Greatest Stumbling Block

[Rick Lunkenheimer]

Originally Posted by Jamie McDaniel

Dr. King referred to such a peace in his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

"I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride towards freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice;"

This could quote is perfect as it applies to heterosexuals that accept homosexuals but wouldn't work for equality. I've heard a guy from the Illinois national guard say that he knows banning gays from the military is wrong, but that if you forced it on the military, they would reject it and there would be chaos. Well, we all know the same "chaos" happened with the integration of African-Americans, and the inclusion of woman.

However, I think the gay-friendly heterosexual is only our SECOND greatest stumbling block. The winner for first-prize goes to the "satisfied homosexual", who may go to gay bars, read gay newspapers, but refuses to "get political". I know plenty of these. Their view on the religious right is "you can't change their minds so just ignore them."

Many times a GLBT person may be living in a gay neighborhood and watch gay movies and TV, and think that things have changed for the better, therefore the gay rights struggle is over. They seem to ignore the many places in the country where gay people still live in fear. Our difficult job is to get these people to see we still have a long way to go and they need to get involved.

Rick