In response to ‘Open letter to Kevin Faulconer’ (issue 137, Jan. 2)
Dear Editor,
I read the Open letter to Kevin Faulconer and I was astonished by your outrageous conduct, and I will analyze your letter as follows:
1. You addressed to Faulconer with the word “Dear”. Under no circumstances is he your “Dear”. Look into the Webster’s Dictionary, and learn what “dear” means.
2. You falsely claim to be an “African American”. You are not. An African American is one who comes from Africa, and is white or black. That applies to the first generation, and then their children are Americans. From the picture I can see that you are black, and I believe that you were born here, so you are an American.
3. You falsely claim to be “gay”, while in fact you are homosexual.
4. You make vicious attacks on Phil Robertson, for his opinion on homosexuality. At no time did he use the word “gay”.
5. You asked Kevin Faulconer to see that Phil Robertson apologize for his vitriolic comments.
6. You falsely accused Phil Robertson of suffering with homophobia, which is a mental disorder, according to you and other homosexuals.
7. You falsely accused Phil Robertson of attacking blacks, by stating that they were happier under Jim Crow laws.
8. You have serious attitude problems. You make all kind of prejudicious, biased, hostile and racist statements, and perhaps you claim that you have a constitutional right of free speech, because you belong to a minority group of people, who get hugs and kisses from the president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama. I hope you like my letter, and you are going to publish it.
I will look for it in your magazine.
God bless you and all of the others from the LGBT.
PEDRO GONZALES
San Diego
cc: Kevin Faulconer
The slippery slope and absolute rights
Dear Editor,
“If we pass this law or that, we’re on a slippery slope which will lead to … “
This is an all too common expression which we’ve heard many times over the last decade or so. You’ve heard it – decriminalizing marijuana is a slippery slope to harder drugs. Or the even more absurd – that marriage equality is a slippery slope to legalizing bestiality and child molesting.
The truth is our nation is unique because it was founded on a slippery slope. No document in the history of mankind has invested so much power in the hands of its people. Our Constitution as amended by the Bill of Rights place unprecedented restrictions on the power of the federal government while confirming our God given rights are ‘inalienable’. And this is where the slippery slope comes in.
For although these rights are ‘God given’, they come with responsibilities, and they are not absolute. This is no more obvious than in the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights – the right to be free from state mandated religion, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, arguably the most important rights under our Constitution for with these we can safeguard the rest or regain them if ever lost.
Yet they are not absolute.
Although freedom of religion unfortunately does allow us to sacrifice a chicken or goat, it does not allow us to practice human sacrifice. Freedom of speech does allow us to stand on the street corner and shout out almost any damn fool thing we wish, but it does not allow us to cause a panic by yelling “fire!” in a crowded theater. And freedom of assembly does allow us to meet as a group and petition government for our grievances, it does not permit us to assemble with the intent of causing or inciting violence. In other words, absolute rights equal anarchy … and mob rule.
For almost 238 years now, we the people have been precariously standing on this slippery slope, maintaining our society by struggling not to lose our balance and fall into anarchy nor allow our government to pull us to safer ground and sacrifice our freedoms.
Our precarious footing has never been more dire than it is now. But we have faced these challenges in the past and have always come out stronger. I have confidence an informed electorate will again come to the forefront to meet these challenges and we will be the stronger for it.
“Any society which sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.” This quote has been attributed to both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. It doesn’t matter which actually said it … both were brilliant men and absolutely right. As a free society we must, and ultimately we will maintain our balance on that slippery slope.
Sincerely,
RALPH DENNEY
San Diego
It’s right for my community. It’s right for me
Dear Editor,
A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article for this magazine entitled “That was then. This is now.” (Issue 138, Jan. 16) I asserted that the national political trend is to address large issues like income inequality, global warming and justice for workers in mayoral elections. I opined that San Diego would take a giant step backwards if it became the only one of the twelve largest cities in the U.S. to elect as mayor a Republican politician whose party platform is undeniably misogynistic, homophobic and destructive of the middle class. I decried the idea that people who self-identify as Democrats and leaders of the LGBT community would betray the undeniably progressive majority of the LGBT community in order to curry favor with established powerful interests.
I hoped the essay would spark discussion and debate about leadership in our community and putting self-aggrandizement ahead of the real interests of the LGBT community. Hundreds of readers liked or shared the essay and several people congratulated me for “Saying what has needed to be said for a long time.”
I wanted Nicole Murray Ramirez and other “leaders” to justify taking a position that seemed counter to the interests of the LGBT community. I wanted Nicole and others to justify co-opting Harvey Milk’s name to support a right wing candidate whose positions on neighborhoods, workers, women and LGBT folks were contrary to everything Harvey Milk stood for. I wanted them to explain why they are encouraging LGBT people to vote for a man who will not repudiate his party platform of homophobia and misogyny. I asserted that the motivation for supporting Kevin Faulconer might have less to do with looking out for the community than it did with an attempt to hang on to power.
Nicole’s response was not to address a single substantive question I raised, but rather to unleash a vitriolic personal attack on me. According to Nicole, I am a big old lyin’ lesbo meanie. He doesn’t like me and neither does Todd.
Sigh. I guess, in a way, that response did answer my questions about leadership. It was not the way I had hoped for.
So, let me try again to urge the LGBT community to consider the following thoughts:
We have serious problems of income inequality, climate change, an embattled middle class and crumbling infrastructure that are especially impactful to LGBT San Diegans. We need to address these problems now. We don’t have the luxury of coddling the party of religion based right wing fanaticism against LGBT and women’s rights. The idea that supporting Republican candidates will somehow allow us to soften the positions of the increasingly hardcore Republican Party sounds all warm and fuzzy. In reality it is a self-defeating strategy that has not worked and will not work going forward.
In the time period since my last article three gay Republicans have given up on the Republican Party. Among them, the co-founder of GOProud, Jimmy LaSalvia, who said the Republican Party was “beyond fixing.” If we want the Republican Party to cure itself of the disease of homophobia and misogyny, the only workable prescription is repetitive elective failure.
This is how I think we should do it: If you think marriage between same-sex citizens is wrong; don’t marry someone of the same sex. If you think abortion is wrong; don’t have one. Otherwise, keep your church and the government out of my private life. And until you do, I am not electing anyone from the party that has a platform that enshrines homophobia and misogyny. Period.
Now let’s move on to solving some critical problems and making a better world.
I am voting for David Alvarez for mayor of San Diego. It’s the right thing for me and for my community.
LINDA PERINE
San Diego
