July 10, 2010
Sadly, we have to remember what is discussed in the opinion article (Kristi Parker) about the comments blaming the man who was viciously attacked by four men in Lawrence.
Some of us think of Lawrence as being, like most large cities, a more enlightened space for LGBT people. But what happened to the man there happened the same month in several large cities still.
And yet our efforts to educate are not always liked, as is discussed in Editorially Speaking (Sheryl LeSage) when some parents oppose telling children about the real world, including homosexuality. As if talking about it it will make kids homosexual. In this case, being lesbian in a sense kept someone from getting pregnant as happens, accidentally, to too many young girls.
And it is good to read of the progress on the McKinney Collection of LGBT material at the Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas. It is luck that someone like Susan Thomas got the job of preparing the material for use. And had help from Tami Albin and support from the library. There is now discussion in the community/movement for saving our history while we can — as is pointed out, that material came close to being thrown in the garbage.
