When I posted before I forgot to mention "Faith, Hope, and Charity" by Irvin S.Cobb, "A Piece of String" by Guy deMaupassant,  "A Month in the Country", and "Volodya" by Anton Chekhov as being among my favorite stories. As you can see, I have long been an ardant fan of short stories. I could never pick just one as being my favorite!

Kelly,

You have no idea of which you speak. You do not "get a handle" on someone who has enough wealth and power to have you, or most anyone below him, fired on the spot (and he can make it where you won’t work in this town again). As far as why should people know or not know, I choose not to discuss my life at work, but that doesn’t keep the questions from being asked…and asked. As far as wounding goes, I  am not talking playground politics here. Have you ever been threatened for walking down the street with your husband/boyfriend. I have (and there were NO ‘public displays of affection being done). You simply can’t see your own predjudice. Yes, I am judging the public actions of a public figure when I speak of Carrie Prejean. As far as your views about me, your ‘gay friends’, and all other gays in this country, when you say we should not have equal rights, you are saying we are ‘less than’, whether you want to believe it or not….It is no different than the ‘seperate but equal’ charades of the past. I am done with this 2-way debate with you. One cannot see truth when they refuse to look.

Kelly,

I daresay that Alabama is not that different from Texas. I would like to suggest that you probabally don’t hear much of the anti-gay speech that is said. In other words, I notice it, and am wounded by it, because it applies to me. While I mix in gay-friendly circles where I live (which is about 100 miles from where I work), and people KNOW who I am, of course I don’t hear homophobic diatribes. I don’t tend to socialize with people who don’t like me from the get-go. Also, in the ‘polite’ south, people who know I am gay would be careful to not say such things in my presence. At work, however, I am closeted out of necessity….This is where I hear most of which I speak. Also, gays DO NOT have equal inheritence or parenting rights under my, and MOST, state laws. Why, If I was unconscious in the hospital, my partner could not see me unless the issue was forced by my blood relatives. This is reality, just as the fact that I can lose employment and housing in my state for no other reason than my sexuality, is REALITY. This same reality exists under the law of the MAJORITY of states in the Union. Look it up if you do not believe me. As for ‘traditional’ marriage, what constitutes ‘traditional’? As I said, marriage is a CIVIL issue rather than a religious one. As it stands, the majoriity of traditional’ marriages end up in ‘traditional’ divorce, so starry-eyed romantic talk of marriage makes for a weak argument. As far as Prejean is concerned, it is her right to have and state her opinion. My thought is that she should have lost the crown strictly on the basis of the photos. Donald Trump’s back-peddling with her just reinforces my already low opinion of him. I read some comments that Prejean made to the pagent officials on Yahoo news yeaterday, and the tenor of her dealings with the pagent belies her immmaturity…I think the whole photo incident did the same. So, my worthy republican/conservative wOwers, perhaps this girl (yes, I said ‘girl’) is not an individual to build a sound social or political debate around.

Kelly,

Prejean’s topless photos were a direct violation of her contract…PROVEN…without a doubt. Many people supported ‘seperate but equal’ during the 50s and 60s, and patted themselves on the back for being ‘progressive’. I see the gay marriage as no different. As for Obama, I made no secret of the fact that he WAS NOT my first choice for president, he was merely the lesser evil given the options we had at hand. I am unhappy with Obama’s direction in terms of gay rights thus far; the unfortunate fact for we gay Americans is that we wouldn’t have made any more progress if the GOPs were elected…We would have actually had a much bleaker future in terms of civil rights.

The bottom line is that so many people see ‘my kind’ as LESS THAN. I pay the same taxes, obey the laws of the land and strive to be a good and productive citizen. I do this daily. Daily I hear how "Godless queers" should just shut up and retreat back to the shadows because we are freaks and perverts. You may not ude such language yourself, but I assure you that many people who label themselves as ‘conservatives’ DO use this type of language, or worse. I am afraid, on a daily basis, that I will be outed on the job, because I have heard—LOUD and CLEAR—just what esteem homosexuals are regarded with in the ‘conservative’ southern city in which I work. I am not waving banners, I am certainly not throwing my ‘lifestyle’ in anyone’s face. The fact remains that my livelihood, and my physical well being are always threatened for no other reason than the fact that I am gay.

In these United States, in the 21st century,  it is ridiculous that this inequality still exists. Don’t try to hide behind the Bible, marriage predates the Bible. Also, the U.S. is NOT a theocracy: seperation of church and state is a cornerstone of American ideology. This ideal protects BOTH the state and the CHURCH, I might add.

So, in sum, I am offended at anyone who tries to say that I and other homosexual Americans are ‘less than’, and that we deserve less civil rights. If you and your church do not believe in gay marriage, there will not be any federal mandate that your (or any other church) must perform them. This is an example of how ‘seperation of church and state’ is protective of churches. The change in federal law would mean, however, that people like myself could partake in this CIVIL right, and enjoy the many protections under law (i.e. parenting rights, property rights, inheritence, etc.) that are given to heterosexual couples. I am also a Christian, and I can assure you that my partner and I stay away from congregations which are not welcoming (fortunately there are many which do welcome us). I daresay that those churches which already have an anti-gay stance need not worry about having to turn away throngs of gay couple seeking marriage in their sanctuaries if the law is changed! Most gay Americans are like me…We do not wish to ‘threaten’ anyone; we merely want to be recognized as equal citizens of these United States.

Susan,

Joyce’s "The Dead" and Woolf’s "Lapin and Lapinova" are two of my favorites also! I would  also have to add "Sister Imelda" by Edna O’Brien, Ann Porter’s "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", "The Gift of the Magi"  and "Billy Jackson" by O. Henry to my list.

Being a feminist does not mean that one cannot be critical of another woman! As far as being ‘mean’, I am calling the situation as I see it. I am not a fan of ‘beauty pagents’, but I can’t help nut comment on the lack of character in this woman who broke her contract and attempted to thump the Bible at the world—knowing all the while that she had posed for photographs flahing her store-bought boobs ( a REAL feminist would realize the significance of these disengenuous choices!). As for her intelligence, her own words an responses reveal that Ms. Prejean is no mental giant. She chose to use religion to justify her bigotry, and as a lesbian AND a Christian, I find her behavior reprehensible!

Well I can tell you that, since January, the reactionary hate-filled-laced with-violent-threats diatrribe that I have heard from my many conservative  coworkers has been steadily rising. I have noticed an alarming increase in overt racist, homophobic, anti-women, anti semitic,and anti-liberal speech  on the job and in the streets where I live. This is the first thing I thought of when I heard of the horrible attack in Washington. The ultra-right nut jobs are coming out of the woodwork, and so many supposedly ‘more moderate’ conservatives are—sometimes tacitly, sometimes overtly—cheering them on. While such people may not specifically endorse certain acts, they use their commission as a "See, I told you this is why Obama shouldn’t have been elected" justification for their own personal bigotry.