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C harles R. D u it
Portland
The last laugh
To t h e
death your right to say it.” Or was it Buddy
Hackett?
E d it o r :
have the answer to Thomas Bruners ques-
1 tion, “Are gay and bisexual people still com
mitted to Cascade AIDS Project?" No! [“Walk
of Life,” Sept. 6]
The very people this agency was created to
serve, the people with H1V/AIDS (who cares if
they are gay, straight, hi or completely nonsexu-
al), are aware of the rude and uncaring, often
demeaning treatment handed out on a daily
basis by most of the employees at CAP. If you are
not ptxir or needy, they talk a great game. But if
you are in need or are in one of their programs,
just try to get in touch with one of them.
Let’s take a look at the person who is so gen
tly chastising Just Out readers to give more
money, money, money to CAP.
In the Dec. 5, 2001, issue of Hispanic News,
Mr. Bruner attacks the Catholic Church—
never mind the fact that Catholic Charities pro
vides desperately needed services and hands-on
care to people with HIV/AIDS. And they do
this with love and compassion.
Mention C A P in any sizable group of its
ries telling the many disappointments and
betrayals of trust that you will understand a lack
of participation in its fund-raisers.
In the past Mr. Bmner has said he would “run
C A P like a business.” I have received, and have
seen others receive, the “business" from CAP.
UM
Com panion Pet Clinics
M oney talks
E d it o r :
was quite surprised to read a rather strong let
ter advocating the removal of “The Gospel
According to Marc” [“Not Funny,” Sept. 6].
1 feel this would he a grave disservice if you did.
There are times, 1 must admit, when 1 do take
offense at Mr. Ac it o’s humor. His column about
his weight loss and comments about larger-sized
people were a hit much.
As a lifelong member of the portly persua
sion (my genetic axle bars me from employ
ment as a stunt double for Calista Flixzkhart or
Joel Grey), some of his remarks did get under my
rather ample avoirdupois. Yet 1 did not feel a
burning desire to take pen in hand and demand
Mr. Acito’s head on a silver platter.
Despite his occasional lapses in taste (the
occupational hazard of all humorists and comics),
he dtxs write quite a gotxJ column. The mental
images he creates with his words frequently evoke
a laugh-out-loud reaction in me. Since I have a
laugh that can be heard above sirens and
foghorns, you can imagine the looks I get at
restaurants and coffee bars when this happens.
I think as a society we’ve become so politi
cally correct we’ve lost our ability to laugh at
and see the humor in ourselves. We’re so serious
about everything these days. Regardless of ori
entation, gender, social strata, etc., we all need
to loosen up, enjoy ourselves and relearn to
laugh a little (or a lot) at ourselves.
Humor is different things to different people.
I find Elayne Boosler and George Wallace (the
comedian, not the late politician) hysterically
funny; others do not. There are those who laugh
at comics who resort to a steady stream of
raunch and variations of the “P word; I don’t. To
each his own.
If you don’t find Marc Acito’s column funny
or in good taste, here’s a thought: Don’t read it.
So long as he doesn’t long for the days when
women and people of color were oppressed or
declare solidarity with Din Mahon, then more
power to him.
Voltaire said it best: “I may not agree with
what you have to say, hut 1 will defend to the
P at K erwin
Portland
Hum orless pup
To t h e
E d it o r :
think Shannon Redmond seriously needs to
examine his/her socialization. The humorless
pup seems not to realize that satire, parody and
their associated brothers and sisters are part and
parcel of humorous writing and comedy.
God forbid the day when the P.C. Nazis can
stifle the humorous opinions of fine, observant
and courageous columnists like Marc Acito.
Who has the chutzpah to write what the rest of
the closet crowd has not the halls (Ooops. Can I
use that word in this publication? Sorry, Shan
non. Being the possessor of two, I just naturally
equate courage with them) to acknowledge?
Stereotypes exist because they are just that—
stereotypes. And this faggy queer is grateful that
columnists like Marc have the halls (Oixxips!
There’s that word again. Sorry. Not really!) to
shine the light of humor on them.
I take a great deal of pleasure in reading his
column for the simple reason that he does shine
the light of humor on topics that have been a
part of my life. And it is with a great deal of lev-
! ity that I exorcise my own demons.
Humor is a terrific healer, like it or not. And
I, for one, am grateful that there is “more aware
ness on the part of the editors" for supporting
diversity through the column “The Gospel
According to Marc."
Get over yourself. Lighten up. The world is a
fun place to he...for most of us. They don’t call
us GAY for nothing.
G “T h o r n to n ” H un ter
Portland
Boys to men
To t h e
H
E d it o r :
ave you ever wondered where certain
phrases come from? Today as I was sitting
at my desk going about my daily routine, 1 heard
one of my co-workers make the statement, “He
learned to he a man from his grandfather."
Now I know this is a common statement
among men. You will hear them say it was their
father or their brother or whatever— you get my
drift. I also have noticed that when they make
this statement about “being a man” they have a
tendency to become all puffed up and taller.
As a secure “hutch” woman, I have to ask
myself, exactly, what does learning to become a
man mean? What is it that has to he “taught” ?
In nature, dtxis a male animal have to be shown
how to he male? What is expected of him as a
male, or is it just part of his genetic structure?
As a woman, I don’t recall ever having to be
taught to he a woman. As a butch woman, I just
am— my mannerisms, the way 1 present myself,
are there because it feels right.
There are, of course, the stereotypes that
hutch and femme lesbians seem to fit into; in
some cases, they feel as if they need to take on an
“identity” to he a convincing lesbian, but that’s
another area for discussion at another time. Each,
however, seems to fall into the role instinctively.
Myself, I just act the way that feels right. I
don’t ever recall asking another hutch woman,
“How do I aet/become butch?” or asking my
mother, “How do I become a womanT I know
the typical male response to the latter, but of
course good old Mom didn’t want to tell me that
answer. As a matter of fact, I think she tried to
steer me away from that “gray” area.
Anyway, I know this might seem like a redun
dant and silly question, but working on a crew
that is 99 percent male, I hear this statement