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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
September, 1991
Forty Whacks
by Lizzie Borden
Don't blink or you'll miss it. So we had a real scare with the theft here at the Chronicle. What's scarier is that the Plain Dealer buried the news on the same page as the horoscope and crossword puzzle. The miniscule story on August 13 reported Chronicle officials "were uncertain that their monthly newspaper would continue to be published after their printing equipment worth $8,000 was stolen over the weekend."
It's true that we were uncertain at the
time, but we're full steam ahead now! You
can't write us off that easily, Too many
people depend on us to carry on. So put
this at 14 Across: Queers don't quit!
Jerry Lewis he's not. We also hear that John (the Boy Toy) Lanigan was taking pledges on his WMJI radio show to help us "recover" from our loss. He had the sound engineer play a flat dial tone every time he picked up the phone to take a "pledge." But here's what really happened, boy and girlfriends: as we understand it, the engineer accidentally wired the sound board to John Boy's frontal lobe, so the the flat tone we heard over the air was actually an audio scan of his brain waves.
Just before the theft at the Chronicle, Lanigan made the remark that gay activists are "disgusting little people with too much time on their hands."You should see the time it's going to take to recover from our loss. Thanks for kicking the little guy when he's down, John. You're a credit to Cleveland.
Mea culpa? Maybe. If our recent analogies about fascism and WMJI have offended members of our community, Lizzie expresses concern over that, but people need to know about the damage Lanigan
GAY GIANTS OF GREATER CLEVELAND
651-6302
a social & support group
for big men
and cohorts are trying to inflict upon the lesbian and gay community.
Lanigan and Webster have an open forum to say what they want about us for four hours every weekday morning. The ignorant remarks they make on the show
Lanigan made the remark that gay activists are “disgusting little
agree that something has to be done about this fly in the K-Y. Queer Nation has launched its own campaign against WMJI. Their slogan is "WMJI, Where Hate Passes as Humor."
The Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center has also launched a letter-writing campaign to the company that owns
WMI. They're calling it "Improving the
Air Quality in Cleveland: Turn Off
WMJI." Contact both groups about what
you can do for your nation.
Personal power. Or even better, in ad-
people with too much dition to group therapy, you can do as one time on their hands.'
99
about AIDS and outing are not only potentially harmful, they are scathing at times. What's worse is that the gay-bashing will continue as long as the show makes money. And some WMJI sponsors have told gay activists that as long as the money pours in from Cleveland's top-rated morning radio show, they will continue to sponsor it in its present format.
LB believes it approaches fascism to give someone as uneducated and irresponsible as John Lanigan so much power and freedom to influence public opinion every day. But LB does not speak on behalf of any specific lesbian and gay organization. As for references to AIDS and the Holocaust, LB refers you to ACT-UP founder Larry Kramer's book, Reports from the Holocaust: The Making of an AIDS Activist.
So what now? One thing is certain. Lesbian and gay activists in Cleveland do
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commendable individual has done. LB's thanks and kudos go to our friend, JP, who wrote to Lizzie here at la Chronicle. He took our suggestion to heart and contacted six WMJI sponsors. So far, he's received three responses and sent us copies of their letters.
Smythe-Cramer Realty president Lucius McKelvey told our hero, "In that I do not listen to the station, I am not aware of the type of remarks you reference. We oppose all forms of discrimination and bigotry." That's strange. Another spokesperson for the company told a gay caller they would continue to sponsor Lanigan in spite of his format.
Pizzeria Uno president Gary Rogalski wrote that his sponsorship of WMJI has been "successful" but, "if you have been in either of our restaurants, you know that we are indeed an equal opportunity employer. In fact, I am sure that to some extent members of the gay community were responsible for the pleasurable dining experience Mr. Lanigan and others have had in our restaurants . . ." Ironic isn't it? ". I hope you can appreciate and respect our desire to survive in an industry which is known for its fatalities."
Right, Gary. If it's one thing our community knows, it's how to deal with fatalities!
And Carpet Barn and Tile House?
Spokesperson Jim Richardson wrote: "At times, I listen to Lanigan and Webster on my way to work in the morning. Most times, I find them entertaining. They seem to be indiscriminate in their humor. They poke fun at everyone. Sometimes, I agree with you. They come on too strong and I can see how their brand of humor may offend some people. They have poked fun at a group of which I am a member. It does not bother me, but my wife, on the other hand, is more sensitive than I and it bothers her. I agree with you wholeheartedly. All people have a right to live their lives without fear of being harassed and threatened with violence... Thank you for your letter. My personal feeling is that Mr. Lanigan is not a threat to the safety of the gay community. But, I must agree that in the name of entertainment, he goes a little far at times."
See our power waiting within all of us, dears?
Fear and self-loathing. Recommended for therapy: Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine editor Clint O'Conner, who censored himself over a suggested story for National Coming Out Day. Lesbian and gay activists proposed the story to PD reporter Michael Heaton, who was open to the idea of interviewing area lesbians and gays about their coming-out experiences.
The project was shot down by O'Conner, however, who reportedly balked at running a pro-gay piece after PD publisher Alex Machaskee killed an article by Aubrey Wertheim for Pride Month in June. O'Conner's name evokes a certain Catholic cardinal from New York, John O'Connor, who won the Advocate's Annual Sissy Award this year. If the four-inch stiletto fits, Clint...
A real nutcracker. But what can we expect from a publisher like Machaskee, who once returned a Christmas card he received from the Chronicle. He sent it back to us, torn into pieces, with a note demanding we take him off our mailing list.
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