j u s t o u t ▼ n o wem b e r 7 . 1 9 9 7 V 3
letters
Silliness delightful
To the Editor:
Today I saw the comedy In & Out and found it
delightful. 1 take exception to William C. Stosine’s
letter [Just Out, Oct. 17,1997], as I felt this film did
an excellent job of showing attitudes and feelings
of small-town America toward something they
have heard o f but never seen before. The school
principal couldn’t even say “homosexual” at first.
At one time in my own life 1 was like the
teacher in the movie, not knowing if I was gay,
and to prove I w asn’t I kept a man nearby. After
coming out 1 became more like Tom Selleck’s
character, just taking it for granted and not being
bothered by it.
I am grateful for this movie. The silly parts and
the unbelievable parts were there for emphasis
and laughter. It is, in my opinion, a good attempt
to educate the movie-going public that all gay
persons aren’t drag queens. They can be high-
school teachers or TV newsmen.
I ’m glad I saw In & Out, and I recommend it
to others who may have had similar experiences
in their com ing out process.
Kathy Bambeck
Portland
Dear Big 0
Editor’s preface: A copy o f the following letter
was sent to Just Out with a photocopy o f an ad that
ran in the Oregonian on Oct. 10, the day that
National Coming Out Day was observed in many
cities. The ad, placed by The Portland Fellow­
ship, portrayed a “former lesbian ” who says her
Christian faith led her to marry a man and be­
come a mother. The a d ’s bold type reads: “There
is another way out. ”
To the Editor:
Per the enclosed, you need to know this is very
offensive. Instead o f reaching out in understand­
ing, true compassion and humanity, this fosters
more one-sided, narrow beliefs.
Christ did nothing like what you are doing
with this distasteful ad.
Last year the same stunt was pulled by some
insecure Christians, and you printed their ad.
To print such an ad on National Coming Out
Day is bad manners at best, perhaps narrow,
egotistical thinking as well; maybe just thought­
less. W here is your sense of responsibility?
Your acceptance and continuance o f this sort
o f advertising is shameful. It says much about
your ethics and standards, and your community
standards.
“ By their actions, you shall know them.”
You can be assured I will not be continuing my
subscription to the Oregonian.
E. Charles Engel
Portland
Carbon copy, part two
Dear Mr. Keisling:
I w on’t take much o f your time, but on behalf
o f O regon’s citizens (not only those of us who
happen to be gay), I want to thank you and Gov.
Kitzhaber for your principled support of gay
history [in proclaiming October Lesbian and Gay
History Month in Oregon].
The histories of A m erica’s many minorities,
w hether Original Nations, African American,
Chinese American, Japanese American or others,
have for the past century largely been either
neglected or overtly suppressed.
Things I consider sacred and vital— namely,
stories o f courage and accomplishment that have
a liberating promise for all— have been lost each
time that has happened. It is one o f the great tasks
o f our age to recover what little we can from the
precious scraps of historical record that have not
been obliterated.
Certainly for us— countless women and men
who were considered to be completely defined
and categorized by the term “the love that dare not
speak its name” or “ not to be mentioned among
Christians”— the sacrifices that we have offered,
and the contributions that we made to the building
o f this nation, have never been adequately ac­
knowledged and celebrated.
Those who stand to lose the most are the
young gay people who are growing up today.
They have not yet been taught that a gay man,
Alan Turing, laid the intellectual foundations for
the digital age; that a lesbian, Susan B. Anthony,
for many decades led the nation’s fight for
w om en’s rights; or that a gay poet, Walt Whitman,
utterly redefined the relationship between God
and believer. To withhold from our youth any
longer these examples of courage and achieve­
ment poses the direst of threats to their well-being
in our often harsh and intolerant society.
Thanks for your support of this effort.
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To the Editor:
So Gov. Kitzhaber signed a proclamation Oct.
3 proclaiming that “October is the month in which
annual recognition of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered history is being coordinated,” add­
ing that “the Kitzhaber administration is com m it­
ted to activities that...uphold dignity, social ju s­
tice and equal rights for all persons.”
How special.
Perhaps Kitzhaber would care to explain why,
then, on Aug. 13 o f this year he signed into law
Senate Bill 44, which specifically singled out
transsexualism for exclusion from Oregon’s re­
quirement that employers provide reasonable ac­
commodations for disability?
And perhaps Salem ’s Coalition to End Big­
otry— which submitted the wording of the procla­
mation for Kitzhaber’s signature— would care to
explain why it saw fit to give Kitzhaber a chance
to whitewash his transphobic endorsement of SB
44 while doing nothing to prevent passage of this
discriminatory bill?
Kitzhaber and the Coalition to End Bigotry are
guilty o f more than just empty posturing; they are
rewriting history.
Happy ‘Lesbian and Gay History Month.”
H o w ie B a g g a d o n u t t p r e s e n ts
/h ittu n mn
n ‘J O* ames
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