L
E
of activism, ACT UP and others are willing to
make sure it works. Direct action is but one of
the many ways which folks can get involved
in this movement Coalition-building takes
many forms. If you are tired of what you see
going on around you and the pain and anger
of human injustice is too much to carry alone
and you have energy, ideas, time, money or
just want to get a little rowdy, please give us a
call at ACT UP and we will see to it that there
is a place for you in this important growing
movement
Jeffrey Hart
Portland
Inner
community
"outing"
To the Editor:
I have just read through the June issue for
the third time, and a growing sense of vague
discontent has compelled me to write. In this
issue I read about: the closure of A Woman’s
Place; a young Pacific University student
being harassed and threatened; plans to bomb
a gay nightclub in Seattle and ACT UP’s
“outing” circus. Little bits here and there
about our individual and collective fear,
anger, apathy. Lots of incendiary writing
about the injustice and unwarranted
judgement that’s part of our reality as gay
people.
I came out exactly one year ago. I had
marched in the Starlight Parade, with the
T
T
world's biggest marching band. Later, the
band retired to a hall where they partied and
watched a video of the parade. I saw the gay
and lesbian float on TV and shrank in horror
as hundreds of fellow band members jeered,
laughed and hurled beer bottles at the big-
screened TV set. Later, at four o’clock in the
morning, I came out to a close friend. It was
the beginning of a long and painful journey
through the closet door.
Many things happened in the course of a
year. I got fired from one of my teaching jobs,
mostly for being gay. I quit the world’s largest
marching band in a formal-but-honest letter. I
spent five months and too much money trying
to start a gay community band, only to quit
when another of my johs was threatened by
the possibly wide-scale exposure. (I hear there
is still a band, but haven’t heard if or when
they will perform in public.) I am now
watching a gay co-worker being threatened
with the loss of his job, due to "outing” by a
jealous colleague (who is also gay). I am
engaged to be married,so is someone else at
my daytime job—but I cannot shout it from
the rooftops in glee. When my lover and I go
out, we must be ever-mindful of where we are
if we want to steal a kiss or even hold hands.
There are those, in her family and my circle of
acquaintances who would keep us apart if
they thought they could get away with it
As if the garbage from these straight-
oriented comers weren’t enough, I have
recently had to deal with garbage in the gay
and lesbian community.
When I have to be careful in my public
life as a professional and an educator the last
thing I need is hyper-scrutiny and grist from
the rumor-mill in the gay or lesbian
community. For those of us who are more
public during the day, nightclubs and other
such places—not to mention activities in
E
R
people’s homes—are still quite private to us.
“Outing” of one’s dirty laundry—and the
uninvited judgment that invariably follows—
is just as harmful as the kind of "outing” my
co-worker may soon be subjected to, and the
kind of ‘‘outing’’ that ACT UP is doing. In
fact, I think it is even more harmful, and
distasteful. This kind of “outing” comes from
within our own community—remember, that
place where we are all supposed to feel, well,
safe?
Beth A. Hamon
Portland
Diversity, not
separation
To the Editor,
At this time of year when we come
together as one to show our pride and claim
our rights as lesbian and gay human beings, I
reflect on the year past, and am saddened by
the amount of judgment, criticism and
prejudice I have seen. We are a diverse group
of people. Why do we separate within
ourselves? We can’t expect society at large to
accept what we cannot. My goal for the
coming year is to examine and challenge my
thoughts and beliefs, and I urge you to do the
same. We must come together—really come
together—if we are to attain the goals which
we have set Aren’t we all just looking for a
place to live in which we are free to be
ourselves?
Pam Morgan
Portland
S
Diane Wells found
To the Editor,
I wish to gratefully thank the Just Out staff
and the gay community for finding my
daughter Diane Wells. Thanks to everyone we
soon shall be reunited.
Because of the escalating legal fees, I am
finding it hard to fight the battle for Diane and
am once again asking for your loving support
and generosity. Any monetary support can be
mailed to 1115 NE Thompson, Portland, OR
97212.
William Wells
Portland
Praise for
Eskeli's views
To the Editor,
I want to thank you for having the courage
to print the Page Two article in the June issue
of Just Out by Christopher Eskeli on the
ravages which alcohol and drugs are bringing
to the gay and lesbian community. It was
honest, which some members of our
community may not want to hear, and loving
which some may not be able to hear. As
someone who never became addicted to
alcohol or drugs, it has only been in the last
few years that I have come to see the
devastation it has brought to us and to
understand it as an illness. His article
continued my own education and hopefully
that of others. Keep up the good work and
honesty.
Greg Smoots
-
Portland
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