Letters to the Editor
Stunned
I am stunned at your responses in the Letters to the Editor section in
November's issue. First, when the director of Safe Space wrote to correct
some of the damage you had done to her agency in your article the prior
month, you didn't just let her letter speak for itself, but instead felt
compelled to respond! As the editor and author of the original article,
you had your space - pages in fact - to make your case. It is downright
hostile and destructive to then challenge her letter. Why would any other
community activist agree to have you interview or profile them when you
are so unapologetic about highlighting your own agenda?
In another "editor's response" you replied
to the letter by members of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition,
challenging you on publishing the birth names, rather than the chosen
names, of several transgender victims of violence. To your credit, you
didn't get defensive and righteous here, but I found your plea of ignorance
and innocence a little hard to swallow. Transgender issues have been on
your radar for some time, and journalistic standards of using chosen names
and proper pronouns are hardly new at this point, in mainstream or queer
media. If OITM is going to call itself the "Voice of the GLB and T" communities
in Vermont, you are obligated to get this right and not hide behind a
learning curve.
I've admired your talents and hard work,
but I think that you have been losing touch with your audience. OITM is
not just your mouthpiece, it needs to contain many voices. Which means
that yours cannot always be the loudest or the last.
Samuel Lurie
Hinesburg
Pleased
Very nice issue of OITM this month (November,
2003). I particularly liked Susan McMillan's article on California ("California
Joins Vermont in Granting Gay Spousal Rights") and Scott Sherman's gay
dad's piece ("Changing the World, One Diaper at a Time"). I was in Tucson
for the National Conference of LGBT Foundations and saw their excuse for
a community LGBT paper - all recycled national articles and ads - in a
city larger than the state of Vermont! We are truly fortunate to have
you and MPM.
Linda Markin
Hardwick
Linda Markin is vice-president of the Samara Foundation Board.
Defending Dean
As
a former Vermonter living in New Hampshire, I feel the need to comment
on your recent editorial about Howard Dean. This editorial is the equivalent
of a parent who tells a child he is not doing well enough in school because
he got only an "A" on his report card and not an "A+."
Governor Howard Dean has done so much for
the GLBT community in Vermont, from promoting and signing a civil rights
bill in 1992, to supporting same-sex adoptions, to appointing an openly
gay man (Bill Lippert) to the House, yet you continue to harp on the fact
that he signed the civil unions bill "in the closet," seeming to forget
the fact that he was wearing a bullet proof vest at the time and was receiving
frequent death threats. Very few pieces of legislation are actually signed
in a ceremony. Most are done with little fanfare in the governor's office.
Considering the social and political climate at the time, I accept his
decision to sign the bill quietly.
Yes, Governor Dean never attended any of
the GLBT Pride festivals, but neither, to my recollection, did any of
his predecessors (or successor Jim Douglas). Often the Pride festival
fell the same weekend as a national governors' conference that he was
expected to attend. This is hardly a slight to our community and not a
valid reason for complaint. As Governor, Dean did regularly make himself
available to the GLBT community via the press as evidenced by his frequent
interviews with OITM.
Howard Dean realizes the importance of
the GLBT community and that we are a vital thread in the social fabric
of the country, and he has stated this fact publicly. Basically, he gets
it! I wish GLBT purists such as Euan Bear would get it too. This man is
for real and will stand up for our community. He may not be perfect (who
is?) but he is perfect for us, and I proudly and wholeheartedly support
his candidacy for President of the United States.
Richard
Thorngren
Manchester, NH
Dean's Record
Hats
off to editor Euan Bear for stating plainly what Howard Dean has and has
not done for the GLBTQ community in Vermont. While some would perceive
him as a hero of gay rights, the true heroes were the courageous pro-civil
union citizens of Vermont, both GLBTQ and straight, the brave lawyers
involved, and many others, too numerous to list here. The true heroes
were persons such as Bill Lippert who placed himself in real danger for
the cause. Eye witnesses have recounted to me how a group of citizens
encircled him, forming a shield with their own bodies to protect him from
an angry mob. What courage!
As a resident of New York State I stand
in awe of my brothers and sisters in Vermont. I marched in the Gay Pride
Parade in Burlington and saw with my own eyes how people from out-of-state
had come to Vermont to pour out their hatred on the GLBTQ community there.
My heroes are the ordinary Vermonters who drew up their courage and did
extra-ordinary things. They spoke up at town meeting, they spoke in their
communities and at their places of work, they ran for office after the
signing of the civil union law, knowing that they were walking into the
lion's den. Yes, Dr. Dean, come home, and say thank you to the brave Vermonters
who put you where you are today. A view from the Adirondacks.
Irene Boire
Elizabethtown, NY
Trans Issues 'Buried'
I
would like to commend the quality of writing that was in the recent November
issue of OITM. It has been a long time since I have honestly found a reason
to sit down with the paper and read more then two or three articles in
a sitting. I would particularly like to thank Lauren Parker for putting
a youth voice in the paper with her "Why Does It Matter?" article about
her GSA at CVU.
Also, the article about "Remembering Trans
Dead, Empowering Trans Living" was just a stellar piece of work. I can't
believe that it was buried in the back of the paper, especially since
it spoke of one of the most powerful memorial events for the queer community
that we do all year, the Transgender Day of Remembrance. I understand
that it was labeled "Views" and because of that it might not have been
worthy "front page" material. But a year out from the election, is more
stuff on Howard Dean more relevant to the queer community for November
2003?
Perhaps not purposely, but at least in
layout - this last issue displays a continued "burial" of trans-related
issues within our queer community. I challenge the paper to not only reward
excellent writing with front page prestige, but also to honor our transgender
community members with more articles, content and even (gasp) a front
page headline for not only the largest trans-specific event of the year,
but also articles on gender deviance and gender transgression here in
Vermont.
Lluvia
Mulvaney-Stanak
Vermont
Queer Activist
Burlington
Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak is a program specialist with Outright Vermont.
Thoughtful Coverage
I am sending this letter to say Thank You to Euan Bear and the staff at OITM for bringing such a wonderful service to our community! I appreciate the thoughtful coverage that OITM gives to the broad range of people and issues influencing LGBTQ people in Vermont. The power of our community's voice has been greatly magnified through the publication of OITM. At a time in our country when the news is mostly bad, I look forward to the arrival of OITM where I get a dash of hope, energy and insight through the voices of the LGBTQ community. Thanks to OITM for giving rise to that Voice. Keep up the good work!!!
Yiota Ahladas
Burlington
Corrections
Due to a reporting error in our front-page article on gay organizations working for candidate Howard Dean, Dykes for Dean was identified as a Yahoo newsgroup. The organization has a website (http://flyservers.com/members4/dykesfordean.org/) and maintains a newsgroup as well. Our apologies to Dykes for Dean.
We somehow managed to misspell writer and board member Fran Moravcsik's name as the author of "A Vegetarian Thanksgiving with Family" in the November issue. We regret the error.