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tit?
gWUNTlUS
VOLUME 4 NO. 3
FOUR YEARS OFSERVICE TO THE GAY COMMUNITY
MARCH 1973
ANN LANDERS
" Sexual Fascist
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Ann Landers, in a recent column
appearing in The Houston
Chronicle, publishes a letter from
a homosexual agonising over her
description of us as "sick" people.
He claims Mrs. Landers has now
"turned on us like a jungle animal"
and he is sorely distressed by it.
Rubbish! Surely by now this sort
of sexual fascism should no longer
come as a surprise to anyone.
Mrs Landers is only expressing
her conditioned response to a sexual morality utterly alien to her.
Her religious and social training
has firmly established in her own
mind the inadmissability of such
human expressions of sexual and
emotional realities. She does no-
more in defence of her sexual
fascism than do other bigots when
they appeal to some dubious biblical injunction construed to permit
inhuman behavior against us when
she calls up some medical practitioners whose bias supports her
own. It is a typical avoidance of
the real issue, and it gives considerable comfort to the sexual
fascists who need to require obedience to their own sexual modalities .
While understanding the anguish
and sense of frustration experienced by the author of the letter to
Mrs Landers, we do not sympathise
that much with him. The reason is
quite simple: we believe the time
is long past when gay human beings
should fall down before sexual
fascists and beg them for acceptance and understanding. It is
a frightful waste of time. And it is
an admission of the correctness of
the cruel and inhumane treatment
dispensed by these sexual fascists.
Such behavior on our part, collectively or individually, can only
serve to confirm us in a state of
servitude to the sexual fascists.
We should get on with the business
of building a sense of dignity and
self-worth; we should ignore the
patronising rationalisations handed down from on high by the sexual
fascists who profoundly enjoy their
social tyranny over us. We must
realise finally that they enjoy that
tyranny only at our sufferance. It
can, and must, be ended.
We must continue to develop
within the gay community and increasing sense of personal pride
and begin to grant our acceptance
to those sexual fascists, rather
than implore their specious acceptance of us. And that acceptance
can only be gained by their rising
above their principles and becoming more human, more humane and
more responsible for their own
behavior towards their fellow man.
The American Psychological
Association will consider formally
removing the category of homosexuality from their list of mental
illnesses in their forthcoming national convention. Well and good.
Hopefully these professionals will,
indeed, accept this progressive
change in their formal doctrines.
Eventually such an act would have
profoundly beneficial results for a
considerable part of the world's
human community. Buthomosexual
and bisexual human beings should
not depend on such public evidences
of professional understanding in
place of our own self-acceptance
and self-respect! This is something only we ourselves can do for
ourselves; we must stop reacting
to the rubbish promulgated by the
sexual fascist. We must begin to
act for our own well-being and
ignore the attempts of the sexually bigoted and exercise a tyranny
of life-style over us.
We must live our own lives in
harmony with our own nature, not
theirs.
The below is a reprint of the
Ann Landers column in the Houston
Chronicle, March 5, 1973.
You Have
Turned
On Us
Like A
Jungle Animal
BY ANN LANDERS
Ann Landers: I refuse to
«b]1 you "dear" because yon
are an empty-headed, ignorant, meddling fool. For years
I have read your column and
believed you were a friend of
homosexuals. A few days ago
you turned on us like a Jungle
animal and exposed your hypocrisy and ignorance.
I am ducked and outraged
that you would call us "sick"
and describe homosexual activity as "unnatural." How
dare you? We already have
many psychiatrists on our
side. Some excellent papers
have been written on the subject. They have given us a
clean bill of health. They say
we are NOT sick. We are only
different Why is it that you
haven't read those papers? I
think you should be fired for
incompetence. — Former
Reader
ANSWER
Dear Former: I have read
them, but I don't happen to
agree with the authors. I am
with the psychiatrists who believe homosexuals are sick
and that sex between two men
or two women is unnatural. I
can listen to and respect opinions different from my own.
however, without becoming
angry, shocked, or outraged.
Some highly reputable physicians are on the other side of
this argument. Here are some
samples of my mail:
From the British West Indies: Dear Aon Landers: May
I congratulate you on your
concise and perspicacious an-'
swer to a homosexual who
signed himself, "One." Twenty-five years ago I was "one,"
also. After six years of in-
depth analysis my life was
changed completely. You are
right when you say homosexuals are sick and their sex activity is unnatural. It is difficult to explain to a homosexual just how sick and unnatural it is. They refuse to believe it. But I know, because
I've been there and back. —
Forever Straight
From Topeka, Kansas:
Thank you for stating that
homosexuality is an illness. I
made the same statement on
the Merv Griffin show not
long ago and have bad a-
great deal of angry mail because of it. You do a good
job, Ann. Thank you. — Harold M. Voth, M.D., Menningef
Foundation
Chicago, Illinois: I have
worked with many homosexuals and, in my opinion, they
are individuals whose eirio-'
tional development, was arrested at a preadolescent level. When a massive Jack: of
development in the maturation process occurs in any
area, it can be referred to as
an illnessinpsychiatric
terms. — Dr. Sara Charles,
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Illinois
From Houston, Texas: Homosexuality, in my opinion, is
not normal or natural behavior. The original purpose of
sexual activity was to perpetuate the species. Any devia-
tion from the norm that
Continued pg. 2
ARSON IN
FARMHOUSE
FIRE
March 3rd about 5:25 A.M. the
fire trucks were again called out
to one of the leading Gay clubs
to douse a fire deliberately set.
The Farmhouse Club, 3535
Westheimer was the scene of this
latest attempt after a lapse of about
two years to t urn one of the communities plac as of recreation.
Mr. Gene Howel, operator of
the Farmhouse has been looser
before as a result of his club,
The Plantation on West Gray having
been burned.
Arson investigators said that
the building had been entered
through a vent in the rear. A screen had been cut to admit entrance
and the fire had definitely been
set in a storage room. The room
had some lumber stored in it and
this is where the fire had been
set. Had it not been discovered
when it was the club would have
been distroyed completely as the
fire was set next to one of the
main walls inside the club.
From past experience the
owners have someone at the club
at all times and this is what
saved this club.
At this time there is no knowledge as to the person responsible
for this fire but it is under investigation by the Houston Arson Squad.
MR FRIZBY
ROBBED
The many customers of Mr.
Mr. Frizby's many customers
were shocked to hear that Rocco,
one of the doormen at this private
bath-club had split one AM early
with the proceeds of the night.
The loss to Ted was around
$300.00.
The night of the robbery Ted
scouted around the bus stations
looking for Rocco to no avail. In
his haste he left his clothing and
things in the club.
Rocco used several sir names
and anyone knowing his whereabouts are requested to contact
the paper or Mr. Frizby's at
3401 Milam or call 523-8840 or
524-5612. Any information will be
held in strict confidence.
ODR COMMUNITY
NCntJlNQ fiUMAN iS ALIGN TO US
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