This is a worthwhile read

[kjun12]

Article on a Gay Rights pioneer you've probably never heard of:

http://www.365gay.com/news/corvino-help-a-hero/

[lookin]

Great article. Thanks for posting.

I like the fact that they encourage modest donations too. Can't hurt to put a few bucks in the mail.

Also loved the part about the Federal Office of Personnel Management issuing him an apology on behalf of the U. S. government, and his immediate return letter asking them for fifty years of back pay. My kind of guy!

[caeron]

Thank you for this.

I donated $250, hope others do as well. We live the lives we do because of the work he and his did.

[Guest CharliePS]

Article on a Gay Rights pioneer you've probably never heard of:

http://www.365gay.com/news/corvino-help-a-hero/

[/quote

Thanks for posting this, kjun. I worked with Frank Kameny on gay rights issues in the mid-1960s, and he really was the most in-your-face, indefatigable gay civil rights proponent I had ever met until then, in an era when most of us were rather nervous and diplomatic. For that reason, he wasn't the easiest person to get along with, because he wasn't interested in getting along with people: he was only interested in justice. Even at informal gay social gatherings, I never saw him out of a suit and tie (usually a brown suit and white dress shirt), and he convinced us that we had to dress like professionals at demonstrations or during any kind of contact with the media, if we wanted to be taken seriously (he could barely conceal his irritation at the casual dress of the west coast Mattachine people). After Stonewall changed everything, he got pushed aside as the whole style of the popular movement changed, but he never stopped fighting in his own manner for vindication. I'm sorry to learn that he has fallen on hard times in his old age--it wouldn't have happened if he had had the career and government pension he deserved--but I'm glad that there is an effort to recognize and help him now.

[Guest zipperzone]

Even at informal gay social gatherings, I never saw him out of a suit and tie (usually a brown suit and white dress shirt), and he convinced us that we had to dress like professionals at demonstrations or during any kind of contact with the media, if we wanted to be taken seriously (he could barely conceal his irritation at the casual dress of the west coast Mattachine people).

I totally agree with his thinking in this regard. It is IMO, one of the things that work against us in Gay Pride parades. It's unrealistic to expect the heterosexual public to take us seriously if we are dressed in jock straps or less (however titillating we personally might find it)

I not advocating suits & ties but I think we all understand what is considered appropriate clothing in today's world.

[Guest CharliePS]

I totally agree with his thinking in this regard. It is IMO, one of the things that work against us in Gay Pride parades. It's unrealistic to expect the heterosexual public to take us seriously if we are dressed in jock straps or less (however titillating we personally might find it)

I not advocating suits & ties but I think we all understand what is considered appropriate clothing in today's world.

I would characterize this as the HRC style versus the Dykes on Bikes style. Organizations like HRC, of course, didn't exist then; they grew out of Frank's theory of the most effective way to accomplish his goal, and Frank was probably right when he urged the HRC approach on us in 1965. I think there is a legitimate role for both nowadays. I haven't spoken to Frank in years, so I don't know if he would agree now. Like many men in suits, Frank was pretty dogmatic and inflexible in those days, with not much tolerance for ambiguity or humor. I had great respect for his integrity, but he wasn't a lot of fun to be around. I hope he has mellowed. (Full disclosure: I am a member of HRC, as well as several other gay rights organizations, but at one time I also belonged to now defunct more radical organizations like GAA.)