University Daily Kansan / Friday, September 21, 1990
5
Gay man pleads for tolerance
I was born in a small town in rural Alabama called Hartford, where the minds were as small if not smaller.
I often heard—"town the town."
I often heard what my life might have been like if my family had remained in that small town for my entire childhood.
The word nigger was not a dirty word. It was just a word used to describe a Black person. There were no black people used to describe a Black person.
There were other slang terms that were used to describe Mexicans, etc.
As I began to grow physically and mature mentally, I began to understand the distinction between the words nigger and Black, vowing never to use the slang term again. It upset me to hear others use the word, although I never spoke out about it because it did not concern my life directly because I was not a minority.
Well, little did I or anyone else know that rough-and-tough, get-into everything little boy was going to grow up homosexual. Well, he did
Thursday, I was walking from my apartment to campus as I do every weekday. I slowed down to pick up the Kansan, thumping through for articles of interest, when I spotted a current hot topic: "Do you think that homosexuals should be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces?"
My immediate response was, "Hell, yes!", and then I began to
James Davis
Guest columnist
read the responses from six randomly chosen people.
There were three women and three men questioned on the issue. Four of the six said they had no problem with homosexuals serving their country, and the other two people said homosexuals should not be allowed to serve.
What shocked me most about the two who said no was that they both were obviously minorities and would have been subjected to the history of oppression in our country.
One would think people who have been victims of oppression would be more open and understanding of diversity in our society. Sometimes I want to cry when people, especially students, are made aware that the university level, allow their minds to remain closed about alternative lifestyles.
I have no more choice about my sexuality than one does about skin color. Sure, a lot of people say we choose this way, but I would choose that way to choose who would choose a lifestyle in which people say you are no good and what you do is no good.
and when you die you are going to hell etc.
People have no control over the color of their eyes, just as they have no control over the color of their hair. Of course, one could color his or her hair or buy tied contacts, but beneath it all the true color is still there. A homosexual child may be heard that he or she is a heterosexual, and may be successful, but beneath that facade is still a homosexual.
What is here today may be gone tomorrow, so do not live life the way society would like you to live. Live your life for you and for what truly makes you happy as a person, whatever it may be.
And on a close note, please let us all make an attempt to tolerate our brothers and sisters, regardless of their gender, sex, creed, sexual orientation, etc.
After all, we are all here inhabiting this tiny planet for a limited amount of time, so let's make the most of it. We are all dynamic, intelligent, wonderful people. Now if we can only have a smile and learn to accept God bless.
P. S. Yes, homosexuals should be allowed to defend our country. After all, equality for all — isn't that the way? The American Way?
James Davis is an Atlanta senior maloring in history.
Abortion referendum would aid all
T The United States is spiraling down an abyss of economic decline, the infrastructures of our major cities are crumbling, we are choking on our garbage and suffocating in our polluted air.
Why are these and other pressing issues suffering neglect and allowed to persist? Our municipal, state and federal representatives are bound and paralyzed by the abortion issue. Political campaigns hinge on the abortion debate. Often, citizens objectively lobbed by abortion interest groups and often find themselves engaged in heated debates on their legislative floors.
Our judges are nominated and confirmed on the basis of their stance on abortion. And so it goes for all public officials from governors to local dog-catchers. Subsequently, a disproportionate amount of time is
Russell Henke
Guest columnist
spent on the question of abortion, leaving the desperate call of the economy and environment unanswered. The great tragedy and futility of this situation is that representa- tionists will not solve the abortion debate.
The reason is simple. The nature of politics is compromise. The nature of abortion is uncompromising. Any degree of compromise by an elected official is potentially devastating to his job security given the stunch view many of his constituents may hold regarding abortion.
representative democracy simply does not have the capability to resolve the abortion debate. Direct democracy, however, does. The issue of abortion needs to be taken directly to the people through a national referendum encompassing the views of the extreme right to the extreme left concerning the legality of abortion and all its components (consent, financing, notification, etc.). Only then can the United States reach the ultimate common ground that Plato called the "virtuous." Once the voice of the United States has spoken, it shall be law and subject to re-election.
From the passionate on both sides of the debate to the indifferent, a national referendum on abortion will benefit everyone.
> Russell Henke is a Leawood Junior majoring in journalism.
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