|
February 14, 2009
Bigoted gay double standard
While running through a predominantly gay neighborbood in Los Angeles yesterday, I saw a sign which struck me as so ridiculous that I did a doubletake, and returned to take a photo of it. What that means is that residents who leave their homes and return (whether to go to local stores or whatever) more than once in a six hour period are committing the offense of "cruising." (I guess I never realized it before, but according to LA law, I'm a serial cruiser!) What astounded me more than the sign was the reasoning behind it. Wanting to be careful before shooting off my mouth in my blog, I asked my friend (who is not gay) about the signs, because I assumed the idea was to prohibit low rider types from drag racing or something. Amazingly, he told me that the idea was in fact to prohibit, um, traditional gay cruising! In a gay neighborhood! Not only that, but he told me that an obviously gay police officer was enforcing the law in a discriminatory manner -- against gays! (Talk about homosexual self oppression!) The straights would never get away with such blatant bigotry. What a world. What a world. (No idea whether there's a Valentine's Day exception....) posted by Eric on 02.14.09 at 12:43 PM
Comments
Ahh, reminds me of my days in North Hollywood. There was a gay bar up the street and a lot of cruising in the local neighborhood as a result. These signs were everywhere. Never got hassled by the police, though. They were pretty good about separating the cruisers from the locals. Hesiodos · February 14, 2009 03:13 PM "Never got hassled by the police, though. They were pretty good about separating the cruisers from the locals." Nothing says "Freedom" like discriminatory enforcement. I'm sure only the brown speeders get stopped too. Larry Sheldon · February 14, 2009 03:57 PM I'm surprised no one added: "For a good time call...." and then the number of the local police station. M. Simon · February 14, 2009 04:27 PM Six hours? Hah! More like six minutes. ThomasD · February 14, 2009 04:56 PM Nothing says "Freedom" like discriminatory enforcement. Why shouldn't law enforcement discriminate between those who have legitimate business in the area and those who are cruising? Makes sense to me. I find it preferable to blind "zero tolerance" policies. Nothing like suspending a kid from school for a drug offense for bringing in a bit of Tylenol for a headache in the name of blanket enforcement of an abstract principle, eh? Hesiodos · February 14, 2009 05:15 PM A lot of cruise ships dock at San Pedro. Are you sure the purpose of these signs isn't just to redirect lost tourists and seamen trying to find their ships? chocolatier · February 14, 2009 07:45 PM Definitely a case of profiling. joated · February 14, 2009 08:09 PM I am completely disgusted that these signs (and the laws behind them) exist. Damn...... One could not possibly out walking for their health or to the nearest convenience store (or in my case, liquor store! Ha!)? This is for real... you're not kidding me are you? Sheesh, I'm as straight a female as there ever was and I'm horrified !!! Are there similar restrictions where female prostitutes "cruise"? Donna B. · February 15, 2009 02:10 AM A number of years ago, the City Council of Mt Vernon, OH, decided it didn't like teenagers cruising Main St, the town's main drag, all 5 blocks of it. So they built an actual gate on the southern end of Main St, and actually closed off the street after 5 pm Fridays and Saturdays. Of course, the teens had to go somewhere else. Probably did drugs and sex. Nowadays, no one cruises Main St. It's dead, with several vacant stores. The action moved out of town.. Bob Sykes · February 15, 2009 06:55 AM Can we agree to see this as a grand example of the "Theory of Unintended Consequences"? Finely tuned legislation, appropriately policed and NOT YET REALIZED for its wondrous...shall we call it "heft"? Personally, I hesitate to refer to anything or anyone's "heft" these days. The FAT police are watching! Penny · February 15, 2009 10:10 PM (Laughs out loud.) Did you get cited? Seems to me you're confessing... OregonGuy · February 16, 2009 12:24 PM Yet another example of Pink Fascism. Scary. Thom · February 16, 2009 01:58 PM Gaycism! What's the illegible scrawl at the bottom of the sign? Witty retort? Words of defiance? apotheosis · February 17, 2009 11:22 AM Having lived near that neighborhood and visited it frequently, it isn't what you think. In the late 70s/early 80s, that area became a cruising ground 24/7, most especially after the bars closed at 2:00 am (the numero uno gay hotspot, Studio One, was around the corner). There are a number of t-rooms in the area as well, and the neighbors got fed up with it, and folks driving around looking for Mr. Goodbar so late at night. It's difficult to describe that lifestyle and activity in a post HIV/AIDS world. They weren't cruising in the sense of walking around looking for someone to meet for lunch tomorrow, and driving around enjoying the scenery. There were guys walking very late at night "loitering," striking up "conversations" with cars cruising the area, and often using their cars as bedrooms. The problem isn't that it was gays in a gay neighborhood, is was that it was becoming something akin to a red light district, and locals couldn't walk their dogs without 20 cars cruising by, offering them BJs. It isn't ALL gay and families couldn't let their sons out of doors. Those signs have been up for decades, but I suspect that it isn't what it once was so they're likely superfluous now. Mrs. du Toit · February 17, 2009 04:03 PM The street isn't a night club. Or a hair salon; or a Gap Outlet; or any other place that a stereotypical homosexual man might frequent. For that matter, the street isn't a sports bar or a boxing gym. It isn't anything except a street. A means of getting from here to there. Getting from A to B is what it should be used for - and nothing else. In my town, Orlando, there is a no cruising sign down the main drag down town also. That street, incidentally, is the location of the birth (no pun intended) of more HETEROsexual activity than anywhere else in the city. Grant Williams · February 17, 2009 06:46 PM The street isn't a night club. Or a hair salon; or a Gap Outlet; or any other place that a stereotypical homosexual man might frequent. For that matter, the street isn't a sports bar or a boxing gym. It isn't anything except a street. A means of getting from here to there. Getting from A to B is what it should be used for - and nothing else. In my town, Orlando, there is a no cruising sign down the main drag down town also. That street, incidentally, is the location of the birth (no pun intended) of more HETEROsexual activity than anywhere else in the city. Grant Williams · February 17, 2009 06:46 PM Connie, thanks for that insight. What fascinated me most about this was that after staying there for an entire week, I failed to witness what I would consider gay cruising for sex. The signs are obviously a holdover from another era. Eric Scheie · February 20, 2009 02:26 AM Post a comment
You may use basic HTML for formatting.
|
|
February 2009
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR
Search the Site
E-mail
Classics To Go
Archives
February 2009
January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 May 2002 AB 1634 MBAPBSAAGOP Skepticism See more archives here Old (Blogspot) archives
Recent Entries
Music Is Going To Bits
Surplus Justice American Style Constellation Program The War On Gangs I'm Here To Spread Panic The Bo Diddley Beat What Engineers Do Beyond Expectations China And Russia Hooking Up
Links
Site Credits
|
|
It says "two times past same point." Seems to me if you pass the point on your trip to the store, then pass it again on the way home, you are in violation!