> also - i am really concerned about the tendency of people to react to bigotry with laws. does it, or can it, really work?? surely that is really just legalised mind control? wouldnt the best way be to educate people, and change attitudes?? or does forcing people to be together then cause them to start changing their attitudes??
To me legislation is important simply because it gives people who are discriminated against some kind of recourse. Mack is a prime example of someone who might benefit from a law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. The tendency of some people to label such laws as 'special rights' really pisses me off. The same with the movement to do away with affirmative action programs. Sure, in a perfect world we wouldn't need specific laws to protect anyone's civil rights. Unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world. In spite of the information highway and mass communication and the fact that this old world seems to get smaller by the second, there is still plenty of ignorance, prejudice and plain ugly old bigotry all around. And you still find it all too often in people who have some kind of position of power. Landlords, managers, clergy, legislators, policemen - all of these positions and countless others give the people who hold them a certain amount of power to affect other people's lives. You get even one person into any of these jobs who harbors distorted views of a certain group of people and they can and do cause a certain amount of grief for people belonging to that group. If there is no law to stop them and if society in general shows a disregard for the value and rights of that group (as it seems is the general attitude toward gays in the town that Mack lives in) then those people have free rein to deny housing, employment, spiritual comfort, legal recourse, protection and to harass the people they deem as inferior or unworthy. Laws that prohibit such discrimnatory behavior might not stop it but at least they give people victimized by prejudice some legal means to fight it. So laws are important. Will they change people's attitudes in the long run? Maybe it might make some people reassess their beliefs if the government officially recognizes the fact that gays are entitled to have the same civil rights as anybody else. But no, I agree with you, you certainly can't force anybody to change their attitudes. To Mack: I haven't written anything about your situation, Mack, because I'm not sure what I would do in your position. My gut feeling is that if you say nothing the whole issue will evaporate & you won't have to confront it. As others have pointed out, it seems unlikely that your employer will go to the trouble and expense of doing that throrough of a background check. Now if you'd done time in prison, that would be a different story. But I'm sure there must be other people who work in your hospital who have had minor infractions on their records and I really can't believe that they're going to bother with going to all the trouble of searching all of those out. Anyway, include me with all the rest who have indicated their support. I too have elderly parents. Unfortunately, they live in Iowa (I'm in Washington state near Seattle) and I often feel guilty and helpless that I can't do more to help them. They have home healthcare people coming in five days a week now and are on a waiting list for new assisted living units to be built in my hometown next year. They really can't function well on their own anymore. I admire you for sticking by your mom & dad and support you 100%. Mark E.
