Letters to the Editor
Permit for Faerie camp
Faerie Camp Destiny is pleased to announce that we have been granted our ACT 250 permit. We actually have the papers in our hands and can begin construction of our campground in Grafton and Chester, Vermont!
In spite of the efforts of certain local politicos to stop our project through the spread of fear and misinformation, the District Environmental Commission #2 ruled in our favor and rejected their arguments.
Thanks for your ongoing interest in our project and let me know if there's additional information we can supply.
Thank you,
Jim Jackson
Contact for Development at Faerie Camp Destiny, Inc.
Domestic Violence Not About Sex
I am writing in response to the article, “More than Rough Sex: SafeSpace Provides Help For Victims of Violence Within Queer Families” in October’s issue of OITM. First of all, as the Executive Director of SafeSpace I want to thank you and OITM for helping us raise awareness about the violence committed against and within our queer communities in Vermont. We want LGBTQQ survivors of violence to know that we are here to help, and we really appreciate your support.
However, there are some issues about the article I want to address. The SafeSpace board and staff had concerns about the title because it implies that domestic and sexual violence has something to do with “rough sex.” In fact, abuse and violence are not about sex at all; they are about power and control, one person using their power to control another person. We are also concerned that the title might perpetuate the harmful stereotype that portrays LGBTQQ people and relationships as merely sexual and perversely sexual at that.
I also need to make an important correction to the article on the topic of housing for gay men escaping abusive relationships. The article states that “there is now a network of potential safe houses for such men.” The truth is that there is no network of potential safe houses for gay men or other LGBTQQ survivors of violence in Vermont. What I did say in the interview is that in other communities, safe homes are used to shelter gay men who cannot access shelters for abused women. Safe homes are the homes of trained volunteers who take in survivors for limited amounts of time to provide emergency shelter until more permanent housing is found.
The important thing that I want to emphasize here is that emergency housing for LGBTQQ survivors is a need in our community. SafeSpace is working on meeting the needs of the survivors who contact us. We cannot do it alone. We would welcome the assistance of anyone in the community who is interested in helping us address this housing need. SafeSpace can be contacted at 802-863-0003 (V/TTY) or toll-free 866-869-7341 Monday through Friday 10am-6pm.
Thank you again, Euan and OITM, for all you do for our communities!
Kara DeLeonardis
SafeSpace Executive Director
The title came from a comment either you or Peter made (and I paraphrased) about how police and social service agencies have in the past related to allegations of same-gender domestic violence as being just “rough sex.” Thanks for correcting the information I obviously misheard about a network of safe homes for those not served by the traditional domestic violence agencies that doesn’t exist yet in Vermont. How about it, folks? You can help shelter someone leaving an abusive relationship by contacting SafeSpace. - EB
Harboring Abusers
While all the coverage of the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse scandals has been disturbing, none has affected me quite so greatly as the recent coverage of the case of Donal Ward, formerly the pastor at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in Vergennes.
I attended St. Peter’s for many years after my baptism there in 1969, finally leaving the Church in 1989 after coming to the conclusion that Catholicism was mired in corruption, misogyny, homophobia, and many other egregious abuses of power. Now I learn that my former parish has harbored a sexual abuser for years. Bishop Angell has declared that Ward will not be punished for his abuse of power but instead allowed to retire with a full pension and the support of the diocese.
Why? Because, despite acknowledging that he had been abusing his young victim for many years, there is “no proof” that Ward “had sex” with the youth before the age of consent.
This certainly makes a nice end run around the Attorney General for Angell and Ward but some of us are going to continue to insist that Donal Ward’s behavior should be punished. Simply because a youth has reached the age of consent [16 in Vermont] does NOT in any way mean that the youth had consented to sex. There are dozens of ways that older abusers can coerce young people into sexual behavior. As the Attorney General noted, there is ample evidence that Ward groomed this young person for sex for many years. A man in his sixties, an authority figure with great power, regardless of whatever random age might be labeled “the age of consent,” should not be using his power to entrap teenagers in abusive situations.
It is simply unacceptable that St. Peter’s Parish and the Diocese of Burlington would support abusive men like Donal Ward. If we continue to allow abusers and their handlers to spin the language and control the debate, we will solve nothing, and the Church will continue its rapid descent into an increasingly twisted version of Dante’s Inferno.
I support organizations like SafeSpace, that actually support male (and female) survivors of sexual abuse, no matter their age. I will also be officially removing my name from the baptismal records of St. Peter’s Parish in protest of this latest round of hypocritical, morally bankrupt behavior.
Christopher Kaufman
Burlington
Positive Judgment for Crow
Just a note to say how much I enjoyed Crow Cohen’s article on “Judgment vs. Judgmentalism.” I inadvertently stumbled upon your website when I did a Google search on the definition of judgment. I believe Crow nailed it with her definition. In this day and age, judging seems to be politically incorrect. But yet on some level, we all must judge. The balance that she offers with her synopsis “Judgmentalism is judgment without compassion” expresses my sentiments exactly. That explanation captures the spirit of discernment and critical analysis, and tempers it with benevolence. It made me stop and think. I’m not the type to offer my opinion but I had to say thanks.
Maria Olson
Lake Mary, FL
Crow was unable to write her regular column this month, but don’t worry, she’ll be back. - EB
Giving Thanks
I’m thankful for groups like yours that are there for parents, friends, family of and those of course who are gay/ bi/ lesbian/ transgender/ questioning. I am a member of a local Gay-Straight Alliance and have been fighting to make sure no rights are infringed upon and with local groups like Project 10 have assured we are not singled out or ignored because of what we support. I have many gay friends and groups like yours make me feel much better about their safety both mentally and physically because they aren’t alone.
Leslie Smaltz,
San Pedro, CA
Photo Essay Recommended
Thank you for writing a review of Linda Hollingdale’s new photo/essay book, Creating Civil Union: Opening Hearts and Minds. This is an extraordinary book, for a couple of reasons. First, Linda’s photos are stunning; they really capture the essence of the person being photographed. Second, the essays accompanying the photos, taken together, tell the full story of the joys and heartache we all experienced during the civil union struggle.
To mark the publication of her book, Linda’s photographs and their accompanying essays have been on display at the FlynnDog Gallery, on Flynn Avenue in Burlington. Several hundred people attended the opening reception, and the night felt like a celebration. Many of the people who were involved in the effort to pass the civil union law were gathered together simply to enjoy one another’s company and to marvel at the scope of our accomplishments here in Vermont in the area of g/l civil rights. It was truly a magical evening, and I want to thanks Linda personally for making it all happen.
This is a book about our history, by a local author who lived through the process with all of us. I highly recommend it.
Susan M. Murray,
Ferrisburg
Linda Hollingdale will be signing copies of her book at the Peace & Justice Center on Church Street in Burlington on Saturday November 23, from 1 to 3 p.m. - EB
The Case for Pollina
I am writing in response to Chuck Kletecka’s letter in the Oct. issue. I could not disagree with his analysis of the Lt. Governor’s race more. While he is absolutely right that Anthony Pollina and Peter Shumlin both support the LGBTQ community’s issues, I think Chuck’s take on the legislature is not right. While the issue is less likely if the Republicans do not have the majority, if they do then in fact Anthony Pollina has a better shot of being elected the Lt. Governor than Shumlin. The history between the House Repubs. and Shumlin is not warm ... they do not like him and will not elect him ... unless he had a huge plurality ... which is clearly not going to happen. If the final vote is approximately 33 percent for each then of course Dubie wins.
However if you help Anthony Pollina continue to build momentum (as the May to Sept. polls showed) he has a clear chance of not only being the top vote getter, but actually having a 5 percent to even 10 percent margin ... but only if you help. In that same Sept. poll, it was a three-way dead heat with Shumlin and Dubie at 24 percent ... doesn’t it make you wonder why they are not both still at about 30 percent, the base numbers for each of their Party support across the state? Anthony has appeal beyond party label (only 3 percent statewide ID themselves as Progressive yet he polled 22 percent), and he is going up while they are going down. I ask you to join that momentum and help put a large enough margin in the race so that Dubie does not end up in office. Even if it is not a huge chance ... it is the only chance ... think about it and vote for Anthony Pollina for Lt. Governor.
Rep. David Zuckerman
(P.-Burlington)
Anthony Pollina is our ally. I am writing to ask Out In The Mountains readers to take an active role in electing Anthony Pollina as Lt. Governor. It looks like it could be a close race between the three candidates. But if we got behind Anthony there is a real possibility that he could be elected by the legislature. Our community and our friends could provide the critical votes in this race. I want to elect a Lt. Governor who can work with all the parties and move our critical issues forward. I believe that Anthony Pollina is the only candidate that has the capacity to do this. Here we have an opportunity to vote for a true ally who really has a shot at winning. My vote is for Anthony Pollina.
Lindsey Ketchel
Starksboro
I hope the GLBT community will disregard Chuck Kletecka’s letter in the last issue and vote their conscience on November 5th. The fact is that Anthony Pollina has as good a chance as Peter Shumlin to become lieutenant governor. There is no need this time to hold one’s nose and vote for someone we don’t want. I’m a gay man and I worked hard supporting civil unions. I also happen to have an uncle with Parkinson’s disease for whom I have to buy meds from Canada. We need help with prescription drug prices and we didn’t get it from Peter Shumlin who took 50 percent of his 1998 campaign funds from pharmaceutical companies. We need to protect our environment and we need someone who will actually work at it and not just talk about it. Shumlin killed a bill expanding the bottle law. Pollina supported it. Vermonters need a liveable wage and they need someone to stand up for them. When workers in Island Pond were laid off only one politician was there for them to help them gain the benefits they were entitled to under NAFTA. It was Anthony Pollina. There are so many issues other than civil unions that concern gay Vermonters. That’s why I’ll vote for Anthony Pollina.
Ross Laffan
Rochester
Vote Racine for Permit Reform
It’s apparent that both Act 250 and Vermont’s permit process will undergo changes when a new administration takes office next year. All three major candidates have pledged to address this issue in their campaigns for Governor.
The independent Hogan wants to “scrap it” and rewrite the entire law. Not a good idea considering 80 percent of applicants make their way through the process successfully. It’s the 20 percent who don’t make it that we need to worry about.
The conservative [Republican] Douglas wants to limit the access of “out-of-state environmental groups” from the process. A slippery slope that Mr. Douglas, an out-of-stater himself should seriously reconsider. It’s another example of Mr. Douglas’ misdirected focus and finger pointing.
[Democrat] Doug Racine has proposed a single point of entry for individuals and businesses seeking permits. He also proposes bringing the permit process into the 21st century by allowing Vermonters to access permits online.
Finally someone who understands the real problem! It’s not surprising since Doug Racine has been on the frontlines of this debate. The choice is clear: for permit reform, Racine is the man with the plan.
Mike Fisher
Burlington
Women for Racine
Vermont women will play a crucial role in this year’s election. Viewed collectively, our votes are different from those of our dads, brothers, husbands, and sons. Issues of particular concern to women voters were the central focus of a recent gubernatorial debate sponsored by the Vermont Commission on Women (formerly the Governor’s Commission on Women), the Business and Professional Women, and the League of Women Voters. Among the so-called “women’s issues” are access to affordable, quality health care, paid family leave, early childhood education, privacy and choice in reproductive matters, livable incomes, and equal pay for equal work.
The Commission on Women educates the legislature and administration on these and other important issues and advocates for needed change. I learned a few things at their well-attended debate. For starters, when certain members of the legislature tried to eliminate the commission, only one candidate for governor took a stand for women. That candidate was Doug Racine.
Doug’s leadership came through loud and clear at the debate when he spoke out in strong support of paid family leave, early childhood education, and equal pay for equal work.
Doug knows that “women’s issues” concern all members of our society. He knows that the economy is a “women’s issue” and that an administration that reflects the demographics of Vermont is not only a good idea, it reflects some of our most strongly held values. Doug Racine understands that strong families are the foundation of Vermont’s future. Vermont’s families will not be strong unless our next governor pays attention to the concerns of Vermont women. We can count on Doug for leadership that recognizes the fundamental importance of women’s issues.
Sandra Dooley
South Burlington