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Carolyn R. Jordan
Portland
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To the Editor:
Coming out has been a most wonderful
experience for me. Three years ago, my dad
says, “Carolyn I accept you!” The lesbian word
comes up in conversation so many times,
during my recent visit to my folks. An ex
boyfriend’s mom says “thank you, this explains
things for me, and how about Lily Tomlin, is
she one?”
And yet there are still times when I don’t
come out, a job supervisor; instead I come out
to my co-worker, I know he is family. At times
I am afraid to come out. Afraid to put the
lesbian word on my class flyers; someone may
call and say ugly things into my answering
machine. Yes! sometimes in the hetero society
it is scary to come out. So, in my mind it seems
that simply coming out within our community,
our society, is such a grand and important step
in feeling a part of our lovely large family,
coming out to each other!
And then, perhaps when I am ready to put
the lesbian word on flyers and be posted in the
public library and not just the Cup & Saucer
SE, my family who knows me, will be there if I
need them.
Member of Portland
Million Dollar Club
• Free consultation •
To the Editor:
Shame on you! Whatever the excuse, your
failure to include the Gay Freedom Marching
Band in July’s Pride coverage was at best
sloppy journalism, at worst, indication of an
ignorant bias. I was reminded of the Gulf War
media coverage, and how the absent news was
as telling as the reported news.
Were you at the same parade I was?
Sarah Graham
Portland
Editor’s note: The Rose City Gay Freedom
Band was a welcome and valuable part o f the
Lesbian and Gay Pride Celebration, and was
not specifically avoided in our coverage. Just
Out did a feature with photos on the band in
our June issue.
Dismal photo
coverage
To the Editors:
I must be the umpteenth person to comment
on your dismal photo coverage of the 1991
Lesbian and Gay Pride March and Rally. There
were over 6,000 people and a million and one
things going on that day. I can understand that
newspaper space is a hot (and expensive)
commodity; but on one of the most important
days of the year for our community, I think you
can make more of an exception than you did.
Eighteen pictures of selected couples and
individuals did not do a great deal of justice to
the diversity of our community. Where were
the choruses? Where was the Marching Band?
And where-oh-where was that gorgeous float?
For one lousy day a year, I think our town's gay
and lesbian monthly could splurge a little and
devote much more space to what was, for
many, the only time all year they felt safe about
being out. There’s a whole lot more going on
in Portland than your pictorial essay cared to
show. Live a little next year, guys-how about
several pages of photos and stories?
Beth Hardfci
Portland
To the Editors:
Up to now there has been only one other
columnist I could not live without and that is
Libby Gelman-Waxner o f Premier. Now I
have two, thanks to Linda Shirley. She’s the
Meow of the Cat! Irreverence to the second
power. Shirley - ‘Thank you for sharing.’
N. Conn
Portland
Get educated!
To the Editor:
Hi, I ’m a gay male, 30, and I have AIDS.
Last night I was in a neighborhood gay bar with
a friend. Occasionally we kissed and hugged
each other. At one time my friend returned
from the bathroom and told me that someone
had said “Hey, why are you with that guy?
Don’t you know that he has AIDS? You’re not
french kissing are you? You should stay away
from him.”
That attitude infuriated me. I wanted to
stand up on the bar and scream-teaching every
ignoramus in there the facts. First o f all, with
that guy’s statement h e ’s saying that it’s unsafe
to go home with a person with AIDS. That
means if he goes home with people h e’s saying
he can do anything “unsafely” so long as he
“believes” that those people don’t have AIDS.
Many people in the gay community, especially
gay men, have AIDS or are at least HIV
positive, and still continue to mess around
unsafely. That judgmental hypocrite in the bar
should be practicing safe sex with others
whether they have AIDS or not. And the fact
that someone has AIDS should only make him
more aware of the situation, but not necessarily
more safe, because he should be playing safe to
begin with. By saying that I should not be
touched, dated, or taken home, he is calling me
an outcast. I would never go home with
someone who would do anything, anytime,
with anyone because it’s not obvious to them
that their new sex partner has AIDS. That
means they are more risky than I am.
I am a very healthy-looking person with
AIDS, and comments like those are giving me
and all gay people a bad reputation. And if gay
people are this ignorant o f the subject, how in
hell do you expect straight people to ever
understand the truth? A high percentage of gay
men are either dishonest about the fact that they
are HIV positive, or else they refuse to be
tested in order to continue unsafe promiscuity.
Those men are much riskier than I am as a
known man with AIDS. A t least I'm honest
about it! I must give my friend credit for
defending me and telling off the faggot who
said those things about me.
And, by the way, I went home with my
friend, and we had a wonderful time...safely.
Thank you.
David Schneider
Portland
Heartfelt thanks
To the Editor:
This spring a budget crisis at Cascade AIDS
Project made it necessary to make cuts-first in
staffing and then in several programs. CAP’s
Speakers Bureau was a proposed cut.
A number of individuals and groups rallied
to the danger of losing this important service.
Heartfelt thanks especially go to five groups
whose generosity and efforts helped save
CAP’s Speakers Bureau:
Triangle Productions contributed a wild and
wonderful benefit performance of Vampire
Lesbians o f Sodom.
CAP volunteer Douglas Hammond
organized a benefit drag show at The Embers.