GLBT Power; Underdogs, or Masters of the Universe.

[WesHollywood]

I have known about the "gay power structure" for awhile now, but what exactly is the point of this. Not trying to be rude. I really am lost.

Nothing rude in your post. I would like to know as well.

As there appears to be some degree of secrecy about GLBT power, I thought I would share what I had, and hope others would add to it. This is not exactly the kind of thing we can Google. I know. I tried. But, I have seen some marketing data, apparently we are an ideal target market for the travel industry. We have the discretionary income that allows us to splurge on travel compared to other demographic groups.

[WesHollywood]

1. We do have a lot of power as a minority I will agree to that.
2. Since when is J.P Morgan gay?

I picked up the J. P. Morgan as gay on the same television documentary that I learned about President Theodore Roosevelt's phone call to save the economy. I can not find a link that specifically IDs Morgan, but I did find that his company is one of the more pro-GLBT in cultivating the GLBT market. http://americansfortruth.com/issues/corp...gan-chase/

For years there has been speculation about Abraham Lincoln. I read where an historian said that history respects the individual for the time of their life, and how they handle the issues of GLBT. If the individual was quiet on the subject, so would be history. Historians are not interested in prying open the closet doors of historic figures.

Now with Chris Mathews new book, Jack Kennedy the question is being asked, "Who was the man that LIVED IN THE WHITE HOUSE during the entire JFK occupancy?" I post on this subject in hopes others will have light to shed on the subject of GLBT power brokers. I checked Google again, here is a list of 42 books from Amazon.com that have been written about J. P. Morgan and homosexuality. Maybe someone here has read one. That is a lot of discussion about homosexuality if Morgan was straight person. http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords...gan&page=1 Let's hope someone in here will produce concrete evidence one way or another.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._P._Morgan

From Morgan's bio in Wiki we have, "At the height of Morgan's career during the early 1900s, he and his partners had financial investments in many large corporations and were accused by critics of controlling the nation's high finance. He directed the banking coalition that stopped the Panic of 1907. This verifies part of the OP.

Morgan's Wiki bio points to illness as a child, working for his father with whom Morgan had a difficult relationship, and J. P. Morgan was a Civil War profiteer who sold guns that maimed the soldiers who used them. Morgan made $92,000 on the scam, (that would be multi-millions today). Morgan was the founder of Chase Manhattan Bank. He had two wives and four children, none of whom had any listed accomplishments. J. P. Morgan Jr inherited his father's business, but never achieved the notoriety of his father.

While the Morgan stuff is interesting, the real question comes down to the power of GLBT today and in history. I heard a GLBT man say once, "We run everything." I find that very difficult to believe, but I could believe "We influence almost everything." One POTUS, James Buchannan was a lifelong bachelor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Buchanan that would seem to lend some support for some GLBT being "Masters of the Universe." Obviously, I believe the J. P. Morgan was GLBT story because I saw the PBS documentary, and it nearly knocked me out of my chair!

[OrphanPip]

Even if someone in a position of power happened to be gay, it doesn't necessarily mean it is good for the GLBT community. For example, J. Edgar Hoover was almost definitely gay, but he was hardly out there fighting for gay rights, and he was actively resisting the civil rights movement for blacks.

David Geffen is pretty much the only openly gay billionaire that I can think of, so I think it's really hyperbolic to say we're "masters of the universe." There has been only one openly lesbian head of state in the 20th century, and no openly gay ones, there may have been a handful of closeted ones though none in recent years.

The marketing data is suspect as well, because it is largely drawn out of surveys conducted looking at stable long-term partnerships, which tend to involve more affluent people even amongst heterosexuals, or they come from the readership of certain magazines, which also tend to be predominantly people with disposable income. More in depth, scientific studies have shown that gay males on average make less than straight males, primarily because a higher proportion work in lower paying, women dominated, fields, like teaching or service jobs.

[Pix]

I saw a survey recently and less than half of those surveyed in the USA said they'd vote for a gay president (only atheists did worse).

Still, it's interesting how many self-hating gays there seems to be among Republicans isn't there? (Just to be clear I'm referring to politicians like Sen. Larry Craig and Rep. Mark Foley who were known for voting against gays at least more often than not if not completely until busted for bathroom sex or trying to seduce page boys.)

But there is a lot of money to be made from our community. More than one pragmatist has pointed out the possibilities of revitalizing the economy by legalizing gay marriage and giving the community full equality under the law, but so far religion has once again trumped enlightened self-interests (let alone justice and fairness).

[WesHollywood]

Even if someone in a position of power happened to be gay, it doesn't necessarily mean it is good for the GLBT community. For example, J. Edgar Hoover was almost definitely gay, but he was hardly out there fighting for gay rights, and he was actively resisting the civil rights movement for blacks.

David Geffen is pretty much the only openly gay billionaire that I can think of, so I think it's really hyperbolic to say we're "masters of the universe." There has been only one openly lesbian head of state in the 20th century, and no openly gay ones, there may have been a handful of closeted ones though none in recent years.

The marketing data is suspect as well, because it is largely drawn out of surveys conducted looking at stable long-term partnerships, which tend to involve more affluent people even amongst heterosexuals, or they come from the readership of certain magazines, which also tend to be predominantly people with disposable income. More in depth, scientific studies have shown that gay males on average make less than straight males, primarily because a higher proportion work in lower paying, women dominated, fields, like teaching or service jobs.

You bring up some very valid points.

I did the OP on this thread because I have a question, not because I am selling a point of view. "GLBT Power; Underdogs, or Masters of the Universe." There are two sides to this issue, and we seem to be focusing on the masters of the universe. They are probably the group of GLBT most of us know the least about.

As I was just getting to know my mentor and his partner of 26 years I was invited to their home, as was my boss, a VP of Mobile Oil, a married 'straight' Congressman, the producer of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and other GLBT business leaders.

The irony was the actual home of my would-be mentor, and his partner. The kitchen was 1960s. I understand that the old Philco refrigerator had cost more to service than two brand new side by sides! We all know the kind of talk that goes on around a kitchen table, so it remained a constant atmosphere. The dining room was once the living room, looked like a hunting lodge, and had a formal dining table for 16. The living room was an addition, all glass with a cathedral ceiling and a rare collection of African masks. The yard extended down the hill with private areas and benches available for sex. Ahh the many stories about those benches!

I had arrived early, and Rick asked me to put up some folding tables and chairs in the two car garage, just in case there was an overflow of guests - you know the GLBT grapevine! The irony was that the garage became the focal point of the party into the early hours. When we talk 'masters of the universe' these are not the guys who need to be seen at Perinos with a celebrity. These are the guys who worked their way up in spite of past GLBT prejudices. They grab the reality of an old kitchen table or a folding chair in the garage. I find these GLBT people 'with their millions' striving to stay in the world of real people who live 'outside the bubble.'

Has anyone had a similar experience?

One day Bob asked me to look for his glasses in Rick's night stand. I reported back that I could not find them, but did he know there was a half million dollars in passbook savings accounts in the nightstand?

[WesHollywood]

I saw a survey recently and less than half of those surveyed in the USA said they'd vote for a gay president (only atheists did worse).

Still, it's interesting how many self-hating gays there seems to be among Republicans isn't there? (Just to be clear I'm referring to politicians like Sen. Larry Craig and Rep. Mark Foley who were known for voting against gays at least more often than not if not completely until busted for bathroom sex or trying to seduce page boys.)

But there is a lot of money to be made from our community. More than one pragmatist has pointed out the possibilities of revitalizing the economy by legalizing gay marriage and giving the community full equality under the law, but so far religion has once again trumped enlightened self-interests (let alone justice and fairness).

I think it will be a very long time before an openly GLBT candidate will run for POTUS, but let's not forget our openly GLBT Congressman for Massachusetts, Barney Frank. Progress has been made. Interesting that the gay wing of the Democratic Party, Stonewall Democrats, is run by a Congressman from Massachusetts Kennedy country? The Kennedy's are a smart political family. JFK's father Joe Kennedy built bridges to every minority group. Joe Kennedy was one pissed off Irishman about the way his Roman Catholic family was treated by main line Boston protestants.

I was on the phone with the Kennedy Library one day, (yes, anyone can call the presidential libraries for information at no charge), and asked if JFK had ever made a statement about GLBT rights. The answer was no specifically because GLBT rights were not an issue for JFK's time. However, President Kennedy's main personal issue was human rights, so GLBT would probably have been a Kennedy issue had JFK lived past 1963. The GLBT uprising at Stonewall in New York did not occur until 1969.

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GLBT Power; Underdogs, or Masters of the Universe.

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