If I had been able to make people understand me better,
then maybe they would have realized that What's Up is not a
business venture, but an investment in the community of
which it is a part. We certainly do not wish to lose money on
every issue, but we have no desire to profit beyond the cost
of producing the paper itself.
If somehow I could convince you that there is a lot more
to being gay than sex and parties, then possibly we could all
cooperate and try to have some lasting affect on the
challenges that are confronting us as a minority
group. Perhaps we could pool our resources and have a
"Center" for the people in the Akron / Canton area. This is
especially needed for gay youth, who have few choices
presently. Perhaps organizations such as Stonewall Akron
would have thousands of members, rather than fewer than
one hundred, if I were better able to express the importance
of organizing within our own community.
If I had a better knowledge of the problems faced by the
gay youth of our communities, especially in the way that they
are treated by the police and schools, then perhaps I could
write about something in which we could all find a common
ground to unite on. Do you know what your school boards
policy is on dealing with gays? I do not know Akron's
policies. They probably do not even have a specific policy. If
a fifteen to sixteen year old boy or girl was to go to a school
counselor, regarding their homosexuality or about being
harassed by other students, what sort of advice or help
would they be given? What are the schools doing to protect
them from abuse? Are they sent to a psychologist to be
cured of their gayness? I do not know the answers to these
questions, but I do know that as gay adults, we should
become aware of the challenges confronting these youth,
and become involved with the school boards so that they do
not have to suffer the same abuses that many of us had to
endure in our youths.
How are you treated by the police in your community if
the police know that you are gay? I personally support the
Akron F.O.P. and have done so for many years. But I do know
from first hand experience that homophobia is quite
widespread within this group, even though I know that there
are gay cops. It may go with the makeup of what it takes to
become a cop in the first place. Being a policeman is a tough
job that takes a great emotional toll on its ranks, but I think
that education in dealing with prejudices should be a major
part of the training program for all police officers. Any
persons charged with the protection of citizens, and with
whom the safety of others is vested, should not have any
sort of prejudice influencing them in the performance of their
duties.
Well, I suppose that anyone who has read this article up
to this point either does't understand what I have written, or
is totally pissed off about it, or possibly feels that the tone of
it is negative. But this is the best that I can do. If you have any
suggestions (other than my not writing anymore) I would be
very interested in hearing from you. Otherwise I don't know
what to tell you. Just live with it, I guess. I believe that if I have
gotten through to just one person who has read this and it
inspires them to become active in the community, and
somewhere down the road it has a positive effect on the way
gay people are treated by the so-called straight community,
then all the work involved will have been worth it. Peace!
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