Pacific Island Times PIT December 2018 Vol 3 No 12 | Page 6

Insights
A
What’s killing the
region’s major
airline?
Last to know
couple of days before the
recent Guam election I was
scrolling through Facebook
when I spotted what appeared to be a
gay version of the National Inquirer.
Its front featured a lengthy, adulatory
profile of Lt. Gov. candidate Joshua
Tenorio who was shortly to be elect-
ed along with Lou Leon Guerrero to
lead Guam. So Josh is gay? News to
me.
I had known Josh
casually as a helpful
source at the Guam
courts when he worked
there and a friendly
face occasionally at the
Guam legislature. I’d
never given a minute
of thought to his sex-
ual orientation and
it appears that local
voters — many of them
likely better informed
than me — didn’t much
care. In fact, when I
expressed my surprise
about Tenorio to a more
knowledgeable friend, several other
prominent individuals were men-
tioned, again, news to me.
When I first came to Guam in
1980, it seems in hindsight that I
learned almost immediately that B.J.
Cruz, then a juvenile court judge,
was not only gay, but pretty open
about it. Lacking any allegation of
abuse stemming from his position
or orientation, I didn’t see this as
newsworthy back then. I did won-
der, given Guam’s overwhelmingly
Catholic population, how the evident
toleration of gays worked between
church and state. Recent events, in-
cluding nearly 200 lawsuits alleging
clergy sexual abuse have shed some
light on this, if not answering my
original question.
Not so long ago the publicity Josh
Tenorio received on election eve
— on the U.S. mainland anyhow —
6
rom the
comment box
would have been devastating and
quickly amplified by word of mouth
and what were once known as anony-
mous “pink sheets.” It was a one-two
punch, beloved by my childhood U.S.
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy. Accuse the
opposition of being communists and
additionally, sometimes covertly, of
being homosexuals.
As Wikipedia informs us, former
U.S. Sen. Alan K. Simpson has writ-
ten: “The so-called ‘Red
Scare’ has been the main
focus of most historians
of that period of time.
A lesser-known element
... and one that harmed
far more people was the
witch-hunt McCarthy
and others conducted
against homosexuals.”
The term for this per-
secution was popular-
ized by David K. John-
son’s 2004 book which
studied this anti-homo-
sexual campaign, The
Lavender Scare. The
book drew its title from the term
“lavender lads,” used repeatedly by
Sen. Everett Dirksen as a synonym
for homosexual males. In 1952, Dirk-
sen said that a Republican victory in
How the times
and attitudes do
change. It seems that
sexual orientation
has lost its political
sting, at least on
Guam. In 2018, the
only newsworthy
issue on this front
was the Guam
senate candidacy of
Lasia Casil, who is
transgender.
the November elections would mean
the removal of “the lavender lads”
from the State Department.
How the times and attitudes do
change. It seems that sexual orien-
tation has lost its political sting, at
least on Guam. In 2018, the only
newsworthy issue on this front was
the Guam senate candidacy of Lasia
Casil, who is transgender. Casil was
a first-timer in the race, but ran what
appeared to be a skillful campaign
and won a respectable number of
votes, placing 21st. She’ll likely be
back in the future, the second time
being the charm for a lot of past
senators.
Casil appears to have missed a
chance to be a very early LGBTQ
person to win a statewide legisla-
tive seat. In January, Danica Roem
copped first place when she became
an elected Virginia delegate. Ac-
cording to the Denver Post, Brianna
Titone has won a tight race for a seat
in the Colorado legislature, subject to
a possible recount.
“’I was thinking about running but
I didn’t know if I could do it,’” said
Titone, 40. “When Danica Roem won
her election, it kind of gave me the
courage to say, ‘Someone else has
done this, and now I have a chance to
do this, too.’”
Further, two transgender women,
Lisa Bunker and Gerri Cannon, also
won their elections in New Hamp-
shire, effectively tripling the level of
transgender representation in state-
houses across the U.S.
One of the charms of studying
history is that you get to look back at
what are—again in hindsight—stupid
and outmoded beliefs about soci-
ety, often reflected in embarrassing
and outmoded laws. I am somewhat
hopeful that the demonizing of any
kind of sexual orientation will be
viewed in the future as strange and
archaic.
This is a very good article. Teruel
argues that United is somehow
threatened by low cost airlines. This
is debatable for two reasons, if not
more.
1. United is a major airline
making tons of money with its North
American routes. Guam is a mini
hub in a strategic location. If United
leaves, another carrier will take its
place. Will it really matter to United
shareholders if Guam revenues drop?
2. United’s CEO said earlier this
year that United did not compete
with low cost carriers. So what is
it, is United concerned or not about
Guam related service?
— Rick Perez
Several problems with this article.
Among them: the fares within
Micronesia and to Hawaii are not
nearly as high as stated, at least not
in economy. United has an effective
monopoly on routes within the
Micronesian area, and makes plenty
of money on those routes.
— Michael White
Air Nuigini is safer
than United
Competition is always healthy
for the market. Gives the traveling
public more options to choose from.
— Victor Saclot
Concorde was the safest
commercial plane in the world 30
years then it was probably the worst.
Statistics.
— Adam Melnick
Over my dead body.
— Any Mato
FSM leaders offer
to be ‘part of the
solution’
It’s about time we all come
together and find a solution for this
problem issues on island.
— Pedro Alvarez
John Patis is a good friend good
leader of youth.
—Tim Fedenko
As guest I always show respect
and learn to understand and follow
my host rules so I will be welcomed
and be appreciated.
— Toni Paul
Good luck on that issue, pray for
betterment.
—Greg Remolor