Editor:
I’d like to respond to Dana Robison’s Oct. 15 letter to the editor, “Hang Those Rainbow Flags High.”
In her response to Bart Gatrell’s Oct. 14 letter, “Rainbow Flags are Offensive,” Robison attacked Gatrell as someone with an “unbelievably bigoted attitude” and even went so far as to say he has a “homophobic lack of attraction for males.” Robison has completely misconstrued Gatrell’s point of view. Gatrell was trying to comment on the unbalanced and biased environment on campus concerning the homosexual and straight perspectives. The gay and lesbian community has an unfair advantage in voicing their opinions at the U.
Although means of expression for the gay and lesbian community are defended and supported by many students and faculty, other opposing points of view are not. Take a person who is straight, who is religiously devout, and who believes that the family is the fundamental unit of society. These values are almost always dismissed as “homophobic.”
So just as the gay and lesbian presence is vigorously asserted and defended on this campus, those who have other values should also be able to assert them without being instantly labeled as “homophobic” or “bigots.”
So get over it, Dana. Gatrell has as much right to be offended at the rainbow flags as the gay and lesbian community has to be offended at anyone who dares to profess a belief in the straight lifestyle. The tolerance and patience need to go both ways.
Jason Youngkeit
Graduate Student, Spanish