Posted on 01/22/2005 3:01:10 PM PST by Zechariah_8_13
SPOKANE, Wash. — Gay activists in this staid Washington city are planning to create a neighborhood of gay-oriented homes, businesses and nightlife — a development religious conservatives contend would clash with Spokane's family-centered culture. "A gay mecca is not what we'd like to see Spokane marketed as," said Penny Lancaster, director of Community Impact Spokane (search), a network of evangelical Christians. "I'd rather see us promoted as a conservative, family-oriented community without any reference to sexual orientation."
But proponents of the plan say a gay district would signal that Spokane is tolerant and progressive. "There is a very large gay population here," said Bonnie Aspen, a business owner who arrived with her partner two years ago to escape the congestion of the San Francisco Bay (search) area. Spokane — which in trendy Seattle is shorthand for tragically unhip — has long been dominated by conservative politics that stem from its history as a mining and farming center. But it also has a large core of Democrats and libertarians who share the West's live-and-let-live philosophy. Most of all, the city identifies itself as a good place to raise a family — and opponents contend that's at odds with the image of a gay district.
The idea for the district has roots in the theories of Richard Florida, an economist whose 2002 book "The Rise of the Creative Class" contends the economy of the future will be created by the 38 million workers who toil in creative industries. Florida, a Carnegie Mellon University professor, said members of the creative class consider recreation, culture and ethnic diversity, including a large population of gays, as central to where they live. Places like New York, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle have those qualities. Places like Spokane generally do not. Even though they face little discrimination...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yeah...you're right. And the directions to the village would be simple: Just follow the old dirt road...
That would do wonders for the business community.
I venture to say that most straights and family types folks would avoid the place if that were to become a reality.
The following is an interesting article; somehow it just seemed to fit with your post.
Semantic Infiltration and How to Combat It
Chuck Venhuizen - January 2005
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/semantic-infiltration-venhuizen.htm
Semantic infiltration (SI) is a phenomenon of language that occurs when certain people deliberately replace one word or phrase deemed offensive with another term that better frames and strengthens their point of view.
4. "gay" / "lesbian" / "bi-sexual" / "transgendered": these words have facilitated the unfounded notion that homosexuals are a distinct class deserving special rights and protections = "participant in homosexual acts"
I think the people on Wall St. will be surprised to learn they are all gay.
Fort Fabulous?.... sure just "go down" 2 blocks, past the Jiffy Lube, and take a left on the "Hershey Highway".
Agreed... why do you think those industries die out? I live in New York and here on Long Island there are pockets of skinheads, most economically driven since Grumman all but closed down.
Are they going to rename the neighborhood Sodom?
I'm sure someone has dibs on 69 Hershey Alley for their address.
Don't count on it. All its intended to do is keep you out of their neighborhood. They will still demand free access to yours as often and as long as they wish.
It would be *very* interesting to see the crime statistics a neighborhood like this would generate ... domestic violence, drugs and such.
No, that would be censorship and discrimination. They have the right to do anything they want, no matter how blatant, but if it affects your decisions in any way you're a bigot.
There's room in Antarctica.
No, " 'S Pokin " ;-)
Is this not illegal under the federal fair housing laws? You are not able to say this is a "black" or "white" or "itallian" or "jewish" or "X" neighborhood.
Now if it is a mere behavior and not a status then perhaps they would be allowed, HOWEVER if there is ANY area law against discrimination against sexual orientation then this project is totally illegal as a matter of law.
The exact language of the federal fair housing laws is under federal laws at http://www.findlaw.com.
Not that there's anything wrong with being gay....
In NYC they only dominate a small neighborhood in Chelsea and a small part of the West Village (which is quickly becoming too expensive for most of them). Even in the rest of Greenwich Village they are not the dominant culture.
I have a collegue who was specifically told a piece of real estate would not be sold to him and his wife because he was not a homosexual. (they wanted to sell to someone compatable with their lifestyle) Very illegal, however prove it.
The feds used to send out testers. Will the feds send out fake homos to test sellers and real estate agents?
The conservatives have to use the laws on the books against the homosexuals. Spokane probably has orientation laws. That makes this whole project illegal.
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