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Author Topic: Gay Retirement Communities  (Read 6824 times)

vanrozenheim

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Gay Retirement Communities
« on: October 05, 2007, 12:15:20 PM »

Some residents of a gay-oriented retirement community have worries that adding too many straight neighbors might reopen the closet door
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at RainbowVision, a development that opened last year on the edge of this high-desert city, a there-goes-the-neighborhood cloud has appeared. Some residents fear that their community could be overrun by an outside element -- straight people.

"It does not matter how friendly they are," said Roger Bergstrom, 77, who shares a condo at RainbowVision with his longtime partner, Barry Baltzley, 57.

Bergstrom spent nearly 30 years as a high school English and speech teacher in the Washington area. During that time, he had to be closeted at work.

For the last chapter of his life, Bergstrom wants to live in a community where gay people rule.

"If straight people are in the majority, it's different. It's not what we came here for," he said. "It's not where we want to live out the rest of our lives."

Very interesting. Somehow I have the stupid feeling that if the guys had pushed things a little bit earlier, there could be actually a place where Gay people do rule. Kind as they are, straight people have their very own cultural habits which are not necessarily shared by the Gay folks. It is clear that older Gays will feel very uncomfortable in a straight-majourity environment.
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Feral

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Re: Gay Retirement Communities
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2007, 01:18:25 PM »

I see a possible solution --

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The 13-acre community, with views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, features two- and three-story earth-tone buildings, carefully decorated public spaces, a restaurant that prides itself on not serving bland fare and a gym that would turn heads in West Hollywood. Dance parties and other events -- many of which are open to outsiders -- are often booked at the lounge and bar.

Ahem... foam parties. And go-go boys, of course. And quite frequently. The choice of music is a delicate one... optimally, this issue should be studied. I would hypothesize that some of the more raucous tribal remixes of hip-hop tunes might be effective. Naturally, whatever genre is selected, the music shall have to be just loud enough to not trigger an environmental impact statement.

The residents will have to tolerate some periodic noise and will, of necessity, be exposed occasionally to conga-lines of naked or nearly naked twinks. Some residents may endure this better than others. The principle is not unlike that of chemotherapy for cancer.

I do not doubt that a suitable combination of elements will prove effective at curtailing the desirability of the property to prospective heterosexual buyers. After all... we're talking about people beyond retirement age.

I picture my mother, or one of her sisters......... She and her ilk could easily be dissuaded from even visiting often with a judicious application of thumpa-thumpa -- all without violating any laws regarding housing discrimination because of sexual orientation.

There really are few problems that cannot be helped at least a little by the application of go-go boys and foam. Visiting one's elders is, after all, a virtue.
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vanrozenheim

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Re: Gay Retirement Communities
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2007, 05:23:51 AM »

There really are few problems that cannot be helped at least a little by the application of go-go boys and foam.

Ah, yes -- the go-go boys! Those admirable creatures have all the potential to become a national trait of the Gay people, and one of the most valueable ressources... ;D The thumpa-thumpa is probably not everyone's favourit music at that age, but the residents will be more than generously compensated by all the beaty.
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Feral

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Re: Gay Retirement Communities
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2007, 06:32:22 AM »

My suggestion is framed somewhat in jest, but at its root it is serious. In the case of this retirement community, they have but to do one thing to retain their majority -- be Gay. These people have not purchased condominiums in a Gay community because they hate straight people, they have done so because straight people hate them. When it is the Gay individual subjected to the straight culture, the results of this hatred are well-known. When it is the straight individual subjected to the Gay culture... well, this does not happen all that often, but I think the results of this experiment can be easily surmised.

Gay people spend too much time fussing about being "normal," by which they always mean "like straight people."

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Rain

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Re: Gay Retirement Communities
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2007, 06:54:07 AM »

Replace the BenGay with poppers and problem solved.
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Rain

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Re: Gay Retirement Communities
« Reply #5 on: October 09, 2007, 01:54:20 PM »

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Aging and Gay, and Facing Prejudice in Twilight

By JANE GROSS
Published: October 9, 2007



Even now, at 81 and with her memory beginning to fade, Gloria Donadello recalls her painful brush with bigotry at an assisted-living center in Santa Fe, N.M. Sitting with those she considered friends, “people were laughing and making certain kinds of comments, and I told them, ‘Please don’t do that, because I’m gay.’”


The result of her outspokenness, Ms. Donadello said, was swift and merciless. “Everyone looked horrified,” she said. No longer included in conversation or welcome at meals, she plunged into depression. Medication did not help. With her emotional health deteriorating, Ms. Donadello moved into an adult community nearby that caters to gay men and lesbians.

“I felt like I was a pariah,” she said, settled in her new home. “For me, it was a choice between life and death.”

Elderly gay people like Ms. Donadello, living in nursing homes or assisted-living centers or receiving home care, increasingly report that they have been disrespected, shunned or mistreated in ways that range from hurtful to deadly, even leading some to commit suicide.


Read.  You must have a NYT account to access the rest of this article!
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Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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