The Gay Village

Lest you think that I am homophobic, I am far from that.  I worked with the gay community years before they were accepted in polite and not so polite company.  The sad truth is that every last one of them is dead, a victim of HIV-AIDS.

Having said that, my post today deals with the recent decision to designate a specific area on Bank Street, in Ottawa, as a gay community.  If I were gay I would be offended.  Until recently gays, lesbians and trans gendered folk were segregated--if not physically, then socially--by society.  Most down trodden communities are sequestered into their own communities. Jewish ghettos come to mind.  Segregated areas in San Francisco come to mine. While there was a great deal of interaction between Jews and the rest of the community on a work level there was little or no interaction on a social level.  Jews who wanted to leave the ghetto were almost always converted to Christianity.  This is not an option for a gay, lesbian or transgendered person.  The idea was that a small area on one street in Ottawa reflects the acceptance--or maybe the lack of acceptance--of gays, lesbians and transgendered people.  Most of the gays that I know lead normal lives and integrate into a community that has no business in anyone's bedroom.  They do not march in parades and flaunt their sexuality.  They are embarrassed by it as would be any straight person who saw straight people flaunting their sexuality.  I am equally uncomfortable with religious fanatics who flaunt their religiosity.  But that's another story.

You see, I think that segregating gays into their own part of Ottawa, be it for trade or for places where they can feel "comfortable", sends the wrong message.  I can only imagine the stress that accompanies any teen in coming out not only to his or parents but to his or her friends.  No one "comes out" to his or her parents when that person has a girl or boyfriend of the opposite gender.  Does one "come out" to his or her parents because they left handed?  Why put this pressure on gays?  The answer is that we still see gays as people who are out of the mainstream.  The dedication of a small block on Bank street perpetuates the notion that gays are freaks.  I'm sorry but as a straight person I am offended.  Take the bloody signs down as lets treat everyone with the respect that is their due.

Bernie.