A Different Angle: a random collection of essays and observations, mostly about lesbian/gay/bi issues. © Todd VerBeek, Radio Zero(tm)

A Word From The Ten Percent

I know. This is supposed to be a newsletter for and about the lesbian/gay community of western Michigan. Network News' focus is on subjects relating to gay men and lesbians, feminism, and AIDS. But as we put together this issue, my mind is more on the Iraqi War. And it occurred to me that there's something about it that relates to the situation of the lesbian/gay community.

The opposition to the Vietnam War was overwhelming. By contrast, the opposition to the Iraqi War comes from a distinct minority. One recent poll showed that only ten percent disapproved of Bush's actions. Hardly worth paying attention to.

Ten percent. That figure sounds familiar. Kind of like the lesbian/gay community.

No, that doesn't mean it's the same people. I know my fellow gay people too well to think that. Stereotypical "gay sensibility" and "lesbian politics" aside, I know that many lesbians and gay men approve of this war, and are even proudly participating in it. They, like the larger population, have ignored the fairly small numbers of people across the country who insist that this war is a mistake.

Apparently, I speak for a minority, but that's something I'm growing accustomed to. A minority of ten percent is easily dismissed as insignificant. Any lesbian or gay man knows that. So I hope that the lesbians and gay men who support Bush will consider that being in the majority doesn't make them right. Sometimes the cries of a minority should be heeded. Please listen up:

With his preconditions and ultimatum, Bush effectively ruled out any sincere diplomacy. By putting so many troops in the desert, he immediately committed us to eventual combat. And he's shown little concern for the plight of the average citizen of his own country. Inflexibility, military aggression, and disregard for his own citizens. Sounds a lot like Saddam Hussein.

This war might possibly go well for the United States. But the aftermath will require diplomacy of the highest caliber to restore peace, and a very healthy U.S. economy to pay for it. For that we will need a patient diplomat and caring economist in the White House, not a military commander with delusions of grandeur.

On behalf of the ten percent who disapproved of Bush's actions in January, I ask my friends in the majority: Can we afford to keep a person like Bush in charge?

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