FEEDBACK

METRA MAGAZINE welcomes your comments and observations. Write us at: METRA FEEDBACK, Ferndale Center Building, 22750 Woodward, Suite 310, Ferndale, Michigan 48220.

To The Editor:

I am deeply concerned that a letter which appeared in your Feedback" column in the May 21 issue contained two charges that are patently false and absurd. As President of the largest gay rights organization in the State of Michigan, I am in a unique position to address those charges,

Charge No. 1 is that there is....friction between the various local grops supposedly working toward the same goal.

Item Virtually every important "gay activist in the State of Michigan is a member of my organization, the Association of Suburban People (A.S.P.). Included on our rolls are several bar owners, doctors, lawyers, etc.

Item personally, am a member of Michigan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR), Patrons of MOHR, Motor City Business Forum, the Gay and Lesbian Committee of the Michigan ACLU, and several national and international organizations. Item Under the aegis of MOHR, the

Detroit Area Lesbian Gay Council

serves the Southeastern Michigan area, and receives the active and enthusiastic support of the major organizations in this area. Item The leaders, key people and members of many of the organizations in this area are personal friends of mine, and I can assure you that they are all very friendly, cooperative and accomplishmentoriented. We are, in my opinion, the very best group of people in any state in the United States.

Underlying these items is the aura and fact that we are all working together, are friends and respect each other.

Charge No. 2 is that "Detroit has a national reputation as a community that has just never been able to get it all together.

Item I visited Sacramento last fall to learn first-hand from the President of California Gay State Employees how best to organize state employees. After we compared notes, she made the statement, I am more impressed with what Michigan has 'unorganized' than with what we have 'organized' in California."

Item A.S.P. hosted the efforts at the Republican Convention for the National Convention Project, a cooperative effort of the Gay Rights National Lobby and the National Gay Task Force. For the superb compliments paid to the cooperative Detroit-area organizations in this area, I refer you to the August 1, 1980, issue of "Metra..

Item The current issue of "Capitol Hill from the Gay Rights National Lobby contains an article on the cooperative work between A.S. P. and GRNL in Senate lobbying. This article is used by GRNL as an idea for other groups in America to emulate. Item Memorial Day weekend this year I, personally, hosted the 12th Annual Meeting of the National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties at the McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University. Virtually every productive national leader in our movement was in attendance. Michigan was selected as the site for this year's meeting because of the superb.organization and cooperation here.

Item The National March on Washington in 1979 incuded among its prominent leaders Phil Greene, President of MOHR; Don Mager, former Executive Director of MOHR; and Sylvia Robinson, former Education Officer of MOHR.

Item A.S. P. is one of the few organizations in the United Sates that is computerizing its efforts. Item A leading activist from New York City stated publicly in Lansing last year that "A.S.P. is the best-run gay organization I have seen in 25 years in this movement!"

I would be pleased to talk with your reader about any additional items or explication of any of the items above. He may call me at home, 689-5802.

DEAR MIKE,

Sincerely, ASSOCIATION OF SURBURBAN PEOPLE Daniel R. Sivil, President

What a proud, glorious night was June 11th, when the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus appeared in concert in Detroit!! How proud I was, and am, to be GAY.

Magic was in the air as the chorus took us greatly, at first, and led us through a beautiful two and a half hour love fest. During the standing ovations given to the chorus the smiles of pure love and joy were very much in evidence throughout the auditorium. Those of us fortunate enough to be there shared a strong bond of brotherhood and sisterhood whose links will be hard to break.

I want to thank everyone who made the evening possible. Without your hard work I would have truly been the loser.

At this time I want to thank the staff of METRA for all the hours of work necessary to produce a class magazine. You are forging one more river to unite all gays into one force.

Thanks for all you do METRA. Keep up the great work.

Open Letter To The Disc Jockeys DEAR DISC JOCKEYS:

PJB

I understand how music can become tir-ing if you hear it over and over again night after night. The problem is; I don't get to go to the bars every night. I'm lucky if I can go a couple of times a week. I love to dance but I want to dance to music that I like and I'm not yet tired of all the great songs that have come out in the past year or two. I miss those songs by Donna Summer, Michael Jackson, Barabara Striesand and others that you only play for a few seconds, if at all. The only way I have to communicate to you regarding what I like to hear is to dance when you play it and leave the dance floor when you start with your "innovative" "new music. What I really like is a little variety. Why can't you play a couple of 'old standards and then a couple of "new songs, followed by a slow song, then a couple of "old" disco tunes again? The thing that is very very strange to me is that I have talked with many many other men and women who say the same thing. I can only speak for myself, but I know I am not alone. What's even stranger is this: I.. watch what happens on the dance floor... you play "Hot Stuff" or "Fame" or another "golden oldie" and couple after couple dashes out to the floor to catch a few minutes of good dancing. Then you start to mix in some of your "new stuff an people stampede off the floor. Yet you keep playing this "innovative" music and continue to ignore the really great songs that got your bar going. I think the dancers are trying to give you a clue when they practically step on each other trying to get off the floor when you start to play your new stuff. It's the only way we have of letting you know that we don't like the stuff you're playing. I'm just a poor commoner with unsophisticated tastes in music but I love to dance and I know what I like. Give my idea a chance next Saturday night. Try some variety. Don't be afraid to play music we might recognize as a year old and don't be afraid to try a slow song two or three times during the evening. After all, we commoners pay our cover charge too!

Love and Kisses and Can Have This Dance, Anthony Serrasco

"THE LOVE FLORIST"

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METRA MAGAZINE 21