Open Forum

The writer asked "how many homosexuals someone had known?" I have had a couple of friends that were homosexual, known some that I couldn't stand and, I suspect, worked with several that I neither knew or cared what their sexual orientation was.

I believe that, at birth, some people are wired one way and some another. I can no more change my sexual orientation that I can change my height or the color of my eyes. As in poker, you have to play the hand that was dealt you. How you play that hand is up to the discretion of the player, an honest player is a joy to be around, a dishonest player will never be welcome. Now this person wants to fly under someone else's flag and redefine the word marriage -- why? Words have meanings and the meaning of human marriage is, by tradition, been the bonding of a male and a female. Why change it? If homosexuals truly want to come out of the closet and have an open relationship with one another why not be honest and coin a new word, or phrase, that describes their situation? There are all kinds of words that will describe a living arrangement between two people without hiding behind a well-established word. One of the things that bothers me is their usage of the word "gay." Gay used to mean happy, lighthearted or carefree. It was used in poetry and songs, now it is used only in the context of two men living together. Homosexual and heterosexual are two well-established words and the public has no trouble understanding them. I submit that you will be better received if you build on a word of your own and not tear down another one of ours.

Clyde DeBolt

Backus

Safety considerations

I am writing in response to the Oct. 13 letter, No help for motorist.

I live in the Twin Cities, but spend a great deal of time in the Brainerd Lakes area because my in-laws live there. I have found the people of Crow Wing County to be the nicest, most considerate people in the state.

They are also very safe people. The reason people didn't stop for you may not be because of being self centered or uncaring, it may have been for safety. Down here in the cities we are constantly told to leave tending to a stranded motorist to the police. There have been cases of people pretending to be stranded on less-travelled roads only to rob or commit other crimes against good samaritans who do stop to help.

While it is true that general courtesy and care for one another is going the way of the dinosaurs, chastising the general population may not be the right approach in this instance. It seems that it would be better to try to find a way to get rid of the criminals so that people can feel safe stopping to help their fellow man.

Mike Miller

North St. Paul