aprii 2 1 .2Û0Û »
To t h e
E d
it o r
:
I am saddened and upset that you will no
longer be publishing Lee Lynch’s column.
Lee has been a consistent part of the lesbian
saga of Just Out. She has provided us with humor
and acknowledgment; her column has reaf
firmed our desire to live as we are.
I am a native Oregonian and I have read Just
Out for as long as it has been published. I have
recently decided to move to Hawaii, and 1 was
going to pay for a subscription so I can keep up
on Portland and other Oregon gay issues. I won’t
do that now.
Please reconsider your position concerning
Lynch. She is a talented, long-lasting icon of les-
biandom.
R oni C hurch
Newport, Ore.
To t h e
E d
:
it o r
I have heard a rumor you are dropping Lee
Lynch’s column, “The Amazon Trail.” I encour
age you to revisit your decision. The column is
one of the last remaining sinews of intercon
nectedness of our community throughout the
years. To me, constant “redefining” of who we
are must continue to include our basic values,
something which Lee persistently offers us
through “The Amazon Trail.”
1 urge you to look at community as dimen
sional, in which our history is essential. Include
the voices of all of us who have struggled through
the century. I read your magazine through coun
try lesbian eyes. I look for words which include
me in the realm of things. Lee’s column is
grounding and adds a piece of our overall picture.
S ky A isling
Murphy, Ore.
To t h e
E d
it o r
:
The New Yorker magazine is celebrating its
75th anniversary. In the comments section of
the magazine, Anthony Lane says, referring to
the fact that the magazine has had five editors,
“When someone hands you a tradition, the cru
cial thing is not to ape it, still less to seize up
with awe, but to ask yourself what, by way of
homage, you can possibly bring to the party."
I would ask that of the publisher of Just Out.
When I heard that Lee Lynchs “The Amazon
Trail” had been dropped from the pages of Just
Out, I was more than disappointed. Sixteen
years of a partnership with the paper for Lee
gone. Those of us who have come to expect a
wide range of coverage matching the wide range
of our community are disappointed again.
Where was the coverage for International
Women’s Day? Where was the coverage for
Black History Month? Where is the feminist
VisitingVet.com
political philosophy that once was the driving
force of Just Out?
The mainstream culture decries tradition
like a resistant and reactive adolescent; ques
tioning any authority, militantly ego-driven,
wanting anything that is newer and bigger, using
money as the mark of success. It saddens me that
Just Out more and more reflects this culture.
Dropping “The Amazon Trail” does not
demonstrate the ability or desire of the publish
er to “bring something to the party” that
respects the tradition Just Out built over the
long years. I will miss Lee Lynch’s stories.
I la S uzanne
Portland, and Yachats, Ore.
Editor’s note: Several of the letters addressing “The
Amazon Trail" were received prior to the appear-
ance of Lee Lynch’s letter in our April 7 issue that
made public—for the first time—Just Out’s decision
to discontinue her column.
Ila Suzanne is the partner of Just Out co-
founder and former publisher Renée LaChance.
Veterinary Care @ Home
Jo h n T eg zes, V M D
ombaid
E d
it o r
:
Yes! Yes! Yes! In your editorial of April (“Of
Reasons and Rights,” April 7], you have stated
what should have been so obvious to everyone,
that marriage for lesbians and gays is not the
solution, but obtaining legal and civil rights is.
It always has seemed incongruous to me that
the lesbian and gay community has spent so
much time trying to make the straight commu
nity accept us as being different and unique but
then immediately turns around and tries to take
on all the trappings (marriage, for example) of
straight society. I suppose that there still remains
a psychological need that true acceptance comes
when wt can do everything they can do.
The battle for marriage rights seems to have
produced the opposite of the desired effect as
more and more states pass laws defining mar
riage as only being allowed between a man and
a woman. However, on the other hand, more
and more rights are being won for us in the
courts. I agree with you and feel that our efforts,
time and money would be more wisely used if we
directed our efforts to the rights side and not the
marriage side. Thanks for saying that publicly.
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