I don't have a problem with civil disobedience. I have no great faith
in democracy. Democracy allowed slavery and the subjugation of women;
Democracy brought terrible mistreatment of American Indians,
Australian aborigines, and other minorities. Democracy brought us
the Holocaust. While it may be better than other options,
anyone who thinks Democracy is a cure-all obviously hasn't been
paying attention.

The question remains, however, how best to fight the good fight?

I have not been able to find a sufficient answer.

Gay men could take up arms (as it were) at Stonewall, and show the world
that they weren't going to take it any more - but all of them were adults,
and were in a position to take the risks. We love children,
and cannot in good conscience put children in the way of danger.

(Of course, in some cases, the danger to a child of ignorance of sex
may be greater than the danger of being caught, so I do not presume
to judge the actions of others in such cases. Let us not forget,
while doing our best to protect the interests of children,
that WE are not the ones who are putting them in danger.)

In the case of ethnic minorities, the minorities could tell at a glance
who their group was - so could their oppressors - and that circumstance
compelled cooperation and unity, and also facilitated it.
They already had a clear and present danger, and action was better
than inaction. This is not the case with an invisible minority
like ourselves.

The only tools I see are frequent and forceful public arguments
to promote our viewpoint (and discussion forums like this one
are one example, even though the readership by normals may be low);
letters - anonymous or otherwise - to various publications
urging more REAL investigation into the matter; and gently steering
our acquaintances towards a generally more tolerant attitude.

I think this last is already occurring. Gays have made great progress
in just the past few years, and since recognizing my own orientation
I have made it a point to advocate - even in a conservative church -
for a more tolerant attitude toward Gays, and for allowing Gay marriages
(as a matter of it not really being the concern of the state anyhow).
I do this partly because Gays deserve justice, and partly because
I notice that the larger branch of the antis (the religious ones)
hate gays as much as they hate us, but I also do it because
it shifts the whole grounds of the debate toward more tolerance.

I see the frontier shifting from the debate over homosexuality
to a debate over all sexuality, and many of us can publicly argue
for a better assessment of sexuality in general (which will in the end
help our cause) who dare not openly advocate pedophilia
in the current environment.

I don't know if these will work or not, and I advise those
who want to steer friends toward a more tolerant attitude to do so
with great care, and, perhaps very important, INDIRECTLY,
but I hope that these methods may change the environment enough
that we can devise new and better methods at a future date.



Baldur