[GateandGarden]

Since this is a whole gay thread (which is a great thing), I have a question for all of you gays out there. Do you often have people say things to you like, "Oh, I really support gay rights. I mean, I have lots of gay friends." To me, that's like saying, "I have lots of black friends." Besides, I'm pretty sure everyone has gay friends or acquaintances at this point. It seems that when people make a point of saying things like that, they're implying that there really is a major difference between us. They could say, "I really support gay rights because everyone should be treated equally."

Of course, I realize that we (gays) have a tendency to set ourselves apart from the rest of society in many ways. (Take parades, bars, clubs, etc., for example). But maybe all of this is inevitable, until we do have equality. I find that it's an endless debate. Many say that Black History Month is unnecessary and harmful even because it sets blacks apart from whites, when that is what we intended not to do. But in the U.S., many wouldn't learn about black history any other way, and until that changes, I suppose we do need Black History Month.

Is this resonating with anyone? I know it's some meandering, but I think it's all related.

Hillary