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ACTION
Gibson W. Higgins
Sounds like this week's title at
the movie house on Walton
Street, but it isn’t. Infact, it’s the
antithesis of the way- of life
represented by exploitation in
general. What I write here is both
idealistic and painful, based on
reality and fantasy, and hopefully
is positively directed.
Gay people need to get into
action - to get their act together as
individuals and as a group. The
“act” is being a fully functioning
adult integrated into society at
la^ge. We can no longer afford to
“cop out” and retreat into the
subculture, coming out only long
after the sun has set and
“decent” people ar asleep.
“Doing our thing” must beoutof'
consideration for those around us.
. It is absurb to expect all people to
accept and like us (either in
dividually or collectively) but
living in a society means that we
must get along with the members
of that society. Freaking out,
popping out, camping out, and
tricking out have to be put into a
life perspective. Sure, most
people do some of these things at
some time during their lives, but
most people don’t make a way of
life of them. If I hear you say that
most people are not gay, I’ll say
that you are avoiding the issue by
being defensive.
This all sounds like capitulation
and acquiescence, but it is far
above that, for pride and self-
respect must exist for anyone to
function in a community. Gays
have made dizzying strides in the
• past few years. Even five years
ago prominent public figures
wouldn’t have been caught alive
.fas admired homosexuals, and
eleven years ago a member of the
, White House staff nearly created
havoc by association for a
presidential candidate. Now,
media are consulting gay leaders
for advice on depicting
homosexuality fairly, and political
| pressure from gays is com
monplace. There is even a gay
rights bill in Congress ! Such a law
would be a landmark, particularly
if upheld by'me courts, but 1964
(as 1860) didn’t free black people,
it only helped. If gays want to
guarantee the.tt^blves rights they
must work for them and use them
and they must plan to be a part of
society, not apart from it.
Behind the myriad of ex
pressionless faces in . the bars,
baths, bookstores, and bushes
can occasionally be glimpsed
living, breathing, flestt*g)ftd blood
human beings, with thoughts*
feelings and desires. " We go
compulsively to such places and-
we dissipate our physical,
spiritual, and emotional energies,
and in so doing we seriously
restrict ourselves to an in
finitesimal part of life. An in
telligent friend claims that people
really are looking for an in
volvement when they cruise such
places, but they don’t know how
to handle it, or they are afraid of
it, or they opt for quick sex as a
short put, and go away
bewildered that nothing else
happened. It isn’t so simple to see
that the quick sex is the easy part,
for we lived so long fearing any
sexual encounter with our own
kind, that we apparently feel
inclined to repeatedly prove to
ourselves that it can happen and
be all [right. Getting the act
together means recognizing the
implicatjons of quickie tricks as a
way of life, and then being able to
rise above that way of life and
grow bejyond it. Please note that I
am not’ totally condemning the
behavior, for I strongly believe, in
personal freedom t and self-
expres^iotf, but the healthy,
mature; individual will recognize it
as anty a small phase of life to be
passed through. Harrassment of
“Adult Bookstores” will not
change anything at all.
Adults can relate to others oh
all levels: physical, intellectual,:
emotional. They can give w ell
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as take. Getting the act together
means ceasjmg to only take and
possess. There are community
needs which must be met, and
there are personal need s which
must be met or the person
withers. Both types of needs are
satisfied by giving. Any involving
relationship must be nurtured by
giving or it cannot survive. People
who avoid personal relationships
do so from lack of understanding
of the investment that must be
made, and of the goal they might
seek. Hollywood has created for
us a fantasy world where all the
people are attractive (at least the
stars are) and who undergo a
small crisis and then apparently
live happily ever after. Our entire
media-oriented culture avoids
even the mention of commitment,
sacrifice, goals, self-denial
(UGH). Yet we bemoan the
disintergration of marriage as
somehow being against the
system. People reject the glamour
and then know no other reason for
being together. Any bond bet
ween two or more people must be
established and maintained. This
requires the goal, the com
mitment, and th© input of energy
by all parties. Getting the act
together means becoming a
mature adult and relating- to
people on all levels, including
close personal commitment.
“Sure ill’s easy for you to say
‘become a mature adult’ ” you
say. but this is not a therapy
session or even an adviee column,
Getting 'the act together means
becoming an integral part of a
community and participating in
its affairs as the person you are,
and it means that YOU do the
becoming; Because we have
usually been invisible, gays have
ihissed sharing their vitality with
others, at a loss to everyone. We
have retreated into our little
world (and,my friend it is indeed
small) and then wondered why we
cannot influence any lives, either
our own or those around us.
All of this talk of commitment
and sacrifice sounds like a ser
mon, but we must return to
fundamentals." Americans have
( become conditioned to consider
only “what’s in it for me”and to
ignore obligation and duty. So it
is with gays for sure, who aren’t
accustomed to very much human
exchange at all, and who
therefore are totally unable to
freely give. Taking and con
suming is smallness: giving and
creating allows a person to rise
above it, and the lesson applies to
j£L people, regardless of their;
THE BARB -3
persuaions. In a television-
drugged society people of all
orientations find it difficult to live
principled lives, and the
“average” person isn’t very
much disposed to complex
philosophy v anyway. However,
ignoring moral, spiritual, and
human principles puts us
precisely into the present dif
ficulties of society, and a balance
to consumer-oriented thingking
must soon appear or we all
perish. The age of the product is
upon us - do we languish in it?
Getting the act together means
turning a liability into an asset.
Gays who have succeeded into
self-awareness and acceptance
must lend a hand to those who
still liye in fear and terror of
Continued ohPage 12
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