Small Town Boy

A reader writes:

I just wanted to drop a note to thank you for linking to the video for Smalltown Boy. It was, and still is one of my favorite songs, and to this day, I have it, as well as a Jimmy Sommerville version of "I Never Can Say Good-Bye" on a CD in my car, (along with other songs by Bronski Beat, The Communards, UB40 et all).

Being from a small town and being gay in the '80's was never easy. I was a teenager in a small town in the 70's, and it was even harder. I endured black eyes, broken bones, ostracism, and generally being the town "fairy".

Needless to say,  on the day I turned 18, I was gone. By the time this video came out, I had already met the love of my life (this past Sept was our 26th anniversary), but even now, some of the scars surface. I had forgotten how gut wrenching some parts of that vid is.

Can I just say this to my straight readers: when you think of gay people, and the "gay agenda," please think of this guy as well, will you? He went through all that, found a husband and committed to him for 26 years - and the Republicans now tell him that his committed relationship is a a threat to the family and to civilization. In my view, someone who endured that and committed to a relationship for almost three decades should at least be given the same civil rights as Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock. Anything else adds insult to injury.