GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE AUGUST 20, 1993

EDITORIAL

We need a take-charge attitude

The Chronicle got an interesting call the other day. A gentleman from Michigan casually asked about the agenda of Cleveland's Lesbian and Gay Community Center. That started us thinking: what does the Center do, and more importantly, what should it do?

Our reply to the caller was that the Center was basically a hotline and meeting place with a few programs that were essential to this community, namely the Living Room, the PRYSM youth group, and the sporadic Men in Touch series. His disappointment was obvious when he started to talk about how centers in other communities like Detroit were pro-active: taking charge and shaping the community to meet the needs of the established residents, and making it an attractive place for those who want to move there.

According to Judy Rainbrook, the new executive director of Cleveland's Center, she and the board have plans to be more aggressive in getting the word out, but have no intention of making the Center a pro-

active rallying point, just a responsive resource. "The message I'm getting from the board is not to be out in front on the political edge, but to be more of a service organization," she said.

So if the Center isn't going to be the focus of our community, who is? If they aren't going to lead, who will?

Can't we have an organization that says "We think the community should be like this," and goes and does it? We need an organization that will reach out to those who need its services but don't know there is someone to help. An ad in the Yellow Pages is not enough. We need to reach those people whose closets make them feel as if they are the only ones alive. We need to have a place for those outside our community to discover information about us.

This is the "Year of the Queer," and the Center must rise to meet the challenge. Right now the Center pleads poverty when asked to outreach or establish new programs and media campaigns. What if the Center had enough money? Would they

then be pro-active, reaching out instead of waiting? Would someone with vision and guts take charge and say: "This is not the kind of community I want to be from. I'm going to work to change this community until it is something I can be proud of." Is money really the only thing standing in our way?

Outreach to people of color, non-gays, older gays and lesbians; vision, commitment and a take-charge attitude is what we need from the Center. Granted, a healthy database would help, but we cannot keep waiting for that database to be ready before we establish an organization that is truly the "center" of our community.

We urge the Center to keep moving forward. Take the reins of the community and guide us into the next century. We urge all of our readers to support the Center either monetarily or with time. We urge all of you who have any kind of hopes for this community to join the Center and work to realize your dreams.

COMMUNITY FORUM

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Volume 9, Issue 4

Publisher: Martha J. Pontoni Business Manager: Patti Harris Managing Editor: Kevin Beaney Production Manager: Brian De Witt Reporters & Writers: Martha J. Pontoni,

Dora Forbes, Marne Harris, Kevin Beaney, Timothy Robson, Barry Daniels, Mike Radice, John DuAne Graves, John Chaich, Charlton Harper, Joseph Morris

Akron-Canton: Ted Wammes, Richard Simonton, Jerry Kaiser, Paul Schwitzgebel, Heather Steenrod Artist: Christine Hahn Sales Manager: Patti Harris Account Executives: David A. Ebbert, Paul Hospodar

The Gay People's Chronicle is dedicated to providing a space in the Ohio lesbian-gay community for all of its members to communicate and be involved with each other. This means that every Chronicle, to the best of its ability, will be equally dedicated to both men's and women's issues, as well as issues that affect the entire community. This balance will provide lesbians and gay men with a forum to air grievances and express joys.

The Gay People's Chronicle is copyrighted under federal law. Any reproduction of its contents is prohibited unless permission is obtained.

Any material submitted for publication will be subject to editing. The Chronicle cannot guarantee return of any such materials unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

The Gay People's Chronicle is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. We reserve the right to reject advertising which is unsuitable for our publication.

P.O. Box 5426 Cleveland, Ohio 44101 216-621-5280 Fax 216-621-5282

No country music at the Rodeo

To the Editors:

I just had to say a few words about Dancin' in the Streets. Two groups scheduled to perform were suddenly shut out. The Cleveland City Country Dancers had been scheduled to perform two square dances at 4:50. Each dance takes, maybe, four minutes. After finally being introduced we were `abruptly cut off after the first dance. Did they really think four minutes was too much to spare?

The line dance group, the Rainbow Wranglers, was cancelled completely, as was all the country music. And this at a street festival where the theme was "Rodeo"! But we were treated to one lip-synching drag queen after another (no dancing there, not even singing).

Melissa Ross "performed" at least three times that I know of and what do you have there? A man pretending to be a woman, pretending to sing. If they were so short on time, once would have been enough.

Granted, not a lot of people in Cleveland are into country dancing but maybe a few more would be if they could see it performed. We weren't scheduled for that much time anyway, ten minutes at five o'clock and ten minutes at six o'clock. There would have still been hours for disco and at least we would have done some dancin' in the street, which I thought was the idea behind the whole thing

My friends and I have been waiting for a "review" or any letter or article on this "contest." We agreed with Patty's letter and the blow job scene turned many stomachs as did all of the strap-on phallics-it is offensive to many gay women who love women and have no desire for this sexual fetish.

But the reason I'm writing is we thought we were going to a boxer shorts contest. This was no contest!

To say it was "rigged" would be an understatement, or just coincidental? Those of us in the audience know the answer to that one!

Is it a coincidence that the arrogant, disgusting eyesore who paraded around topless that won is/was lovers with the women who "staged" the event... or that her close friends were "judges" for the "contest"...

Obviously the crowd wasn't pleased by the judge's decision, because there was booing and jeers.

The obvious winner was the only one who kept her shirt on-the purple haired girl and her girlfriend.

zines. After four months of trying, even the free ones that just needed a request on letterhead were not ordered. If there was any real empowerment, I could have just ordered them myself. When I brought this up at a volunteer's meeting, I was castigated and condemned roundly by all and sundry, and have made myself scarce ever since.

It does not seem to me to be a matter of the staff people per se. Two of my favorite PWAS have in the past been staff there, and no matter who was on staff the problem continued.

To me the solution seems simple, if a bit scary. Cut down the staff to one part-time person in charge of making sure the checkbook balances, and have all other functions be volunteer. Maybe they will not be done as perfectly as if someone was paid, and something will get screwed up massively from time to time. The energy generated by the empowerment will surely more than make up for the occasional glitch.

Josh Steier

They were the only tastefully, imaginaBogus Christianity is

tive, artistic, non-offensive, well choreographed "talent" in that "contest". They were visually stunning!

P.S., To the girl with purple hair and her girlfriend in the "contest": You were robbed! As for your new religion "JAZ-ism," you have a new wave of "devout" followers. On our knees in prayer,

Lisa Rose and friends

It was apparent that some people didn't Empowerment to the

want country, even the small amount scheduled. Melissa Ross repeatedly asked the crowd (as we waited in the wings to go on) whether they wanted country or whether they wanted to get down with some disco in such a way as to make it clear which answer he wanted from the crowd. Certainly there was time for a variety. It was a disappoint-

ment to say the least.

Ron Gray

Contest was rigged

To the Editors:

I too attended the misrepresented Clitty Cat Club Hot Boxers "Contest" (I attended with a group of nine friends in total). I never thought I'd ever be writing to the Chronicle but after seeing Patty's letter in the July 23 issue I decided to write.

people

To the Editors:

an insult to Jesus

To the Editors:

At one time, Christians died en masse at the hands of Romans and others who felt threatened by them. They died in the name of love and peace. How ironic it is that now in America, about 2,000 years later, it is the so-called Christians and those hiding behind the misused banner of Christianity who have become the oppressors and killers. Love and peace have been replaced by hypocrisy and loathing.

They are killing us physically with their

endless, negative campaigns re. AIDS, and

I read with interest the set of letters about mentally through exclusion and denial. Gay

the Living Room. It seems to me that both the committee of six and the paid staff have avoided the key issue, the root of most of the Living Room's problems.

The Living Room was originally intended to be a forum for self-empowerment for persons with AIDS. The structure of the organization and all activity taking place there are controlled or approved by the paid staff. This is teaching empowerment by disempowering people. Those of us who actually think that empowerment really means something will naturally stay away.

In my case, the straw that broke this particular donkey's back was an attempt to get the Living Room to subscribe to a few medical journals and PWA activist maga-

men, lesbians, and anyone else they deem unacceptable have become the targets of their active intolerance which has fostered the spread of numerous hate groups. NeoNazis, skinheads, and others (perhaps your neighbors?) arrogantly parade their ignorance and hostility on television talk shows, in newspapers, and in the streets-regularly. One such group talks of how they will hang those who are different from telephone poles while another plans a Gaybash '93 event to be held annually upon success.

"Good, church-going Christians" who say they would never participate in or encourage such acts of atrocity are just as responsible for this outrageous surfacing of scum. Their self-righteous hypocrisy has

Next Chronicle comes out Friday, September 3

The Gay People's Chronicle is published every other Friday. Display ad and article deadlines are 10 to 12 days before an issue comes out; call for specific dates and times. See personal, classified, and calendar deadlines in those sections. Advertisers:

Call 216-621-5280 (fax 216-621-5282) for rate sheets and information. Or, write the Chronicle at P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.

Subscriptions:

Subscriptions are 13 issues for $25.00, and 25 issues (1 year) for $40.00, sent in a plain envelope. (For faster first-class delivery, add $6.50 for 13 issues, 12.50 for 25 issues to cover extra postage.) Mail check or money order with your address to the Chronicle, P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland, 44101.

spawned it and condones it! They have gone on to cause a President of the United States that we did so much to elect, to back down, closing the door once again on equality and justice for all.

The catch-all convenience of today's bogus Christianity is an insult to and betrayal of its founder, Jesus Christ, whose primary instruction was that people should love one another. Love thy neighbor! Christians are making that directive very difficult to follow. If we are to be viciously and openly attacked, scapegoated, bashed, and murdered by the shock troops of today's Christianity, then perhaps a time is coming when Christians too will be dying ugly deaths once again. Too bad for all of us.

Name withheld, for now.

(My house is within spitting distance of the hate-mongering Sysack billboard)

Mayor doesn't like Sysack either

Concerned citizen Tim Kempf sent a letter to Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White complaining about the recent anti-gay billboard put up by Sysack Sign owner Russell Sysack at his Pearl Rd. shop, criticizing Buck Harris' radio show. The following letter was received in response.

Dear Mr. Kempf:

Thanks for announcing your concern to me in your July 12, letter regarding the sign displayed at Harry X. Sysack Sign Company, 4306 Pearl Road. I am aware that Mr. Sysack has, over the years, displayed signs that hold up various individuals and groups