J im * o«« ▼ Ja n u a ry I M I ▼ 5
support that has kept this paper going for seven fear is that readers might believe there is some
years. It is time to just let those same people do truth in the article! It is clearly a gay-bashing
what they have done all these years-give to the attempt by a homophobic sensationalist newspa­
community more than they have gotten.
per.
This community and the paper are mutually
There are times like this that I regret our right
supportive. If you want to contribute positive of free press. Some newspapers like Willamette
energy to Just Out and to the community let Ju. t Week abuse this right and take it as an invitation
Out, LCP or community-oriented people know. to achieve vindictive measures such as publish­
Change the negative to positive, earn interest and ing untruths or slanted half-truths and subse­
grow.
quently damaging or destroying an individual or
worse yet, attempting to sabotage a competitive
Donna Luckett
newspaper like Just Out.
Portland
We must monitor from within our own com­
munity and make it known to Willamette Week
that we will not tolerate their advocacy of homo-
phobic views. They have a responsibility to their
readers and we must make them accountable to
Think about it
this responsibility.
v
I encourage Just Out readers to write Willam­
ette
Week and demand an apology to Just Out
To the Editor:
and
the
gay and lesbian community. Willamette
To say that I’m concerned about the current
state of affairs in Portland would be a gross Week must understand we will not support their
advertisers until they abandon their homophobic
understatement.
vendetta
and publicly apologize.
Just Out, the first gay paper I read when I was
I
will
continue to support Just Out because I
coming out, is in trouble. “The Shareholders”
wrote a letter to the readers that was almost de­ realize the vital importance the newspaper makes
fensive, even pleading, in tone. Then Willamette in our communication within the gay and lesbian
Week blew the scandal wide open with its sensa­ community. I thank Rened LaChance and Jay
tionalist exposé. It’s a real pity. Just Out is no Brown for providing us with this essential link.
cheap, high school “cub” paper, but a slickly-
produced and intelligently written alternative Amber Lewis
news magazine. Its demise would be a great loss Portland
to all.
In the past six months, we have lost two gay
and lesbian nightclubs and a women’s bookstore.
Now, we may be forced to look to our friends in
Eugene for news coverage of Portland’s gay Lost sense of
community.
It seems to me that the gay and lesbian com­
munity in this town is losing its most important community?
social institutions because of the lack of “fight”
on the part of more of us. A handful of people
cannot be expected to do everything. And all of To the Editor:
the infighting and fragmentation will only make
Since when are the Portland police and IRS
it harder for everyone to work together for our friends and a dedicated person like Renei
change. The other, basically obvious thing is that LaChance our foe? It is intolerable to be turning
nv>st of us tended to take these businesses for one of our own over to these homophobic patri­
granted, thinking they’d always be around, till archs as a means of settling a dispute, not to
time eternal. In a community that is almost a mention stealing her personal property to create
microcosm of an already small town, never take evidence.
anything for granted.
Have we lost all sense of community? Open
The final question would seem to be, “is it your eyes, we are the underclass, the disenfran­
really in my best interest to frequent and support chised. The means we use to survive may not be
gay-owned and gay-supportive businesses?” by the book (i.e., check kiting, civil disobedi­
Sure it is. Until you and your loved one can ence, and tax resisting), but you’ll be hard
walk down the street, holding hands, without pressed to convince me that these practices
even the slightest fear in your heart of hearts, you equate to a lack of moral integrity. If you think
and I need a vital, vibrant gay and lesbian com­ for a minute that Renei, who has given years of
munity. And even then, we still need one. We her life to our community, has taken anything
need lesbian choirs and gay bands and women’s from us or the paper, you’re nuts!
bars and gay pride floats and everything else,
Littlejohn Keogh says, in Willamette Week
because these things (and others) are woven into (Dec. 5), he would like to see canceled checks
the fabric of our lives; they are part of our cul­ proving reimbursement, then he would be willing
ture. It is no less necessary for us to have a cul­ to say he’s sorry. He says this as if an apology
tural identity than for native Americans, or Ko­ would erase investigations by police and IRS; the
reans, or anyone else. Cultural identity sets us damage, if not the death of Just Out; and the joy
apart from the status quo in healthy, positive anti-gay conservatives got out of watching us
ways. And it helps us to find each other in what devour ourselves. When will we learn that our
could otherwise be a sad and lonely world. divisions are THEIR power?
Think about it.
With the “mutineer’s” talent for fracturing
strong foundations, my only hope is that they’ll
find new employment with the likes of the Ore­
Beth A. Hamon
gon Citizen’s Alliance or maybe even the Jesse
Portland
Helm’s Coalition.
Clearly gay­
bashing
Rhia Weinhaus
Portland
P.S. It’s infuriating that the first lesbian and
gay “front pager” I’ve ever seen in Willamette
Week had to be this. We’ve accomplished so
To the Editor:
I was angered by the article in the Willamette much and they write about us when we’re down.
Week entitled “JUST DOUBT.” My greatest
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