Dear Ann Landers,
have read several letters in your column from people who despise homosexuals. What do they want from us? Would they be satisfied if we were all locked up, isolated from society? Or would they prefer that we simply be shot at sunrise? Why don't people realize that the only difference between homo-sexuals and heterosexuals is what we do behind closed doors? We don't worry about them. Why should they worry about us? My roommate and I frequently entertain mixed couples, and we have many interest-ing friends. We are honorable people. We don't play with girls, pre-tending to be straight, dragging them around to parties as cover. We believe this is cheap and dishonest. The notion that gay boys are all limp-wristed and swishy is absurd. Many homosexual males with whom I am intimately acquainted are extremely masculine in appearance, dress and mannerisms. They work at being masculine to avoid detection. I am acquainted with homosexuals who are successful doctors, lawyers, teachers, clergymen and politicians. They are in every walk of life. The closet queens in the professions as well as politicians must be circumspect, however, because they are subject to blackmail. Isn't this shameful? A year of psychiatric therapy has helped me to accept myself as I am. I now know that I don't need the friendship of anyone who views me as a freak. I hope and pray that one day all people will be judged on the basis of what they contribute to humanity and how they treat their fel-low man. Wouldn't that be wonderful? -Written in Beaumont, Mailed in New Orleans

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