To the Editor:
This is to all of you out there who turn out for Brother Jed or whoever the Radical Right asshole of the week is and encourage him by engaging his offensive nonsense with your dialogue. Many of you probably think it's a fun way to waste a couple of hours on a sunny April afternoon as you procrastinate doing your work. This is what I think it is:
I think it's someone coming into my town and preaching about my "immoral lifestyle" and informing me that the fact that I'm a dyke means I'm going to hell. Well, let me tell you something...I'm perfectly comfortable with my sexuality and my "lifestyle". I know there's nothing wrong with it. I know I'm not going to hell. But even though I can usually blow off the right-wing bullshit, I think I should be able to walk around the town that I live in and not have to worry about some fool standing in the middle of Tappan Square threatening me and my friends. And if he feels the need to come and listen to himself speak, because he thinks he's serving his god or something, I'd appreciate it if my fellow students (many of whom would consider themselves supporters of Queer rights and freedoms) would stop encouraging him by giving him an audience and conversing with him. It may seem like a big joke to you, but that's because nothing that he says has any real influence on your life. Think about the fact that he's a member of the scary-as-hell Radical Right that's trying to take over this country. Do you realize what you're supporting?
Next time you start walking over to have a little chat with Brother Jed, think about what it is that you're doing. You're showing him that you enjoy his presence on our campus and that you think it's OK, even comical, that he comes here to preach on the immorality of Queers.
WAKE UP!
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 22; April 26, 1996
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