UUS-L Digest - 22 Jun 1994 - Special issue
Luci Malin Utah
I had dinner last night with the most conservative friend I have. He is
trying to convince me to join Amway and to buy a gun. I know I have heard
various things about Amway being owned by or politcally supporting
conservative causes, but I don't have any source for that info. Does
anyone know the facts?
My friend's arguement on guns is that all women
should be allowed to carry a concealed gun in their bag. If all men knew
this then they would not attack women, or at least think long and hard
before doing it. My friend is from a very small town in rural NE Utah and
I can see his point about having a gun to protect his property - he lives
more than a mile from anyone. But the mindset of the rural west is a far
cry from the inner city problems caused by the preponderance of violence
and guns.
Warren - I know you are not a homophobe, but the argument that the
Welcoming Congregation is singling out one group for special treatment is
one that the Eagle Forum and their ilk use all the times "no special
rights for lesbians and gays". We don't want "special rights" we want
plain everyday rights, like having our marriages legally recognized, having
benefits apply to our spouses, having our children grow up in legally and
socially sanctioned families, knowing we won't lose our jobs if we come out.
There is a button around that says "If We
Give Lesbians and Gays Civil Rights, Then Everyone Will Want Them". At
First UU Church in Salt Lake City, with over 400 members, they decided not
to embark on the Welcoming Congregation journey becuase "we don't have a
problem here". Out of four hundred members they have maybe 2 out lesbians
and
gays there. I'd say they have a problem. Compare that to South Valley where
with a membership of 160
we have probably 25 to 30 out lesbian and gay members, five or 6 of whom
are very active. The major difference
is that South Valley solicits participation by lesbian and gays.
The prevailing assumption amoung lesbian and gays is that they are not
welcome at -any- church. Period. No matter what church. The Welcoming
Congregation program is so important because it helps overcome this by
actually saying to lesbians and gays "you are welcome here" and by
providing a way for "liberal" folks to actually deal with their own
homophobia. The Welcoming Congregation program also allows lesbians,
gays and bisexuals to deal with their own internalized homophobia, which
is great, it can't but help be because we have all grown up in this
society which has told us (except for the young ones) that we are sick,
weird, evil, contemptible, etc. I
can't tell you how shocked people are when they find out how active I am
at South Valley and how important "church" is to my life. Me, the raving
lesbian feminist politico of Salt Lake. And they are doubly shocked when
they find out I am an accepted leader of the South Valley community. And
they say "well, maybe I'll try it" out when they find out I was Board
President for 2 terms. I'm not sure the mindset of thinking you are not
welcome applies to other groups such as racial, or disabled minorities,
at least the stigma associated with being lesbian or gay, even if it is only
self-perceived, and of considering oneself a social outcast doesn't
seem to be as omnipresent.
I know this is too long of a post, but I don't do it very often!
Lucia
Jonathan Dill
On Thu, 23 Jun 1994, Luci Malin Utah wrote:
> I had dinner last night with the most conservative friend I have. He is
> trying to convince me to join Amway and to buy a gun. I know I have heard
Perhaps the idea is to hold a gun to people's head and make them buy Amway
products. ;-)
Trying not to take myself too seriously,
--jonathan (jona...@ibm2.carb.nist.gov Jonathan F. Dill)