gay men are effeminate?
2) How much granfalloonery is involved in gay/lesbian identification?
Robert Wahl {hao!denelcor}