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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2000)
• march 17.2000 Tin & Yang 3101 SE 11th Gimme a carrot, not a stick SE close in Brooklyn Area Rowhouse style condo alterna tives. 2 bedroom refurbished Victorian Era. High ceilings, pock et doors, nook, pantry, formal dining, full basem ent with garage. To the E ditor : Reduced to $122,500 R ic h a r d V o s s . G R I Associate Broker 2 8 6 -5 8 2 6 Office 804-9 4 2 4 Cell/VM Be PENINSULA REALTY INC. .awwÉüiuii T rav el Sert/Icas, CarlsonWagonlit Sgf Portland, Oregon We respectfully submit to you: Beating up on the readers is counterproductive (“A Vexing Lack of Volunteers,’ March 3]. In our experience, it is rare for people to vol unteer for anything when the recruiting method is verbally abusive, e.g., “Are people just plain lazy....7” (Read: W hat’s wrong with you all, why aren’t you volunteering?) Nothing is wrong with us all. May we suggest the carrot? Please put away the stick. People generally volunteer because they leant to do something and feel they have some thing affirmative to contribute, not because they have been browbeaten into “working for the cause.” We suggest looking inward for the source of the problem. Beating up the readers is unlikely to bring more volunteers. A more affirmative point of view might help to turn this situation around. S tephen C allihan C liff S wan Portland Visit Us Online! www.traveltime.org I tried! To the E ditor : Now on our Site: Information about Gay Games VI (503) 223-1100 1111 SW Alder (800) 357-3194 “Serving Our Community...by Meeting Your Needs." Locally owned • Gay operated When you join PABA, you Increase your Business. Create new friendships Have fun! • • • • •• PORTLAND AREA ,V,L 1 have never written in response to an arti cle, however, I feel compelled to reply to the commentary in the March 3 issue regarding the lack of volunteer support. 1 know people are needed, that’s why I called the Pride Northwest folks to volunteer. Every one 1 spoke with was very nice, glad 1 called, and so on. The problem I have is, how can we help if we aren’t given anything to do? I was told that “soon” a volunteer group would be forming and that 1 would receive some info in the mail. I also am supposed to expect info on sponsorship and vendors. Now, I knew it would be a while because of the reorganizing within the group, but when I saw the article 1 had to respond. I called to volunteer almost a month ago and have received nothing. Once again, 1 have to ask: How do we volunteer if we aren’t given any thing to volunteer for? D ebra P orta Portland ...me too To the E ditor : vt g f^ B U S IN E S S A S S O C IA T IO N ^ 2nd Monday Luncheon Don’t miss our special guest presenter Chet Orloff Director, Oregon Historical Society Monday, April 10, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Emoassy Suites Hotel 319 SW Pine, Portland $14.50 per person (503) 241-2222 or info@paba.com www.paba.com For three years I’ve signed Pride Northwest volunteer lists and for three years I’ve been ignored by Pride! To date nobody has taken me up on my offer but I’ve seen plenty of appeals for volun teers. 1 recently called Pride and said basically the same thing. They have just about passed my tol erance point of waiting while they consider my offer to volunteer. Your commentary, “A Vexing Lack of Volun teers, is quite to the point, and I know there is a rightful need of help. I’m just plenty pissed that Pride hasn’t responded to my repeated offers. R ich K ibbons Portland When rights collide To the E ditor : It s great that we live in a country where laws no longer restrict self-expression. But no rights are absolute. Someone’s right to offend the vot ing majority through bad drag, nudity, dnmken- ness and sexual displays in the highly public set ting of the pride parade collides with someone else s right to enjoy the many privileges current ly extended only to straight citizens. Thats because there are potential consequences of public behavior th a t translate to the ballot box— and far beyond the ballot, to include the acts of violence directed at sexual minorities. A m erican life circa 2000 isn’t a dress rehearsal for anyone’s latest starring vehicle. T he grim reality finds us as a very small number of good people scattered thinly throughout a deeply intolerant population, and it is under these circumstances th a t we are desperately try ing to obtain th e most elementary of human rights. T he inarguable fact is that homophobia exists, and certain behaviors take their toll. Every shake of hare unmentionable and every dollop of excess mascara in a public venue has the chance of weakening our supporters and inflaming our adversaries. In a practical sense, this can set the rest of us back in our quest to get child custody, h ealth insurance, medical visita tion, inheritance and the 1,000-plus other priv ileges that straights are fighting us tooth and claw over. Some may value public nudity, public sexual displays, and public fright-makeup far more than these things, hut they have no right to queer it for others w ith different values. And moreover, some think that the behavior I’m describing is a contradiction to the concept of real pride, anyway. Anyone who shares my concern over this so- called “pride” and its underappreciated contri butions to prejudice can boycott the pride parade. It’s time to send a message to pride man agers and the self-serving revelers that a reason able standard for behavior that reflects genuine pride in ourselves and our accomplishments must he adopted. M itch G o u l d Forest Grove He’s a ‘se x m achine to both g e n d e rs’ To the E ditor : My heart skipped a beat when 1 saw Rupert Everett, whom I have long admired, on your cover (“T h e Rupert Report,” March 3]. My next thought was, “1 bet Just O ut won’t even mention the fact that he is bisexual,” and, unfortunately, I was correct. Believe me, 1 can understand why gay men would want to hog him all to themselves. But the fact is he has come out as bisexual, so you just have to learn to share! If Mr. C uttone had really done his research he would have read the charming quote from Everett: “I am just a sex machine to both gen ders. It’s all very exhausting, I have to get a lot of sleep.” Perhaps the character Everett plays in the movie is monosexual, hut he is not. The numer ous references to him as “gay" could have been replaced w ith “straig h t” and been just as (in)accurate! I am hoping for, and working toward, a future when politics no longer demand that respeettu , consensual sexual proclivities require labeling- U n til th en , 1 ask th a t Just O ut respect, include— hell, even give lavish preferentia treatm ent— to those of us who are bisexuals. e are not going to ask nicely for much longer. T amara S wan Portland Christopher D. Cuttone responds: I consider myself bisexual as well, and I fed y°ur pain. While I don't recall reading the quote you ,,k71