Date: Thu, 29 Sep 1994 23:24:59 -0500 (CDT) From: Kevyn D Jacobs Subject: NCOD letter National Coming Out Day will SOON be upon us (OCT 11). It is my intention to write a coming-out letter to the Manhattan Mercury & KS Collegian for publication on the 11th, describing NCOD and the importance of coming out. (The letter is reprinted below.) If YOU want to do something for NCOD, and are feeling brave enough, would you be willing to have your name added to these letters to the editor? The more names that are on these letters, the better - you don't want it to look like Kevyn Jacobs is the only Queer in Manhattan, do you? PLEASE - Take a chance! Take a Stand! Come OUT! -Kevyn ======================== Editor: Today is October 11, National Coming Out Day. All over the country, women and men of every age, race, social status and profession are taking that next step - coming out and admitting they are lesbian, bisexual or gay. It has long been an accepted maxim in queer circles that half our battle for acceptance is the battle against invisibility. Unlike other minorities - people of color, disabled people, etc., our "difference" is often hidden. Our society teaches queer people to hide it - to pretend that we are heterosexual. So many do just that - they don't let family, friends, neighbors & co-workers know that they are in love with a member of the same gender. Many also hide for safety - if nobody knows you are a lesbian, you can't be discriminated against. Or Fired. Or Bashed. Or have your children taken away from you "for their own protection". But studies have shown one remarkable thing - if a person KNOWS someone who is lesbian, bisexual or gay, then that person is MUCH MORE likely to favor equal rights (not special rights) for lesbians, bisexuals & gays. Its much easier to discrminate against "those people" if they are in the abstract. But if your sibling, your co-worker, your friend or neighbor is queer, then you begin to see the way heterosexist discrimination has an effect on their lives. And you also see the stereotypes breaking down. Most homosexuals that you know are not sexual predators, deviants or freaks. We are doctors & lawyers, city officials, housewives, teachers & librarians, auto mechanics and garbage collectors, college students and pizza deliverers, Republicans & Democrats & Independents, Young & Old, Black & White & Native American & Asian. In short, we are everywhere. And when you know us, and who we really are, it becomes easy to see through the lies when people hold up some fringe element and say, "See? THIS is what a homosexual looks like. This is what a homosexual does!" There is an old story in queer circles that, if every queer in the world turned purple for an hour, so that EVERYONE could see who was queer (and you WOULD be surprised!), discrimination would end. We are not foolish enough to believe that this would be enough, but it WOULD make a difference - because the homosexual would stop being "one of them" and start being "one of us". Heterosexism would still exist, but the many cases in which it exists because a heterosexist can say "I don't know anyone gay" would no longer exist. EVERYONE knows SOMEONE gay - even if you DON'T KNOW that they are gay. So we, the undersigned, are taking this opportunity to announce to our friends, neighbors & co-workers that we ARE here in Manhattan, and we ARE important, vital & productive members of this community. You know us, you love us, and you respect us. And yes, we do happen to be lesbian, bisexual or gay. And frankly, we're pretty much just like everybody else! Kevyn Jacobs 811 Fremont #5 539.6275 Freshman in Arts & Sciences YOUR NAME HERE your address your phone Your major/KS affiliation (your phone # won't be printed, but the Mercury DOES require a phone # for verification. For collegian publication, a major or KS affiliation listing is required.)