Good post Dissy;)

Obviously LOD overlooks the facts of history. No successful movement leaders ever kicked sand in the face of their opponents and then called for its members to follow suit, rebel, and survived due to having angered those who currently are in the powerful majority. The reason the gay lobby won and continues to gain ground was by organizing wisely and with far sighted goals-as we began to do at Common Ground. Too, we were attempting to make inroads by working to win over the fence sitters-as we began to work to do at YANI.

All of this was built here at GirlChat without kicking sand in the face of the anties, hardening our enemies resolve to destroy us, and telegraphing our strategy. No, no public statement that we wished our enemies death was ever uttered. We worked hard to become a community that the world could one day become reconciled to; and, we worked to minimize the fears that we were a community to fear.

Yes, people are going to need to come out and win the politicians by sheer numbers and financial clout-wisely and with farsighted goals. As a member of the LGBT I can say looking back, that we never looked back to the initial marches to accomplish ought but to rally new members to come to us from within their closeted existences and to join our private rallies and listen to us teach the need to become the new system. Go out and attain an education. Become educators, journalists, doctors, lawyers, politicians, actors, comedians, musicians, authors, small corporate board members, bankers, financiers, independent contractors, earn money, save money, gain power for our base and become the new clout on the block. That didn't happen by angering those in opposition as we maturated in political savy and friends. That happened over many years of quietly building our colonies in city after city after city-like single purposed quiet hardworking little warriors who wore come out of the closet signs on their lapels when the time was ripe for each-one by one.

We milked the opposition. We romanced the opposition. If acting PC and making friends in higher places was so bad of a tactic then how was it we've won almost each of the rights we've sought and continue to win more by peaceful protest and by becoming the new political vote and lobby to recon with? We kept it real. We didn't demand to sleep with the governor's daughter. We will demand that the governor's daughter win the mantel of the age of majority at an ever decreasing age one day. We as pedophiles and hebephiles and ephebophiles can do so now-if it's done with a modicum of finesse.

There are many people in our community, including me, who have never suggested that we be "nice" at all times, but simply that we work within the system and do not resort to any tactics that would hurt us far more than they helped, and which would further aid our many detractors with painting us in a bad light. We need to be tough, no doubt, but we need to be ethical and responsible at the same time.

Written like a leader. Thinking kewl! Maybe we should reopen Common Ground once we pay off our unpaid old bandwidth. Where are the myriads of old friends I so miss?;)

Warmly, Shξξpy