April 11, 2008.
It’s sort of like the old days with Don Slater, but Paul Harris, Ron Tate, and I are talking about various issues of homosexuality, starting even with the definition—Kinsey versus…?
Don of course, like Kinsey, said it is an act. I agree. But it is complicated by people like me, who have no sex, even for 20 years, but we are still homosexual.
And some people have a homosexual act but are not homosexual. That is why I think I’ve said the person is homosexual if he or she has even the slightest number of acts over 50% of the time with someone of the same sex, by choice, or would have, if they could. (I think it has been said that if you even dream of a homosexual act, that also is an indication.)
But what is still on my mind is the current discussion on the black civil rights movement, the core people mainly, brought on by the 40th anniversary of Dr. King’s death and my finding John D’Emilio’s book on Bayard Rustin, Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin, telling of how hard life was for him being black, trying to travel around the nation promoting pacifism — not even sexual or racial issues.
And how many “liberals,” black and white, refused to help the movement people for fear of themselves being hurt. And then how some black ministers seemed to be jealous of Dr. King et al. getting too much power and publicity.
And how some movement people had trouble “confusing” the public by trying to take on more than one issue—Bayard Rustin was first into Communist Party work because it seemed to be supportive of helping the blacks and trying to fight the American government. And the Party’s secret support of England, etc., against Germany, which then changed when Germany invaded Russia saying it didn’t want to “undermine” the Americans since they would be helping Russia fight Germany, so they no longer supported the black civil rights cause.
Both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert last night covered this issue, a hot topic now because of Obama and his preacher. Jon had coverage of black speakers pointing out how the media and historians, and people with motives/agendas, have tried to “Santa Claus” Dr. King and subtract from the truth, that he did not always get support and many people didn’t like him. He was not a saint, and he said America was bad towards blacks and talked against the Vietnam war, etc. They said this does not make him un-American, that patriotism is not in just saying America is perfect but in striving to make America more perfect.
And it seems to me this is the same thing for women’s rights, our rights, etc. We acknowledge the great progress made, and each generation builds on what it receives and adds to, builds on that work, so that future generations will have an even better life.
