Two posts stolen from two different blogs that prove that men are stupid. When things get tough, they crumble. Faced with overt oppression, they step back and let all the women do the work.

In the space of a couple of hours, I read these two almost identical entries, and both times, I thought: Well, no wonder we're still getting fag bashed.

Post #1, from a lead column in The Advocate:

"Andrew and I used to have a rainbow triangle on our car. We never thought much about it. Then one day we had to go to a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon, Calif. A very famous, very rowdy place. On the way there, several bikers passed, and more than a few expressed upset about our rainbow. When we got there, we took it off. Now, you’re probably gasping. But you know what? We didn’t need it anymore. You see, each day we went before millions of nongays as the happy gay couple talking about life, love, and current events. We were proud by example, by living as two out gay men in front of countless listeners who then gained a better understanding of who and what gay people are. We didn’t need the flag, the parade, a banner—we just needed to live openly. "

Post #2, from some guy named Jhames:

"Oh wait, there was also that one time living here whilst going to college and driving an ‘85 VW Golf. I had a rainbow-flag sticker on the back of PJ (car’s name) (if you need ask whom she is named after, then you need to stop reading this journal right now) (I mean it). My time was spent avoiding men who would speed up to check me out and attempt to flirt with me. Then I once parked outside a Super K-Mart to buy cleaning supplies and returned not fifteen minutes later to find my tires slashed. Ha ha ha. Oh yeah, like I had the money to pay for being a fag with a rainbow-flag. And the mechanics who assisted me with the new tires I couldn’t afford made sure to give me plenty of looks and glares. I immediately drove home and took off every inch of that sticker. Nary a day went by that I regretted my decision. Horny men stopped cruising me, too."

My question--what is this all about, why do both of these men feel so proud of the fact that they decided to hide a gay symbol? "We just needed to live openly"? How is buckling to gay-bashing sneers by removing a visible sign of who you are "living openly"? You *do* need that flag, that banner, because until you can fly it without having to worry about getting knocked in the head by a 2x4, the battle isn't over. Walk around holding hands, that's definitely the right thing to do, but when you eliminate the one symbol that clearly marks you as different, you're not helping anybody. All you're doing is making gay people an invisible minority again.

What really disgusts me--these two decisions to remove the flag weren't made while the car owners were, say, washing the car. They didn't notice it was faded and think, "Gosh, that looks tacky." They removed only after receiving negative attention, and then turned around and claimed it was good thing, because by god, they don't need it to be openly gay. Well, pardon me. You may not think you need it, but every teenager in the world needs you to have it. Every person who is being denied legal rights because of their sexual orientation needs you to have it. I'm not saying everyone should walk around with a rainbow flag. I think they've been bled of a lot of their "revolutionary" meaning, in fact. But please don't tell me these were ethical decisions, because they weren't. They were cowardly.

Oh, and, poor baby, cruised by horny men. Welcome to the world of women.