Reading over The Forum's June 16 editorial page, I am stunned by the barely restrained hostility some people in Fargo-Moorhead feel toward homosexuals.
I am not gay myself, but I feel strongly that no one has the right to judge the noninjurious behavior of consenting adults (do you see how this separates homosexuality from pedophilia, adultery, and sadomasochism?). Gays aren't trying to "convert" straight people, and it is about time that heterosexuals stopped trying to convert them. The "homosexual lifestyle" doesn't interfere with your life, so why not let it be? The fate of their immortal souls is between them and their Creator; you really ought to stay out of it.
I congratulate Cindy Maritato for being the lone voice of reason opposing the "Coming out stronger" articles. She is right: the front page should be devoted to hard news, not to human interest stories. On the other hand, this is certainly not the first time The Forum has printed human interest on the front page; not by a long shot. But somehow, other stories don't seem to illicit the same vitriolic response.
No one cancels their subscriptions over articles about the Street Fair. And this vitriolic response is what makes these articles news. The stories are not about the merits of the gay lifestyle, but about a prevalent culture of stereotyping and active repression that exists in Fargo and how some gay individuals react to it.
And as long as this culture of repression exists, it is news.
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Sean Dillon
(Former Fargo resident)
Brooklyn, N.Y.
