When I first started teaching, teenagers who were known as, or called, "fags" or "gay" often were prone to depression and even suicide. Thankfully, that kind of harassment is now illegal in schools and the workplace; and the mainstream culture has also come a long way in that regard. But the expression, "Never Again" has not taken full effect as yet Those tactics are still being used, in this country, by adults not by school kids; e.g., the web site GodHatesFags.com developed by a "christian" denomination. Gay men and women, especially teenagers, still commit suicide at extraordinary rates in comparison to other groups' moreover, the misguided Ex-Gay ministries aggravate the potential for hate crimes. Adults trying to hide who they are often become tabloid news stories because of their hypocrisy: ruined marriages, political careers turned into jokes on late night TV, expulsion of desperately needed linguists and others from the military, et al. Some of us were fortunate to have established a level of professionalism and integrity before our private lives became well-known. Those who study such things say we overcompensated so that we could overcome our worst fears of homophobia. Maybe. But we discovered, and were lucky, that the majority of rational people, people who were neither dogmatic, fundamentalist, nor opinionated, easily dismissed sexual orientation as irrelevant, especially among consenting adults. "The Laramie Project" is a dramatic representation of what happens when people with some notion that "God Hates Fags!" ask, with malicious intent, "Are you gay?" "The Laramie Project" will be performed at the Paramount Theatre on November 16 and 17. "THESE SPECIAL PERFORMANCES WILL BENEFIT THE MATTHEW SHEPARD FOUNDATION, THE TECTONIC THEATER PROJECT AND THE CENTER IN ASBURY PARK." _http://www.westparkplayers.com/1.html_ (http://www.westparkplayers.com/1.html) Ticket are available at Madison Marquette's offices on Ocean Avenue. I have reserved several tickets. If KB would like to end these threads on this board, let his last be a request to see "The Laramie Project." I will leave a complimentary ticket at the box office for him. I did not raise this topic here, but I will not let it go unanswered. Never again!
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