ju s t o u t ▼ January 1 9 , 1 9 9 0 ▼ 3
letters
Cool to be cruel
To the Editor:
Take a look at the enclosed [clipping from the
Jan. 3, 1996, Willamette Week]. W hat the hell is
that? It’s not a fitting or appropriate tribute or
acknowledgment o f the people listed. It’s not funny.
It’s not particularly nice.
[For this] fluff issue of cutesy filler stuff, one of
those talentless hacks actually figured they’d lump
these people together with N ew berry’s under the
heading “Six Feet Under” ? W hat is that? It must be
that “irreverent” thing they brag about in that
wordy, pretentious bit o f business about their “m is
sion.”
It’s repulsive: “Six Feet Under.” If anyone I
knew was on that list, there’d be hell to pay. I’m sure
Just Out will be just fine with it, though, as you
apparently are with every
th in g else [Willamette
Week\ does in its superfi
cial and exploitive treat
ment of gay people and
issues. Did anyone there
read the “review” of An
gels in America ? How
about the cartoon asking
the question “ Raging or
flaming?” o f two stereo
typical gay men entering a
restaurant?
Forget about gay stuff:
How about the full-page
ad featuring a photo of
women and children be
ing led to their deaths
at A u sc h w itz ? W orse,
read Publisher R ichard
M eeker’s response to the
Jewish Federation o f Port
land about that and then
tell me this man or his pa
per is going to be doing
anything honorable in the
near future. Did you see
the bit where they attack
W ieden & Kennedy for
the ad blitz for OK Cola?
This blitz took place in [Willamette Week's] own
pages with the most environmentally and civically
irresponsible ad insert in the history o f same.
I’m not from this ridiculous little town, and it’s
astounding to me the passive acceptance o f this
pretentious, opportunistic, exploitative piece of
crap by the community at large and the gay com
munity in particular. Gay people in [that paper’s]
pages are a campy, fashionable attraction, an op
portunity for self-serving pontification and finger
pointing, or discussed with all the humanity and
sensitivity o f someone discussing ocelots. And, no
doubt about it, objects o f ridicule if that suits
[Willamette Week's] purposes at the moment, [as it
has] on more than one occasion.
Are we not fighting
for the same cause?
To the Editor:
I sit here in my incarcerated state keeping in
touch and staying informed through Just Out.
In my three years o f incarceration there have
been many changes. Some changes have been won
derfully welcome, while others have sadly been
seen.
I read o f gay couples adopting children. I cry
over stories o f loving, caring couples being sense
lessly murdered. I bask in the splendor of gay and
lesbian couples joining in matrimony and it being
recognized legally.
Then I hang my head in shame when I see the
gay and lesbian community still so very divided.
Are we not all fighting for the same cause? Damned
right we are!
M ed ical M alpractice
&
Look at the letter from the black gentleman
wondering why the white-owned and -operated
paper would run a cartoon ridiculing Martin Luther
King Jr. He w asn’t to know that so-called “political
incorrectness” for its own sake is a popular, fash
ionable (and white) phenomenon that can lend a
paper like that an air o f being “cutting-edge,” in
lieu o f anything like original thought or genuine
risk-taking. W e’re talking not just white people
here, but the beautiful people— all o f them from
privileged, well-to-do backgrounds and college-
educated courtesy of their parents. They run a
cartoon presenting perhaps the most esteemed o f
black leaders in a ridiculous light for some faddish,
incidental entertainment, and no one, at least no
one white, bats an eye?
Portland deserves that paper. Don’t let them use
your friend’s death as opportunity for a clever
headline. That was incredibly disrespectful and glib
and blatantly dismissive
o f the people listed.
W hy? W hat the fuck
for?
W IC L IA M J A M IS O N
art gai»ry «vncr,
N.
a h i et
W A TEÄ W O H A M
Just Out actor,
canc*r, '2
Steve Henry
Personal Injury
A tto r n e y
Free Consultation
No Fee Unless You Recover
295-1940
>
I am very hopeful that in the forthcoming year
we as a community will grow closer. In doing so, I
believe we will see that the battle that is being fought
every day will make even more headway.
Those o f us homosexuals who are incarcerated
have our own battles to fight. We are constantly
dealing with harassment and discrimination, both
from staff and other inmates. The lack o f unity
among us allows this to continue.
Once again, with a little unity these everyday
problems would be easily handled and dealt with.
In closing, I wish each and every one a wonder
ful New Year. I ask that we all try to unify [our
community]. I believe it will open a much-needed
path to what we are all striving for.
Give it a try— no one can lose.
&
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In tegrity ,
E x p e r ie n c e
Gresham
E d ito r’s
note:
Thank
you
fo
r
bringing
•anrm Ocrwcn lk: «tato
¡a*w. heart »Rack. 77
this to our attention. The
headline is truly rude,
J A M E S N A T T IN G E R
A->d »odierei Stai*
crude and thoughtless.
pfofeMOt. AICS. 5S
To be honest, most o f us
’ b i u e y r a v e
at
Ju st O ut stopped
fi&nonac/ diaais*. 63
•
reading W illa m e tte
DEAN E R V 50N
fuir;««' Ortrçpn Ct0tt»M
W eek long ago. Before
CflUrtJu*Cc«,34
P ublisher R ichard
N E W B E R R Y 'S *i
M
eeker and E ditor
!« t o f the Jowrtown *
tvs-and oi?ri»s,
t‘
art&miç pofäs «9 £ Mark Zusmangot their
hands on it in the early
'80s, W illamette W eek
was a respected news
paper with news and
views that truly repre
sented an alternative
voice in Oregon. Now it
seems an issue doesn 7
go by that W illamette
W eek doesn 7 abuse its
position in our community while touting the premise
o f a "free play ofideas. ” Portland doesn 7 deserve
that.
Just O ut could dedicate a column in each issue
to pointing out and challenging W illamette W eek 's
smirking, gratuitous slurs disguised as journalis
tic integrity. For one thing, we don 7 have the
space or desire to do that. For another, no one
here wants to read it on a regular basis.
We appreciate the efforts o f those who take the
time to send in items they find that are offensive to
queer and other marginalized communities. Any
one who knew, loved, or was inspired by the
people whose names they read listed beneath that
headline must have been sickened, as we were.
Mark Smith
Hala Gores
FORD
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4070 S.W. Hall Blvd. • (503) 643-5555 • (800) 871-3673