JANUARY 28, 1994
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
13
COMMUNITY FORUM
Continued from facing page
less helpful and more questioning of my decisions and authority.
The most recent example was the day after the new board members were seated. On January 13, I took in donation checks to be deposited and cashed for travel and expenses to the U.S. Steering Committee Meeting held in Atlanta where most of the U.S. decisions and processing goes on. The director gave me a printout of our accounting for the first time, after I had requested many times previously without any luck.
While waiting I had put our accounting on Quicken [accounting software] and gave the director a printout of our financial status dated December 1. After receiving the first financial report completed by the Center on January 13, they had decided to attempt to distribute our cash flow as they saw fit without my approval, whereas I am the only person making administrative decisions for SW25-Ohio.
Their attempted actions left us with a balance of $6.55 for our travel and expenses to the U.S. Steering Committee Meeting. This is after my mom advanced SW25-Ohio $264.00 to purchase airline tickets. A friend of mine puts it like this: “I was fortunate to be trained to be an executive director by women, who were women who had not been brought into the patriarchal system of supervision and corporate management; obviously the Center has not had that privilege."
In closing, philosophical differences in outreach and organizing is a lame excuse for discontinuing fiscal sponsorship for
legitemize our politics, criminalize the way we have sex, claim we are unfit as parents, and promotes hatred of us every opportunity it gets? Mr. Power can talk all he wants about the "silent majority." After I saw Pat Buchanan at the podium of the Republican National Convention call us "one of the heads on the three-headed monster plaguing America" I saw that "silent majority" applaud and cheer! The Log Cabin Club didn't even visibly protest! They also tacitly allowed Ronald Reagan to get away with the idea that gay lives were expendable when his administration refused to adequately deal with AIDS simply because it was a "gay disease." Perhaps a better mission for the Log Cabin Club should be to eradicate homophobia present in the Republican Party! Only problem is to do that, you have to take your support for them away! The Log Cabin Club can't seem to do that.
Very soon all gays in Ohio will face a very serious challenge with a formidable enemy. An Issue 3 type initiative could very well be on the ballot in Ohio. I say "enemy" because we can't afford not to treat this like a war. You can bet that the leaders of such a ballot initiative will be Republicans as they have been everywhere else. You can also bet that no state-level Republican elected officials will take a stand for our rights. In this war, we must at least be able to identify who the enemy is. Luckily for us, the Log Cabin Club is a relatively small group.
Eric Resnick
SW25-Ohio. The Center belongs to all segOut of the shoebox
ments of the community no matter where it's located or what segment of the population needs to use our Center space.
Hey folks, Stonewall 25-Ohio is still here until June 26; outreach needs to continue, letters need to be typed, telephone calls needs attending, responding to our mail requests needs to be done. We need donations of in-kind services, copy paper, envelopes, address labels and yes, a printer we could borrow on a weekly basis. And of course Mo Money, Mo Money Mo Money! Stonewall 25 Ohio merchandise can be purchased at Gifts of Athena bookstore on Lee Rd in Cleveland Heights or if you see us at any community gathering.
This is our new address: Stonewall 25Ohio P.O. Box 91031, Cleveland, OH 44101. The new telephone is 216-921-8130, staffed on Tuesday and Thursday from 1241 4 pm.
In pride and protest,
Victoria Carter
Ohio State Delegate
Log Cabin has twisted mission
To the Editors:
It is rare that I criticize a visible gay person for willingness to express a political opinion, but I cannot let Jack Power's letter about the Log Cabin Club (December 24) go by without comment.
The fact that the Log Cabin Club still
exists is indicative of a problem. They have relentlessly pursued a destructive relation-
ship with an entity (the Republican Party)
whose stated platform is to harm it and the rest of us. Worse, they are anxious to defend and support their enemies. And yes, the Republican Party is our enemy and should be thought of as such. A litany of dirty deeds done to us by the Republican Party and their celebrated partners in hate crime, the Right Wing, during the past 18 months would easily fill volumes, so I'll just mention the most recent Republican National Convention to refresh Log Cabin memories.
The Log Cabin Club has a twisted mission. Mr. Power claims that they are about "eradicating Republicanphobia in the gay community." Let's look at "Republicanphobia." Isn't it natural to fear something that seeks to take away our rights, il-
To the Editors:
My partner and I are both avid readers of your publication and are very grateful for all of your efforts to liberate and to inform the gay and lesbian community. Nonetheless, as lesbians residing in North Carclina, we are forcibly closeted and feel that we are drowning in heterosexual culture and oppression.
Consequently, we have recently decided to make a painful-albeit necessary-move to a more "friendly" state with better job security-New York maybe. I am an English teacher in the public schools and my partner is in an equally risky employment
situation. We have allowed ourselves three years, (by June 1997), to make the move.
I am finding myself not in just an ordinary closet but in a steadily shrinking shoebox! My partner feels the same way and we need your help. Does anyone out there in reader (or editor) land have any suggestions for us?
In addition, and just as importantly, I am extremely interested in pursuing a serious career as an activist. I need to know how to get involved, who to call, whether or not I would need any additional degrees, etc. Please send advice, information, or friendly suggestions to the following address: Boxholder, P.O. Box 903, Mebane, NC 27302. Thank you so much for your help and discretion.
Anonymous
Governor should support civil rights
The following letter was sent on January 13 to Ohio Governor George V. Voinovich.
You were quoted recently as having said that you do not want the kind of turmoil in Ohio that developed in Colorado following the passage of their Amendment Two. No one wants that kind of vitriolic commotion. Let's work together to prevent it.
The very idea that a segment of the population shall be the target of discrimination for any reason is absurd. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people are the only remaining persons for whom discrimination is still legal. There are those who use fear, hate, intimidation and lies to maintain the status in quo, and there are those who refuse to accept the
role of second-class citizens any longer.
Declare that you will not tolerate discrimination in any form against anyone, regardless of race, color, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age or national origin, nor will you give way to hate mongers in Ohio who would attempt to abridge anyone's civil rights. Your leadership will make the difference.
Boycotts in the name of progress work. Bigots would be laughed at if they tried to organize a boycott of Ohio because we promote equal rights for all people. Arizona experienced a black eye and economic loss because it refused to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In Colorado, well you know...
It's about equality, not special rights. This Log Cabin Club member has been a supporter of you and your campaigns since
your first run for mayor of Cleveland. Please lead the battle against bigotry and hate in Ohio; you can prevent a replay of the Colorado fiasco.
Community Forum
Jack Power
The Chronicle encourages everyone to write and express your opinion about the community or the paper. Please be brief. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. We will print your name unless you specifically ask us not to.
Address letters to the Chronicle, P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland, Ohio, 44101, or fax to 216-621-5282 (24 hours). Include your address and phone number so we may contact you to verify the letter.
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Door Admission: $7.00Solo $12.00Duo Advance Sales:
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