I was shredding through a box of old papers – from like 2 years ago – and found this clipping. I don’t know what newspaper or the date. It was in response to a previous letter entitled “Plight of blacks is different”.
Here it is in its entirety…RUSS
I often hear that it is wrong to compare gay’s struggle with African-Americans’ and Jews’ quests for justice because of the scale of atrocities caused by slavery, segregation, and the Holocaust (“Plight of blacks is different,” Letters, Monday).
Although gays, too, were slaughtered in the Holocaust, they do not make comparisons between degrees and manners of suffering. Gays claim only that, like other minorities, they face discrimination and violence due to prejudice, hatred and ignorance, and, like these other groups, they fight for civil rights. Saying “no” to racism and “yes” to homophobia excuses racism by validating hatred.
African-Americans and Jews have fought for the advancement of civil rights. The lessons of history belong to everybody. They should be used to ensure equal rights for all.