A Guest Opinion (David)
El 5 de mayo de 2014. I read your article about [Ed. site name removed, initials: “CL” – I now call it Closet List because of the number of closet cases on there]. I became very interested in the sex personal ads on CL after you wrote about them and for the same reasons. I wasn’t looking for sex but rather observing what gay guys are writing in their personal ads. What I came away with is that sadly today the gay community has much more in common with Anita Bryant and Phyllis Schlafly than they do with Lily Tomlin. That’s the closest analogy I’ve been able to come up with.
The gay community of today has become what they used to despise, hate and rail against in their opposition. Some gay guys have become rednecks and they’re proud of that. Political correctness which used to be a main staple of the gay community is now despised in the gay community from what I’ve witnessed. They no longer care who they offend by what they say such as, “no fats, no fems, no chubs, no crazy hair colors, no body piercings, be normal and mainstream.” All of that could be written so as not to offend people in those groups. [Ed. What’s now wrong with hair colourings and body piercings? My, haven’t “we” become conservative so-called “gay community.” jesus fucking christ!] The word “normal” especially bothers me. I’ve lived in San Francisco since the mid 1970s. Rainbow flags used to be very common around here. Today, there’s virtually none other than the big Rainbow flag at Castro and Market and I wonder the length of the life of that as this city continues to corporatize and divorce itself from its radical-alternative past. I suppose the city will put up their perfunctory Rainbow flags on Market Street in June for so-called “pride” month and as you astutely say it should be changed to Gay Shame month judging by the number of gay guys who are going back in the closet with their “discreet,” “DL,” “straight-acting,” and “straight-appearing,” rhetoric in their sex ads. The gay community of today stands for nothing from where I sit, other than their addiction to their smartphones with their endless scrolling through sex profiles, their intoxication hobby, and of course as you say corporate sports and literal chest beating which I’ve observed on Market Street over one’s sports team winning a game.
The radical/activism switch (so to speak) for the gay community turned off in my opinion the moment that we got gay marriage in California and from that point on sadly they have tried to be as much like the mainstream dumbed-down herd in this country as possible.
I share your opinion. I don’t recognize the pathetic gay community of today and cannot relate to them at all. I’ve never felt this way before about the gay community. Thank you for reading my email and I wish you well. David.
Related:
Change Gay Pride to Gay Discreet
———- COMMENTS (Manually posted from e-mail) ———-
05.06.14 I can really relate to David’s “Guest Opinion.” I’d like to add something to what he said to do with “their intoxication hobby.” I was on CL Sunday night and there was this personal about “Did you come to the Castro to drink?” and the dude was into watersports and wanted anyone who had come to drink in the Castro to let him drink their piss so they could “empty their bladder” he said. He was in the Castro and wrote he’s discreet. I felt like replying to hm and asking him why the fuck are you discreet in the Castro? More gay shame? The gay community has lost it. THen there was another ad about drinking last night that went like this – “Does anyone want to go to the castro and get some drinks. I won’t be drinking like its a weekend since I have work the next day but I think it will be fun.” It’s all about drinking. Alcoholism is now a good thing?—-Robb
My response: Hola y gracias, Robb. Alcoholism in the so-called “gay community” seems to be hushed up now. When I went to bars which I did for years, it was never about drinking. It was about my friends and the music being played. I would usually nurse two drinks the entire night—often cranberry juice—including the ice
to get it to last because I just didn’t like spending dinero/money on drinks. If I had alcohol (Blue Moon) I’d only have 2 at the most the entire night. I didn’t want to get drunk. If bars would have allowed me to be in their bar without buying a drink, I would have done that instead. But today, getting drunk seems to be the goal. Chau.—rosa barrio