One More Phoney Exposé

I don't know who Martin Haver is. I don't know if he tells lies habitually to his wife, if he has one. But Martin Haver, or someone writing under that name, has lied, viciously and foolishly, to thousands of generally gullible readers of a periodical called Man's Magazine. The article, "Nightmare World of the Gay Men," which appeared in the August, 1958, issue of that magazine is built on several lies about homosexuals in general and about ONE, Inc., and the MATACHINE SOCIETY in particular.

It is conceivable that the author of this article (or the editors who might have rewritten it to suit more lurid tastes) was actually ignorant of facts which are public and which could easily have been ascertained. But a damaging libel cannot be excused by ignorance. Those who do not know the facts of a matter should be quite cautious as to what they write. There are many kinds of lies, ranging from silly and innocent untruths, to broad and vaguely damaging generaliza-

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tions, which though patently false, are difficult to disprove in a field where "authorities" differ widely, to specific and serious libels about particular persons or organizations. This article contains all three sorts.

Against a background of perverted case histories of the Berglerian sort which give a distorted and frightening view of the general psychology of homosexuals, the author presents a foolish survey of the underground gay life filled with ludicrous inaccuracies: he portrays a vast underground of "hidden gays" who are unwilling to admit their homosexuality, even to themselves, and disguise it with euphemisms like the word, "gay" (the "other world" of open homosexuals use terms like "homo," “fairy.” “fag.” "fruit," "nance," "pansy"), while they furtively pursue their subterranean desires.

All this, some of which is unintentionally funny, is background for unsavory charges about the "secret societies" homosexuals are setting up.

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