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Get off m y back
T o the E ditor :
We live in a society in which state after state
rapidly has passed laws forbidding gays to have a
“sacred union” akin to marriage. The very thing
that would promote less casual sex is being
denied the gay populace [“Strangers in the
Night,” July 21].
The issue of public sex has many facets.
I’ve been hack in Portland the past five years.
However, 1 do know the Omaha, Neb., police
generally have had an extremely pw r relation
ship with gays for decades, and the city has not
had adult bookstores as a “safe" outlet. Atlanta
also has a serious problem of guys cruising in cars
plus sex in parks in large part because of some
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n r c 'f i / i o e
and bookstores.
A simple effort of thinking can lead one to
conclude a public park is vastly different from a
bookstore with a defined legal age limit. If I go
into an adult bookstore or movie arcade, I fully
expect some gay or straight guy to be jacking off
in a booth.
That is the nature of the stimulus in such a
store. 1 am neither surprised nor offended.
What is missing from the article is that sex
among gay men in our open society tends to be
consensual and not forced. We don’t have the
problem of rape that heterosexuals do.
Likely, most activity in a bookstore is to some
degree private. It is also very often low-risk
activity or even safe sex— for example, jacking
off.
While rightly being against sex in public
parks, the article doesn’t mention that one by
one, bookstores in downtown Portland have
been closing, thereby limiting the outlet for
men. Simple reasoning would imply bookstores
keep guys out of the parks.
Not all guys drink, and some might find bars
to be boring and tedious. I can walk down West
Burnside between First and Sixth avenues any
day of the week and see people selling
drugs...and the police are going to worry about
some guy getting off sexually in a bookstore?
The problem isn’t simply public sex. It is that
the male libido is not easily outlawed.
Further, given the male anatomy, some sort
of outlet is warranted. Bookstores might be the
better option.
Given the large population of gay men in
greater Portland, a small percentage going to
bookstores likely is not a high-priority problem.
It is, after all, consensual sex, among adult men,
behind closed doors.
Considering your article— because parks are
taboo and adult bookstores are not sanctioned,
and if one doesn’t go to bars or social/church
groups— can you list 10 alternative ways men
can meet and possibly be intimate? It might be
easy to write an article against something; how
ever, where are the alternatives?
C huck E ngel
Portland
Pride and prejudice?
T o the E ditor :
It is apparent to me that Just Out has become
an ally of janna MacAuslan ["Pride Northwest
Board in Turmoil, July 7]. I've never seen a
clearer example of “one-sided reporting” in my
life.
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Not once in the article was there any refer
ence to the official position of Pride Northwest,
nor was it mentioned that anyone tried to con
tact Pride Northwest representatives. Mucn, if
not all, of the information in the article either
was stated by Janna MacAuslan or was “her”
opinion.
The article stated, “Pride Northwest, the
nonprofit group that orchestrates Portland’s
annual pride event, is experiencing what can
only be described as infighting.” How can you
say this without comment from Pride North
west? It seems clear to me that this was just the
position of the person you talked with, Janna
MacAuslan.
You also stated that both Janna and Tamara
Swan were ousted from the board because of
petty grievances and personality clashes. Again,
this is the opinion of Janna and Tamara, and Just
Out should have attempted to get the “official”
reason(s) directly from Pride Northwest. This
sounds more to me like the opinions and per
spectives of two disgruntled ex-board members.
Finally, the article opened with the com
ment, “Members of the Pride Northwest hoard
of directors haven’t really been able to enjoy
their success.” I disagree. I think the current
board members are very happy with the success
of Pride 2000, as they should be, and anxious to
go forward with planning Pride 2001.
Again, considering Pride Northwest was not
consulted for this article, maybe it’s Janna and
Tamara who cannot enjoy the success of Pride
2000. Maybe they are spending too much of
their energies instigating the “infighting"!
K evin W eich e
Portland
Book sm arts
T o the E ditor :
I am writing in response to the “My Queer
Life” column by Michael Thomas Ford regard
ing queer and independent bookstores Only 21].
He raised several issues and inaccuracies con
cerning Barnes & Noble that I would like to
clarify.
The column refers to “the story of the inde
pendent bookstore forced out by the ever-
encroaching chains.” Barnes & Noble does not
measure success by another bookstore’s failure.
We never go into any area with the inten
tion of hurting another business. Our only crite
ria for choosing a particular market are the
income levels of potential customers and their
levels of education.
Wherever a store opens, it is our policy to
work with local bookstores and refer our cus
tomers to them if we don’t have the selections
they want. In many of our locations, indepen
dent booksellers exist and thrive alongside our
stores. Powell’s here in Portland is one great
example.
Ford also refers to a less-than-comfortable
atmosphere when browsing gay publications at
Barnes & Noble surrounded by 6 billion copies
of the 15th Harry Potter installment, Oprah s
latest pick and a stack of Dr. Laura’s current
abomination.” Barnes & Noble is committed to
providing a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere for
all sorts of book lovers.
We do not discriminate. We are committed
to providing a selection of books that appeals to
the widest variety of cultures, backgrounds and
beliefs of our stores’ very diverse communities
and individual customers.
W ith regard to our gay and lesbian studies
areas— described as “those little sections for gay
literature”— and to the implication that btxik-
sellers in Barnes Si Noble have to work “covert
ly... to make sure queer books don’t disappear,
clarification is needed. In addition to the wide
selection of books available to customers from
the gay and lesbian studies shelves in our stores,
Barnes Si Noble offers access to more than
1 million titles through daily special orders, and
we usually are able to deliver to our customers
anywhere within four to five business days.
Also, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation acknowledged the impact and
importance of our gay and lesbian studies