Newspaper Page Text
THE BARB 2 ,
Editor’s Notebook
by Bill Smith
We received a copy of
the NS MOBILIZER this
month. It was ,a Monday,
not the best day ’of the week
for me, and the fact that
such a publication even
exists made it even worse.
What is the NS MO
BILIZER? It is the official
publication of the National
Socialist League, a group
dedicated to marching
backwards- to .Germany of
the 1930’s. *Raiists, sex
ists, antisemitic, disgust
ing-all made even more
horrifing because those who
publish it are homosexuals.
One article concerning
J.B. Stoner’s bid for the
U.S. Senate from Georgia
on the National State Rights
ticket closes with “We of
the NSL would be even more
encouraged if the States
Righters would drop the
pointless anti- Gay plank
that keeps their party from
receiving our full support
in its fight for a white
America.” I suppose an
equally deluded black
person could say the same
thing-changing the state
ment “... if the States
Righter would drop the
pointless anti-blackplank.’
We would suggest the State
Righters keep both planks
to keep the totality of point
lessness within' their plat
form.
Virtually all gay organi
zations and individual gay
activists have been involved
in supportive roles ,within_
minority group struggles;
especially the black civil
rights movement. The NSL
is a very cesspool in an
otherwise progressively
oriented community.
It is difficult to under
stand such a group in light
of the many parallels be
tween the gay civii rights
movement and the civil
rights struggles of other
minority groups. Num-
berous gay political activ
ists in the U. S. have
drawn paralells betweenthe
black civil movement, the
most successful of the
minority rights move
ments, and the gay civil
rights movement. Both
groups have a long history
of suffering and unjust
treatment in the United
States and throughout the
world. Gays sougni refuge
in lives of secretiveness
and anonymity and blacks
in group ghettoes and sub-
survience to tfie will of
whitemasters. The discri
mination and oppression of
blacks has, of course, been
much more visible and phy
sical. The fact of being
black is visible. The fact
of being gay for the most
part is not visible. The
psychological oppression is
often greater. No other
minority group suffers
from the terrible psycho
logical pressure of others,
co-workers, “friend” even
family discovering that they
are a member of “that”
minority.
Black people like gays
have suffered terribly from
the “big lie!” Blacks were
told that they were geneti
cally and thus socially and
morally inferior. Gays
were told that they were
mentally and morally sick.
Many in both communities
accepted such garbage as
fact. Some gay people, to
day, still feel an inferiority
to the straight society. The
long academic battle of
genetic inferiority of
blacks is virtually over,
few respected profess
ionals would argue the su
periority/inferiority gene
tically of black and white.
The tide is also ‘ turning,
against those professional
who seek to lable gays as
ill, sick, genetically de
fective etc. The question,
however, is far from moot.
The dramatic rise of the
activists leadership within
black churches in the early
sixties was one of the most
LETTERS
Dear Mr. Smith:
I am very glad to see the
subject of Venereal Disease
discussed in detail as it was in
your article “V.D.. Past,
Present, Future” - Vol. I, No.
12 of the BARB.
1 spied the topic and picked
up my first issue of The
Barb”. I am a nurse, so
naturally I enjoy seeing and
reading articles' informative to
•the general public. Your
article was written so that all
could understand what V.D.
is about. As you said, there
should be ift reason why one
should delay in receiving
medical attention. There are
^various agencies available for
referral and now the subject is
handled with utmost discretion
by doctors and the Public
Health Clinics.
Wheri one suspects he
(or she) may have a
veneral disease one should
realize the personal and social
importance of immediate
medical attention and seek
such.
A moral duty should also
exist. In the somewhat
promiscuous lifestyle of ho
mosexuality, to allow someone
to unknowingly contract V.D.
is a crime against human
dignity.
V.D. can and will decline in
incidence if the public is
properly informed and the
individual avails himself of the
information available. We
must alert ourselves of the
signigicant factors in help
ing black men ^nd women
combat the ‘ g lie.”
The black clergy provided
a dynamic and communal
spirit in which the black
Community could renew it
self and build. Black civil
rights leaders moved to
organize their constituency
around the single issue of
“Jim Crow” laws. Many
black churches throughout
the south became centers
for the spiritual strength
needed to fight the battle
of the very secular and
oppressive world forced
upon people in the early
60’s. There were excep
tions. Not all black mini
sters helped to organize
and/or support black ac
tivist. With .admonishments
of accepting the status quo
and waiting for spiritual
rewards in another world
these “Uncle Tom”
stifled the growth of their
parishioners and like pot
holes on a superhighway
impeded the forward move -
ment of activists. The mini
sters who either provided
support roles or actively
organized gave their com-
munifty the spiritual values
and strength that was cru
cial to the success of acti-.
vist programs. Today the
black political leadership in
the south is, if not still
active in the ministry, for
the most part, from amir
nisterial background.
Gay people have been
largely alienated from
churches. Virtually none of
the polictical activist on the
gay scence are even affili
ated with a church. None
are ministers. The excep
tion. *of course, is Troy
Perry, founder of the
Metropolitan Community
Church Universal Fellow
ship and first pastor of the
Los Angeles MCC. Rev.
Perry, unlike the vast ma
jority of MCC ministers,
has taken an active interest
and part in the gay civil
rights movement both na
tionally and locally in Los
Angeles. Perry’s activity
has often been accomplish
ed inspite of the will of the
heirarcy of his church and
the ruling body of the
fellowship. The official
church paper on activism
is a farce. The only as
sistance it could possibly
Continued on page 12
column 3
signs and symptoms of a most
serious disease that may, one
day, affect anyone. V.D. has
no respect for class, race, or
gender.
Thank you very much for a
most informative, easily un
derstood article.
Sincerely Yours,
J. Evans
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Dear Jerry:
We hope the article will help
the community to see the
importance of treatment,
immediate treatment. Peter
Thomas is an excellent writer
and we expect he will be
writing on this subject and
many others of vital interest to
you in the future.
The Editor.,
Sex With Your
Friends
by Gibson W. Higgins
It is a strange idea. Most
people would be hesitant to
admit to having sex with
total strangers, in spite of
the fact that some people,
both gay and straight, do
it. Many gays believe that
they have an advantage over
straight society in the ease
with which sexual contacts
may be made. They be
lieve that this liberates
them from the social con
ventions of meeting and
’’getting acquainted” com
monly associated with bed
ding a woman. But if a
relationship begun as
purely sexual frequently
leads to more, why don’t
more men who visit fe
male prostitutes tend to
form lasting acquaintance
with them? Partly of
course it is because of
the nature of the clientele:
inexperienced and unsatif-
fied younger men, unhappy
married men, and older
men with no other outlet.
All that is sought, and ob
tained, is a quick phsical
release, in exchange for a
devalued dollar. Men fre
quently find themselves
superficially attracted to
some such women, but how
many first-person stories
have you ever heard about
the lady - of - the - night who
is now my chick (or wife,
or whatever)? Probably
none, because the man’s
life is usually primarily
concerned with, if not de
dicated to other pursuits
while the woman’s life is
totally occupied with gett
ing the next john (you may
read that as trick). She
spends most of her time
sitting in bars or walking
the streets, or else gett
ing in from or readying to
go out for same.
Granted the frequency
may be different, but the
pattern pould easily be that
of a gay person. Getting a
trick becomes such an ob
session, even if an uncon
scious one, that all of one’s
time chases that next man.
Take it and leave it
becomes a way of life. Wear
the right costume, go to
this place, behave that way,
and be sure that “hello” is
a prelude to ‘.‘let’s do it,”
because that is the way it
is done. Since appearance
is the basis for such en-,
counters, watch the
wrinkles in exposed layers
of skin and clothes, get all
of the hair in place, and
brother, keep on smilin!
The gay person loses. in
comparison with the
prostitue, since she at least
gets something of material
value. But how about the
numbers exchanged, the
promises to call, the plea
sures shared? Or the pain
of having so many but not
really anyone, or of seeing
him leave the bar with
someone else the next
night?
The brain is the most
important sex organ. Re
peated encounters with the
same person inevitably
lead in one of two
directions; boredom or
emotional involvement, be
cause the mind partici
pates. Becoming hooked on
the stimulus of a new
person makes the physical
sex a lot easier ancLavoids
getting into another v s head
and feelings, the places one
finds the sentiments of
friendship. An easy lay
holds a different degree of
respect homosexuals than
does one who is “hard to
get, ’ ’ even for jaded homo-
Centinued on page 12
