Letter: Affording respect

While I commend Chuck Prochaska for voicing his conservative views on this liberal campus, I would also like to assure him that LGBT awareness will not doom the human race as he fears. Mr. Prochaska admits that he has had several homosexual friends and teachers who have left strong impressions on his life, yet refuses to accept that lifestyle. Fair enough; I have difficulty understanding that lifestyle, too, since I am rarely exposed to LGBT issues. However, maybe acceptance is not the goal right now; perhaps the goal is to provide exposure to a lifestyle many people aren’t familiar with. He apparently knows as well as anyone that associating with LGBT individuals causes one no harm, so why can’t he afford them the same respect and dignity others receive?

Prochaska also states that the LGBT issues featured on campus last week turned into a liberal “circus.” Funny he should mention political circuses; I seem to remember a pack of conservatives outside the hospice of a woman who effectively lost her life 16 years earlier getting arrested for attempting to bring her water. The Dixie cup full of water wouldn’t have helped her condition; it was merely a symbolic action to draw attention to the issue – much like the LGBT Day of Silence that Prochaska questioned. Without needing to resort to civil disobedience, the LGBT community drew positive attention to their concerns quite effectively for much of last week, and I’m sure they appreciate Mr. Prochaska’s efforts at keeping the issue in the news for another.

Mike Lombardi

senior in engineering