I’m sitting on the tarmac at Dublin Airport, waiting for my flight to leave on a flight to London, and I just finished editing Doug Lively’s column that also runs today.
I’ve dickered over whether to write this response, but I feel compelled to say something.
It’s rare that the Augusta Press will refuse to publish an opinion piece. That’s obvious if you read our comments and our opinion sections. We allow so many opinions that are inane, unthinking or just plain stupid. And much as we might itch to respond, we restrain ourselves. Mostly.
But sometimes, an opinion deserves a response, and this is one of those times.
You see, my husband and I have been traveling these last few weeks with two gay couples. One includes an old college friend, and another includes a more recent friend I met through our shared interest in music.
One of those with us is a retired Army doctor. Another was a journalism professor at a flagship university in the Southeastern United States and a distinguished broadcast journalist before that. The other two include an artist and a retired paralegal who worked for a civil rights law firm.
These are all lovely, wonderful people who keep their sexuality behind their front door, just like Doug says he does.
Early in the trip, we noticed a whole town decorated with Pride flags and bunting. The artist was critical of Pride celebrations, especially the over-the-top behavior at Pride parades. “No one wants to see all that. Ugly people behaving ugly,” he said. He opined that Pride celebrations tend to be excessive and that they bring out the worst of the gay community. He believes you can be proud of who you are and not need a day, or a month, to celebrate it. Just like Doug says he does.
In my experience, gay folks aren’t so different from non-gay folks. Well, there was my late friend Larry who was a bit over the top in just about every way. He flew to New York to buy gloves for the attendants in his wedding because he couldn’t find just the right ones in Atlanta, and, as a lifelong member of a Pentecostal church that will remain unnamed, nothing would do but that he have a stained glass portrait of Jesus in his living room window.
The four friends on the plane with me, though, mow their lawns, pamper their dogs, shop for weekly groceries and look after aging parents and worry about errant children. Just like my non-gay friends. They are put their hands over their hearts and sing the national anthem, salute the flag, love their mammas and belong to churches. Just like my non-gay friends.
Doug writes that he wants to live his life and let his gay neighbors live theirs. That’s what they want, too. They don’t need a month to celebrate who they are. They do it everyday just by living their lives.
