lafafuary 21.2003
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fo rm er P™ ft**!**!! player E sera Tuaolo has received wide acclaim since revealing his
*
sexual orientation in O ctober. Do you consider him heroic for addressing the N FV s
ram pant homophobia, or cowardly for w aiting to come out until after his retirem ent?
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feel that coming out is always courageous. In
Esera Tuaolo’s situation, he is now a pioneer,
so he is especially courageous.
It is very easy to come out if you are in the
ater, fashion or art, hut to come out— before or
after retirement— if you are involved in the
NFL, even in this day and age, is being a huge
pioneer! In a way it is better that he came out
after retirement because he proved to all the
homophobes what we already know: that a gay
man can play football, be a hero, be successful
in “macho sports,” be masculine, etc.
Sometim es it is more powerful to gain the
"love and confidence” o f your audience
before revealing something that might have
made that same audience close-minded to
giving love and confidence because o f their
prejudice. The more o f us who come out the
better, no matter what time in one’s life!
G abriela K andziora
Portland
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• • •
• • •
eing true to one’s own self is the ultimate
act of heroism. When that occurs is entire
ly at the discretion of one’s own schedule and
willingness.
It is not up to others to decide if it’s the
am struggling with the issue myself. I have felt
like 1 am a lesbian for a lot of years. I am 39
years old with two boys; I am tired of keeping it
to myself.
So I am starting to go to places so I finally
“Giardina was optimistic that he could per
suade Jasmine to give up her baby.” This article
reeks of unacknowledged privilege, classism and
sexism.
Jasmine was not presented as a real person.
Rather, she was reduced to a few choice stereo
types about p<x>r women.
Mentions of abusive men in her life as well as
details about her drug use serve to prove she is
incapable of mothering. Jasmine is portrayed as
a mere means to obtaining a child and de
humanized in the process.
I hope future articles you publish take
some of these concerns into consideration.
The L G B T community is more diverse than
this article assumes. Please work to be inclu
sive o f others.
rience o f coming out was for most of us. It is a
tribute to the courage and determination of at
least siime small segment of our community
that these individuals step forward to do all
the thankless “heavy lifting” that accompa
nies getting any new program going.
It is our collective responsibility to maintain
our collective security. It is work that can be
done correctly by no one else.
Your article motivated me to call and get
involved. My thanks.
I’m well aware of how tough these projects are
to do and hold down a full-time job besides. But
what sort of state would we be in today if we turned
a deaf ear to appeals for help when Measure 9 and
then Measure 13 reared their ugly heads?
This is a battle that we can win at the very
foundations of learned prejudice and indiffer
ence, reflected later in adulthood. Long-term
dialogue always will trump diatribes.
B
C rystal M iddlestadt
Eugene
School's out
I
M ike B roderick
Portland
To the E ditor :
T ) lease send along my deepest thanks to the
people working to help create safer, saner
conditions for gay people in our state’s schools
(“Courage in the Classroom,” Feb. 7).
We “older folks” simply might want to for
get (bury very deeply?) how intense that expe-
< Æ W o o J.T o cY B W J
(Located in Transformations Salon)
e’s not a coward for coming out after his
retirement. He is very heroic for coming
out and addressing the issue as he did.
It’s a sad statement of fact, but if he had
come out while he still was playing, his career
would have ended long before it did. M ost of
his team members would have treated him
differently, it would have upset the harmony
it takes to play on any team.
They would have traded him or put him on
waivers, and no one would have picked him up.
And there goes his career and retirement.
H
4 t l 3
n
“right” time or not, although I dare say
the vast majority of us, myself included,
make that judgment. Sometimes I think
we forget the struggles we ourselves went
through in order to accept ourselves and
feel comfortable enough telling others.
I’ve been out as a gay man for 26 of
my 46 years. Sometimes the 10 years I
struggled to accept my sexuality seem light years
away, sometimes as fresh as yesterday.
Do 1 think Mr. Tuaolo a coward for coming
out after he retired from the NFL? Not for a
moment. It was his decision and his alone to
make.
S o long as he can live with his decision,
more power to him. More power to all of us
who’ve been there and done that.
• • •
*
March madness
To the E ditor :
1
personally feel that after having been beaten
up myself quite a few times when I lived in
San Diego just for being in a gay relationship—
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can be totally happy in my life. Because of Esera
Tuaolo’s job 1 think it was the best to wait till he
came out after his retirement. Thanks for letting
me share.
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V___________________________ /
K atherine V asquez
M ilum kie
n e x tlk L I 1 (J Does it
rem ain culturally acceptable for gay
m en to engage in public sex, or should
these behaviors be taken out o f the
bushes and into the bathhouses?
(P lease see related item on P age 3 .)
Respond a t w w w .justout.com . (D on't
forget to include your nam e, city and
daytim e telephone num ber.)
by neighbors, relatives and folks who I didn’t
even know who had nothing better to do with
their time— it’s time to stop being a wallflower.
The Mexican dude who got hurt in Beaverton
upsets me very much! Even though I work as an
intake care provider for my significant other,
Michael, I’m trying to get him to understand that
just spending at least an hour or so marching is
much better than sitting behind the computer.
WORRIED ABOUT
YOUR RIGHTS?
YOU SHOULD BE.
Richard B. Schneider
A tto rney A t L aw
is well versed in the special estate planning
needs of the GLBT com m unity and can
help you with care and professionalism.
What Every Gay And Lesbian Couple
Should Know About Estate Planning.
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T emathi G allagher
Portland
Green thumbs-up
To the E ditor :
T
hank you, Butch, for letting us all enjoy the
benefits of your green thumb at G ail’s Dirty
Duck.
You have transformed the décor into a class
act. Your contribution and care of the greenery
is appreciated.
From a few scraggly remnants of Mama’s
funeral plants barely kept alive because of years
of benign neglect, you have made our “living
room” into a place we all can take pride in. Your
knowledge and willingness to talk about your
“babies” are notably helpful.
Continued on Page 7
Law Offkas of
Richard B.
Schneider,
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Suita 11
503.241.1215