Being Gay in BG

So being that BG is a college town, many feel that it is very liberal, I disagree. Just this weekend I was walking home from the bars, when I witnessed a verbal altercation between two people in front of the Circle K on Wooster. The argument was between an older man who was about seventy and a younger college aged female. I’m assuming the man was a townie, because I don’t know many people his age who travel to BG to go out on a Friday night. Although I don’t remember the specifics of the conversation (for various reasons), I do remember that it was basically about how this female was a lesbian and how the old man did not like that, so he was saying some not so nice things. The girl was extremely upset by his words and began to run after the man shouting and almost crying. As she ran toward the man I stopped her and said “hey don’t worry about it he’s ignorant, it’s not worth it”. She agreed that he was ignorant, but continued to shout at him.

The moral of the story is that BG is full of intolerant, ignorant people when it comes to the matter of gays and it’s really unfortunate. My story from this weekend is just one example of this. Now I don’t know about other college town’s nightlife, but BG doesn’t have a strictly gay bar. Not strictly in the sense that you must be gay to enter, but in the sense that it serves the gay community and it’s interest.

The fact that BG doesn’t have a gay bar made me begin to think, why not? I don’t think the answer is because there isn’t a big enough customer base for it. In fact as a student at BG, with gay friends I know that’s not the reason. Every year the University enrolls thousands of young adults I’m certain that the gay men and women included in that number alone could support a gay bar. To add to that number of potential customers are the people in town and in the surrounding areas. In addition to that number is the number of straight people, well at least females who would come too.

So, then if it isn’t the problem of lack of want/need, what is it? I think it’s the city. Maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t think of any other reason, but the city is too intolerant of gays. The old yelling man is a prime example.

Now, I have not forgotten that BG does have gay NIGHT at uptown every Tuesday. However one night a week is very different from a bar devoted to the gay scene. Since I talked about the townies having a problem with it I must also mention the conservative students from small towns much like Bowling Green who attend BGSU. They could also be apart of the reason we don’t have a gay bar, but I feel there are far too many more students from larger cities or who are simply less ignorant that would out way the ignorant few.
So, here is my message Bowling Green, as my friend Justin likes to say GROW UP, stop being ignorant and open a gay bar!