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Out in the Mountains

Terrorism Nothing New to Us

by Hugh Coyle

What a wonderful thing it was to have
parts of last month’s editorial on the Per-
sian Gulf War go out of date between the
day the paper went to the printer and the day
it was set out for distribution! But even as
the fighting in the Middle East tapered off,
the fear of terrorist reprisals in the Western
world remained. Though these worries are
perhaps less pronounced than they were at
the height of the bombing sorties, they
nonetheless remain a reality with which
Americans must now somehow learn to
live.

For a period during the war itself, I
wondered why Ididn ’t feel more concerned
about the increasing threat of terrorism. I
had known people from countries in which
such attacks were commonplace, so per-
haps I had somehow acquired a touch of
that perseverance, that stubborn refusal to
surrender one’s personal freedoms even in
the face of impending adversity.

More recent events, however, have
made the answer clear to me. International
terrorism didn’tbother me much because as
a gay man, I’m growing accustomed to
living in a terrorist state right here at home.-
Our community has had its meeting places
stoned, bombed, and burned; our gay broth-
ers and lesbian sisters have been targeted
for brutal beatings; verbal harassment in
the fonn of anti-gay slurs and slogans is on
the rise in America once again.

New York City Mayor David Dinkins
can tell you about terrorism against gays
firsthand. Dinkins drew sharp and steady
disapproval from a number of constituen-
cies following his decision to march with
an Irish gay and lesbian group in New
York’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. Obsceni-
ties weren’t the only things hurled at him
during the procession; spectators also took
to throwing beer bottles at the city official.
With this firsthand experience of anti-gay
terrorism, perhaps Dinkins will more effec-
tively counter the alarming increase in hate
crimes against homosexuals in his city.

Here in Vennont, our community is
reeling from the shocks and aftershocks of
yet another instance of brutal homophobic
violence. The vicious murder of John Irons
demonstrates once again that this quiet,
rural state is not quite an idyllic paradise.

letters to the editor of several local
papers condemning the civil rights bill also
serve to remind us that our enemies are out
there in force, ready to vent their anger and
hatred. Many refer back to the Bible in their

defense, as though God would somehow
justify their vicious and repugnant senti-
ments. Just as a number of Middle Eastern
terrorist groups claim to be driven by the
Word of God, so do our opponents seek to
defend their cruel and violent actions.

Miraculously, we persevere against
ignorance and enmity. We live our lives as
fully as we can and seek to help others live
theirs just as fully despite the dangers and
risks involved. We carry on acknowledg-
ing the terrorism directed against us, yet not
accepting it. We cannot and will not surren-
der because in our hearts, we know that
what we feel is right and true.

The poet Adrienne Rich once wrote of
her work, “I draw strength from the tradi-
tions of all those who, with every reason to
despair, have refused to do  As gay
men, lesbians, and bisexuals, we must
continue to realize that goal of refusing
despair, of standing proudly and demand-
ing our rights, of serving as role models for
the rest of the world to show that terrorism
need not deprive us of our collective spirit.

With hate crimes on the rise nation-
wide, we face a challenge which is incom-
prehensible to the “average American” (if
such a thing even exists). What may remain
equally incomprehensible yet unavoidably
glorious is the strength which we bring to
that challenge, for that strength is ours, we
have earned it, and we will not surrender it
now or everrnore.

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