Although I’ve never lived there, I believe I have a fairly good idea of life in Ithaca, New York. I’ve spent many, many days there over the past few years, often pondering how it is a city that would be an especially good fit for me, despite the fact I’m unhireable at Cornell and Ithaca College has never showed any interest. It’s a liberal college town where even the street people appear to be educated. The money of Ivy League students keeps it fresh and evolving. And the shops in Ithaca Commons are set at eleven. So it was that a headline in Publishers Weekly some months back caught my eye. (I’m not behind only on movies, it seems.) It showed a historical plaque for Firebrand Books, on the Commons. The story stated that the plaque had to be placed on public land since the owner of the building where Firebrand started has a Christian prejudice against homosexuality.
I suppose I ought to take a step back and give a little history. Firebrand was established as a feminist and lesbian publisher. Its offices were on Ithaca Commons, but when the founder, Nancy K. Bereano, retired the press eventually found a buyer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (I have also lived in Ann Arbor, but for less than a year. Likewise, it is the kind of place I felt instantly at home.) Ithaca, meanwhile, wished to honor its contribution to literature and elected to put up a commemorative plaque. The objection, however, was based on a particular reading of the Good Book. (It must be stated that lesbianism is never explicitly forbidden in the Bible.) To make a statement, the owner forced the plaque to the public domain.
We have a way of letting our prejudices become biblical. I recently re-read 1 Corinthians—one of the infamous “clobber” texts for any number of people—and realized just how many of the words assumed to refer to “homosexuals” are words of uncertain Greek connotation. King James, who seems to have preferred the company of gentlemen himself, was apparently not bothered by the text he had translated. Of course, kings will be kings. Our concern with sexual behavior is one of the hallmarks of our species. We’re very concerned about how other people do it, even if it’s no business of ours. And we consider it one of the highest moral concerns and a source of constant shame. That was another thing that struck me while re-reading 1 Corinthians. I wondered why Paul keeps coming back to it. Maybe he was just being a firebrand.