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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1997)
ju s t o u t T ju ly 3 . 1 9 9 7 T 3 letters Open really wide To the Editor: I read with interest your guest editorial by Beth Hamon [‘‘Merely hum an,” Just Out, May 16,1997]. Hamon is an old acquaintance of mine, so her views com e as no surprise. However, I feel com pelled to reply to her self-centered view o f the feature article on Ellen DeGeneres [“Out with Ellen,” April 18 , 1997], It saddens me that Hamon does not see the significance o f the coming out of both Ellen M organ and Ellen DeGeneres. Does Hamon not realize that, with each person who comes out, especially those in the public eye, we are all more able to take our place in, as Hamon calls it, “the whole wide w orld”? Ellen’s coming out brings an out and proud lesbian into the living room of every American hom e.. .without the demeaning stereotypes and the radical right’s ultra-conservative, bigoted perspec tive. Ellen DeGeneres’ courage to come out helps us all, and moves our community (yes, we are a real community) one step closer to absolute equality and “living a human and humane existence.” I applaud DeGeneres, ABC, Touchstone, the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination for their courage and leadership. I encourage Hamon to open up and widen her gaze to include all o f us— gay, lesbian, bi, trans and straight— as we step out together to take our places in the whole wide world. Amy Gerver Portland Not invisible To the Editor: There are some issues and some stories which cross the boundary o f narrowly defined com m u nities o f interest. They speak to human conditions and to concerns which many people might under stand, by shared experience or by empathy. Sharon B oyd’s story is of this kind. W hatever the past might be for those o f us in the “queer” com m unities, we have hope that we and our families may live— through our honesty, com passion and courage— in a brighter today, and help forge a tomorrow in which we can hope for respect and safety. There are no “typical” humans— our differ ences and our individualities are our strength and our challenge. There are no “typical” queers or transsexuals, either. We have learned from pain ful experience that “typical” is the last stop before “stereotypical,” and that as long as we can be dismissed as stereotypes, we are more easily marginalized and dehum anized. I read with anguish of Sharon Boyd, her fears and struggles [“A father’s rights,” Just Out, May 16, 1997], As a “trans-parent” myself, I know all too well the legal obstacles which have kept us both in terror. I know as a parent, and as one whose love of others in my family and my community gives me hope and joy, that we must struggle still to find a place safe from the hatred and fear that lives in the twisted minds o f some other people. Lori Buckwalter Cosigned by 14 m embers o f the Love Makes a Family Parents Group. We need real commitment To the Editor: I see little cause for optim ism in Bill C linton’s com m itm ent to developing an AIDS vaccine within 10 years [“Promises, prom ises,” Just Out, June 6, 1997]. I suspect that his speech was yet more empty words from a slick politician. If Clinton was com m itting the nation to re search o f all viruses including the various AIDS viruses, if he was com m itting massive financial resources to such a program, and if he was com mitting additional funds and research to alterna tives to a vaccine— and even to some of the wildly imaginative theories and/or solutions in case the vaccine program fell short— then I might be mildly optimistic. And if Congress was equally com m it ted to all o f the above, I might even be hopeful. As a 48-year-old gay man, I know that practic ing the safest possible sex 100 percent of the time can be a bother, and it certainly can diminish the romance of a moment. But tempering pleasure to preserve life and health is worth the bother and a certain loss o f romance. I fear that Clinton’s com mitment— an unsupported commitment— may lead some positive thinkers (otherwise known as self- deluders) into unrestricted and unprotected plea sure in the confident belief that AIDS will be cured before the disease can threaten their existence. In my view, Clinton’s commitment is nothing but empty words designed to raise false hopes and to curry political popularity. We need real com mitment, backed by sufficient funding and com posed of the brightest researchers and the most sophisticated equipment that funding can buy. 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Dial your future in today Paul Crumrine Portland E ID W A L K E R r(503) 238-6036 1-800-487-6626 icemail:(503) 291-7713 ttp: www.waddell. com Wrong, wrong, wrong To the Editor: Regarding Beren deM otier’s column [“The numbers game,” Just Out, June 2 0 ,1997] about the problematic teen suicide statistics: How can I put this? How about, No, no, no. Wrong, wrong, wrong. “And if it takes an exaggerated statistic to get some attention, well, whatever works.” No. Wrong. I, for one, do not want anyone lying for me. We all know being gay ain’t always easy for kids, teens, grownups, whoever. But when will we get off this victim campaign and start dealing with reality? False statistics are lies, and lies w on’t move us forward. To suggest that knowingly permitting the unchosen spokesmodels of the gay community to press lies into service to further our acceptance by society at large is utter bullshit. It will not move us forward. “W hatever works”? D on’t you get it? W hat ever doesn’t work. Every time we permit these sorts of statistics to represent us we risk a very real loss o f credibility in the entire community. And by our accepting these falsehoods and perpetuat ing them, we are perceived as duplicitous, and rightly so. M aybe if we got over this “whatever works” mindset we could do real work toward getting the acceptance we need to safeguard our rights and lives. I was glad to see the stats get shot down in the Oregonian by a reasoned and logical argument. I get the same enjoyment out of watching the gay child molester stats get nailed, too. Facts work. Political B.S. doesn’t, and can never, ensure a reasoned and healthy discussion by either side. Honesty. T hat’s the “whatever” that works. Eric Vetter Portland Clinic worth supporting To the Editor: I read the article on the courageous Dr. Greg Coodley [‘‘Bucking the system,” Just Out, June 20, 1997]. Both the doctors Coodley and their entire staff are the “litmus test” of all the doctors on the Hill to break away and practice pure medicine. I have been a patient of Dr. Greg Coodley for some time, and besides being young, handsome and brilliant, he has a wonderful personal interac tion with his patients. I would strongly urge that anyone in the community hook up with the Fanno Creek Clinic. The entire staff there is putting their careers on the line. It is only logical and fair that we support them as they, the staff and the doctors, continue to do al l that they can to enhance our lives. John Boynton Portland Waddell S’ Reed JUST POSSIBLY THE B E S T T A S T I N C S UBS , FRESH CHIPS A N D SALADS ON THE PLANET! Multnomah Village In John’s Marketplace We A ppreciate O u r Just O ut Supporters! 500 NE Multnomah, Suite 278 Portland. 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