Letters to the Editor
Obscenities
The first item in the November short news section reminded me of a line from the Vietnam War melodrama, Apocalypse Now. As Martin Sheen prepares to fulfill his mytho-poetic assault on Marlon Brando, who is dictating into a tape machine, Brando says, “Our generals train young men to drop fire on people and then they do not let them write ‘fuck’ on their airplanes because – it’s obscene.“
Should we be happy that the Air Force will no longer drop bombs on a country that may soon run out of targets that say, Die Faggot? It’s all obscene, isn’t it?
Andrew Whittaker
Various Places in Northeast Kingdom
*****
The Source
Just wanted to say that you’ve developed a great page [The Source]...a great cause, and I’ve got a lot of fantastic information off of it!
Sincerely yours,
Josh Hallock
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Via the Internet
*****
Response to letter from November
What a well written article full of opinions and sentiments that I fully agree with. My only problem with that article is that it is unsigned. The author can never be acknowledged. If the article were totally contrary to my own beliefs, but signed , I would personally defend that individual’s right to disagree with me. If you don’t stand for something, you will FALL for anything. So, I encourage the staff of OITM to adopt an editorial policy of NOT publishing letters of people who have no courage. After all, the title of this paper is “OUT in the mountains“, and NOT something like, “HIDING in the hills“. Facilitating fear never accomplished anything, so I recommend that OITM stop doing that. Thanks!
Patti York
Via the Internet
*****
Ani’s Choice
Ok, let me just start by saying I don’t know you, you don’t know me. Im not even sure who wrote what was on the first page of the website because there was no name after the article, but this is my comment to who ever wrote that.
I am not writing this to offend you but simply to make a point. We are all free to say what we want and to have our own opinion but after I came across your web page, I have to say, I was a bit offended by what you said.
Not because you offended Ani, but the fact that you are saying that because Ani married a man is in someway offensive to you. Why do you care, or should anyone care for that matter, who or what gender she, or anyone, chooses to be with.
I know that a lot of “lesbians“ took great offense when she married Andy G., but isn’t that exactly what we want others not to do? We, and I say we, speaking of the gay and lesbian community, have a hard enough time with “straight“ people not accepting us, for fellow gay and lesbians to not accept others who maybe at one time prefered girls then maybe prefer boys. Don’t quote me on this, but I don’t think Ani has a sexual preference. I don’t think it matters to her if they are male or female, black or white. So it shouldn’t matter if Ani sleeps with a girl or a boy.
She isn’t saying sleeping with a girl is wrong and I don’t think she has ever said sleeping with a guy is wrong.
It really shouldn’t matter to anyone who anyone sleeps with. That’s their own business. Not ours!!!!I’m rather sure it doesn’t matter to her who you sleep with.
And by the way, Ani is not a sell out, she is anything but. She still has very strong political views and still stands up for what she believes in.
In the article on the first page of your website, it says, and I quote: “Ani DiFranco looks like Britney Spears next to Olson’s fiercely independant and queer product. It is easy to criticize Ani because she married a man and has achieved high commercial success, but Ani’s sell-out is not what makes Alix Olson better or different.“
I have nothing against Alix Olson, Im sure she is making a difference and that is great.
I just think that we all need to stop judging people for what they “choose“ to do, or how they “choose“ to live. Isn’t that all we want anyways, for this world to be non-judgemental.
How can we expect others to not judge us if we are still going to judge others?
Sincerely,
Kara
Via the Internet