Letters

God and the Gays

Peaceful coexistence:Man, what a story ["The Reorient Express," by Craig Malisow, October 14]. Now that I've calmed down, I want to share some thoughts. I certainly have compassion for anyone struggling with an unwanted predilection, but the folks who "pray" on these people or offer a cure (or a "way out") are definitely suspect.

Why does homosexuality remain such an enigma, and why do so many people (even the "enlightened" ones) still regard it as an abnormality or "condition" in this day and age, when gay folks are seemingly more present than ever (i.e., mainstream)?

While I never bought into the religion/Bible/man purporting to speak God's Word thing, I can still remember hearing people, over the years, "preach" about the evils of man lying with man.

I may be completely missing the boat here, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. We are humans -- there will always be a certain number of heteros, homos, trans, bis and even those who profess to have no sexual orientation (don't get me started). Of course, the majority of humans are hetero. That's part of the grand scheme; how else are we gonna stick around?!

We shall continue to coexist in this mad, mad world as we have for centuries, until we are no more -- so enjoy!

Bill Rustin
Houston

Don't Fly Blind

Terror in the sky:I want to say "good job" to your employee "Smith" for observing what was, without question, extremely suspicious behavior on the part of these men aboard her flight ["Up in the Air," by Margaret Downing, October 14]. It would be foolish of us to think that terrorists aren't in our country right now, planning and practicing for their next assault on our freedom.

It is alarming that the flight attendants had such a careless attitude about this behavior. After all, their lives are at stake every day, and they have the duty of looking for this type of behavior. We are all just so afraid of being seen as politically incorrect or racist, but if Middle Eastern men (and women) are committing acts of terror, who are we supposed to be looking out for -- redheaded Irishmen?! If you fit the profile, then people should be watching you.

If it's inconvenient or insulting to you, well, too bad. I'd rather insult someone than have to see more innocent dead bodies on TV. And just because you aren't on a watch list, that doesn't mean you're okay. Our country's security forces need to get on the ball and vigorously investigate every lead like this. The stakes are too high. We must all, unfortunately, keep our eyes open and be alert. It's now part of the price of being an American.

Henry Garcia
Houston