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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1992)
letters Law no. 3: “Capitalism is opportunistic." Let’s cease this mode of sanctimonious nar cissism that preens and struts itself before “the world’s swine” and get down to earth. We can To the Editor: only be as good as we are right now. We cannot I have been wanting to write to you for some support ourselves on idealistic feet. time to commend you on an outstanding paper. Finally, if I refused to read a periodical be I love Linda Shirley’s column “Just Dish” and cause its ads offended me, I would be compelled “Amazon Trail” by Lee Lynch. I also enjoy to stop reading altogether. Honestly, are the World Briefs and the Editorials. February’s edi phone sex ads the only ads you find offensive? In torial was especially moving and inspiring. It Lily Tomlin’s show “Searching For Signs of zeroed right in to the heart of the matter. Intelligent Life,” the little punkster, Agnes Angst, Your paper gave me the courage to come out is told by her grandmother to take the garbage out to my boss in December and to a few co-workers. as she leaves the house. Agnes looks slowly My boss said, “It’s okay. I did not always think so, around the room at all the bricabrac and nicknacks but I grew.” She has a daughter who is also a and awful furniture and yells in protest, “I wouldn’t lesbian. What was and is surprising is the support know where to begin.” There is unity in diversity. from my co-workers. 100 percent down the line We need to embrace our community, not condemn and an incredibly good feeling. it. The freedom I feel, just from coming out to the people I work with, is well worth the risk. Every Todd Oleson day I am glad and I continue to grow and relax. Portland You have a great publication and I lookforward to reading it every month. It’s quite a reflection of the strong leadership we have in our lesbian and Men aren’t all gay commuinity. Keep up the good work! You make a differ the same size ence! To the Editor: I would strongly encourage Just Out NOT to Meg Trotzuk continue running the ads, but probably not for the Portland reasons you might guess. I do not object to the concept of Phone Sex, nor am I opposed to those who wish to partake or provide that service. My A naked man is primary concerns are about what is conveyed in the ads themselves. In the Jan. issue I counted a almost a relief total of 17 ads that are sexually oriented (according To the Editor: to what I would consider “sexually oriented”). There is an old Zen koan that goes: Two Among those ads, I counted a total of 15 images monks were returning to their monastery through of men in various stages of undress. My complaint the rainy and muddy streets of a small village. is not HOW the men were displayed, but rather They saw a young lady who was troubled by the THE MEN THEMSELVES. Of the 15 images of prospect of crossing the street. Without a second men that I saw, 14 were white, one was black and thought the old monk picked her up and carried no other culture was represented, 13 were what I her through the mud. He and his brother contin would consider young, and virtually all of the men ued on their way. They were quiet as they walked. pictured were very close to being the same size As they approached the monastery gates the and shape. All were lean, muscular, and all but younger monk, who was gravely aware of their one were clearly masculine. vows of celibacy and austerity, turned to his I guess what offends me about the ads is not so brother and said, “You carried that young lady much what is being presented, but, more impor across the street.” Whereupon the old monk tantly, what is NOT being presented, and why. answered, “I carried her across the street. You What is not being presented in these ads is most of carried her all the way to the monastery.” the gay male population to whom the ads are There are many things that we are compelled directed. By publishing these ads, no matter how to see that I would prefer not to see. I would prefer lucrative they might be, aren’t we helping to not to see homeless men and women. I would foster a system of values that excludes people prefer not to see Iraqi soldiers reduced to tears who are not fitting into a very narrow and very surrendering to American camera crews. I would specific ideal? prefer not to see 12-year-old boys shot down by police who have lost control of their office. The Gregory Franklin list is long. To tell you the truth, after scanning my Portland long internal list of what I prefer not to see, the sight of a naked man comes almost as a relief. I don’t wish to sound flippant or crass but They are boring when I read that one respondent denied her friends To the Editor: the information in one of the issues solely because As for the phone sex ads: I don't think they are of the ads, I was dumbfounded. What exactly are offensive. I think they are boring. I don’t really the uses of correctness in an incorrect world? care whether you print them or not. On the other Would you stop the periodical that carries infor hand, I haven’t yet heard a good argument for not mation to a community which the OCA is trying printing them. The “perpetuating stereotypes” to repress? By fixating on our imperfections we argument doesn’t work because phone sex ads are merely succeed in producing more fodder for the not limited to gays (see Willamette Week). The “public opinion” argument doesn’t work because opposition forces to hurl back at us. Some laws of capitalism are interesting to people won’t change their opinions about gays consider in this regard. Law no. 1: “Ya gets what based on whether or not phone sex ads appear in ya pays for.” The fact is that in exchange for the gay publications. Whatever your decision, please revenue Just Out gets from the phone ads, we get let your reading public know how you arrived at four more pages of information. If we were asked it to pay for this paper, we might even get more Lou Miles pages. Law no. 2: “There is no morality in capital Portland ism.” Coming out and not blowing up ju st «Mit ▼ m a rd i 1902 ▼ 3 girlfriend p ro d u ctio n s proudly p re se n ts ERRON in a solo acoustic concert Thursday, March 12, 8:08pm Roseland Theatre 8 NW 6th • $13 Her albums Testimony, Shadows on a Dime and Phantom Center reflect the power of her poetry, wit and enduring spirit. Tickets available at Ladd's Editions, It's My Pleasure, Fastixx outlets including Music Millennium. Smoke-free and wheelchair accessible bibana WORLD MUSIC ENSEMBLE April 19 • 8:08 PM Pine St. Theatre $10 advance • $9 KBOO Members Libana is eight women weaving together the songs, dances and instrumental music of the world cultures. Co-sponsored by KBOO Tickets available at It's My Pleasure, Ladd's Editions, and Music Millennium Smoke-free and wheelchair accessible $1 off tickets purchased at Ladd's Editions with a valid voter registration. Call 281-4635 for more information
