Christian Eichenlaub might have been exaggerating a bit about how the "gay struggle" is exhausting in his Nov. 23 Viewpoint "'Fatigue' felt on gay rights issues."

Personally, I found it fun to be thrown out of my home — spending several days without my own place, without transportation, with little money, losing my job and lugging around what few personal belongings I was able to carry with me through a park! I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of rebuilding my life as quickly as possible while simultaneously keeping up with coursework and going to team practice. It was a wonderful experience that I hope to repeat in the future as many times as possible.

Actually, when I think about it, it really wasn't that much fun. In fact it was, as Christian put it, "exhausting." That's what Debra Holbus, in her Nov. 30 Viewpoint "Open sexuality compared to 'pornography,'" failed to understand when she compared the rainbow flag and the activities of the Gay/Straight Alliance to pornography.

The flag has nothing to do with what occurs in the bedroom. Rather, it is a symbol of unity for a group of people who are disrespected by many others because of an attribute over which we have no control. We do not choose our sexuality, but we do choose how we are going to live. We can either live in denial and secrecy to appease the uncomfortable and avoid their condemnation, or we can live openly and honestly to stand up for ourselves and our dignity. I think that anybody with the guts to choose the latter option has a great deal to be proud of.

Why do we need to stand up for ourselves? Because we are treated like second-class citizens. Because the denial of rights (marriage, military service, adoption, etc.) is more than just a passive protest of issues, but an active attempt to strip citizens of their dignity and respect. Because some people still believe that they can read our minds and experience our thoughts and emotions, and so they claim to know we made a voluntary choice to be gay. Because some people still believe, either by hiding behind Biblical text or through their own blatant arrogance, that they ought to judge others on issues they have no personal expertise in. Because for some of us being a gay person can still have grave consequences.

I agree the university should focus on promoting strong values, and it should start by denouncing hate. Despite what Biblical text might say about homosexuality, there is still nothing Christian about hate. The university should condemn hate based on sexuality no less vigorously than it would condemn other forms of hate.

So long as there is disrespect, intolerance and contempt, the gay community has every reason to unite behind the flag. The consequences resulting from the debates on sexuality and morality are too great to be trivialized into a series of Viewpoints in this newspaper. It is long past time to take this discussion into a more serious and meaningful forum.

Holbus is a second-year law student.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 7 2004.

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