Where's a girl to go?- The demise of lesbian bars in SF

The Examiner ^

[CatoRenasci]

Actually, a friend of mine from law school who was an assistant DA prosecuted and won a similar (though not identical) blackmail case some 20 years ago or so involving a teenager demanding sex for silence about homosexuality.

I couldn't care less about the lesbians qua lesbians, and surely don't expect you to care about them. However, I find the moral obtuseness about blackmail, and interference in the lives of others who have not harmed one to be very troubling from almost any ethical point of view, whether Christian or secular. We all do things which, upon mature reflection, we might not wish we had done, or might not wish to do again. Few of us at 16 think explicity of the "Golden Rule" in our ordinary activities, and fewer still of Kant's Categorical Imperative, a more philosphically sophisticated version of the golden rule. Would you really want those who dislike your behaviours to go sniffing about until they found some aspect that might be embarrassing or illegal, then threaten you with exposure unless you did X, and then expose you? I think not.

[flyervet]

Correction: your friend was a nasty-ass pervert who got petulant when he wasn't allowed to indulge his perversion. He then decided to stab deep into the hearts of the families of the girls who wouldn't indulge his perversion as some sort of revenge for a perceived wrong. I find it doubtful that the parents took him seriously.

[flyervet]

However, I find the moral obtuseness about blackmail, and interference in the lives of others who have not harmed one to be very troubling from almost any ethical point of view, whether Christian or secular.

Bump.

I wonder how the friend feels about what he did?

[DonQ]

It was once very patiently explained to me that gay bars - as distinguished from, say, gay coffee houses or gay gyms - got such a firm footing in the gay world because of fears about child molesters and the desire to avoid such accusations; a bar, by definition, admits only adults of full legal age. However, this aggravated drinking problems among gays.

Keep in mind, this article is about bars in San Francisco, it's my impression that, there, they wouldn't need to set up a deliberately gay or lesbian bar because just about any bar could be "taken over" - and really, it's the hetero bars that are the curiousities.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

I say we pool our money and open an oyster bar in the City Market district.

[chance33_98]

All this talk about seafood is making me hungry, and making me miss my wife more :)

[archy]

That kid sounds like a real A$$HOLE.

The word is *stukach.*

That kid sounds like a real stukach.

-archy-/-

[Henrietta]

Superior upper body strength is an asset, regardless of what some equal rights types might say.

Who needs upper body strength; a loaded Glock is better!

[LibertyGirl77]

...bars and cafes catering to lesbians are fading in the nation's gayest city.

I can't believe someone wrote that about their own town and didn't mean it as an insult.

[chance33_98]

LOL!

[DWSUWF]

Cato, we could argue the finer points of this until old Sol turns red and Superman loses his power, but you won't budge me an inch and I probably won't budge you.

We look at the same situation somewhat differently it would appear. Viva La Difference!

[DainBramage]

All this talk about seafood is making me hungry

"If you can't lick em'" join em... so to speak.

[DWSUWF]

"...I find it doubtful that the parents took him seriously..."

I only knew one of them, the daughter of the (then) Town & Country dealer north of town.

At first he was doubtful, but he knew it had to be looked into.

When he verified it he rocked her world. (One of the first things to go was her Chrysler convertible… Ouch!)

I'll pass your sentiments on to my old friend. I still see him from time to time. My guess is that he'll probably be so broken up about how you feel that he'll commit suicide on the spot.

Or maybe not.

[ofMagog]

To: DWSUWF
Correction: your friend was a nasty-ass pervert who got petulant when he wasn't allowed to indulge his perversion. He then decided to stab deep into the hearts of the families of the girls who wouldn't indulge his perversion as some sort of revenge for a perceived wrong. I find it doubtful that the parents took him seriously.

I agree with you, flyervet. Sounds as if his friend was a considerably bigger pervert, someone I definitely would not admit was my friend.

[CatoRenasci]

The sad thing is you see this as a debate with sides. Ideas have consequences, and people are judged by the company they keep and the behaviours they accept. If you lie down with dogs, don't be surpised when you get fleas.

[flyervet]

If he's a thinking person, I'm sure he knows what he did. Lots of people do cruddy things as children and adolescents. It's what happens after we grow up that defines whether or not we're people of strong character. I don't know about your friend, but I think I can make a judgment about your character based on this sordid episode and your reaction to it. I'm confident most posters on this thread can make such a judgment.

[gcruse]

A peak through a bar window

Unless you're into throwing mountains into
bar windows, the word needed here is 'peek.'

Any 'professional' article starting out with something so
blatantly erroneous is much too crippled to
make it to the finish line.  To the circular file.

[DWSUWF]

Cato...

No Sale.

[DWSUWF]

"...I don't know about your friend, but I think I can make a judgment about your character based on this sordid episode and your reaction to it. I'm confident most posters on this thread can make such a judgment..."

I have this thing I do when some pompous ass tells me how disappointed he/she/it is in something I said/did.

It's a sight gag, so I'll have to explain it for you.

First, I get this look of really deep concern on my face.

Then I pull out my wallet and heft it as though judging its weight.

Then I get a relieved look on my face. (sometimes I also wipe my brow too)

Then I say, "Whew! Nothing important missing!"

It's my way of showing how much I care what the other monkeys in the tree of life think of me...

...not!

You have yourself a good evening, and a bang-up life flyvet!

[flyervet]

In any group, you'll find at least one bitter, twisted soul who finds delight in the misery of others. It's not a surprise and it's not a disappointment. It's just a little depressing, that's all.

Good luck to you in your continuing search for happiness and peace.