GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE MARCH 24, 1995

Tillery ran from Project Spotlight

To the Editors:

COMMUNITY FORUM

The trouble with Cincinnati is all these uppity right-wing fundamentalist extremists the ones Council Member Dwight Tillery kowtows to on the civil rights issue.

Their omnipresence is stultifying to the public. You know the type. Their God gives them the option of ignoring science (i.e., reality) in favor of ancient mythology, and the right to pick and choose out-of-context phrases from the Bible to justify every prejudice and vendetta. They mostly ignore the teachings of Christ, in favor of the more vindictive, and fallible, human voices in the book.

Most KKK cults have a church backing them up. Those, and the churches that advocated slavery in the South, are both typical fundamentalists. They all attack homosexuals as a scapegoat to cover for the shortcomings of their archaic, oppressive and alienating ideas about family structure; the consequence of which is an inability to raise civilized children (as evidenced by their trashy antics whenever they appear on TV talk shows). Their ultimate goal is a fundamentalist theocracy (ask and they will admit this themselves) with all law derived from their biased sampling of the Bible. In this they seek to emulate the success of the Muslim fundamentalists in countries like Iran. Those countries have been pounded into the Dark Ages as far as human rights go.

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HETERO COUNTERPARTS It's like the Who tragedy, where 11 people Limp-wrist gesture

died in the rush to enter a concert in Cincinnati. As they push and shove for the best shot at the festival seating to their anxiously awaited Apocalypse, the fundies trample everyone and everything around them. Well, you can't hurry the show, folks! How ironic that by opening more doors, the Who tragedy could have been averted, while in the arena of human rights, the fundies seek to close the doors to all but their own.

Terry Turner Erlanger, Ky.

Tillery came to power as an advocate of Papers never arrived

human rights, so why has he caved in to these radicals? Well, amazingly, they have produced a number of millionaires by begging on TV. So, having banded together to effectively purchase the Republican Party, their power waxes. And now they declare war with "Project Spotlight," the fear of which sends Tillery scrambling like a cockroach. I expect he will join the ranks of the turncoat Democrats and switch parties. He is a crass political opportunist. His nose follows power, not principle.

Gays today are in much the same position as blacks were in the 1950s. In that era Tillery would have voted with the segregationist majority. His fellows-Luken, Vehr, and Heimlich are just your standard-issue white male bigots. But Tillery is a hypocrite, too cowardly to defend the values he once swore to uphold. The video of him cheering gay rights, recently released by Stonewall Cincinnati, is ample proof. That he accuses them of character assassination is laughable. His vote to remove sexual orientation from the Human Rights Ordinance was a political backstabbing on a par with Judas'. The deImise of his character has long been selfevident. The coroner's ruling: suicide.

As for the fifth councilman's vote against equality the sexist Charlie Windbag'shis was the most vile. Bigots such as he, loonies like David Koresh and Fred Phelps, the KKK, and the think-like-we-tell-you-to CCV, who incited all this trouble in the first place, are all different stripes of the same fundamentalist cloth. They care for neither culture nor human rights. Ever since the Roman Empire became the Christian Empire, the watchword of enlightened progress has been "Love Thy Neighbor." But that's all beside the point to the fundies, so it's back to mob rule! Oh, well, CCV's Phil "Pornophile" Burress will reap the guilt, having cast the first stone and all.

Community Forum

The Chronicle encourages everyone to write and express your opinion about the community or the paper. Please, however, keep letters constructive, and avoid namecalling and personal attacks. Please be brief. We reserve the right to edit letters. We will print your name unless you specifically ask us not to.

Letters can be sent via U.S. mail, fax, or E-mail to the addresses in the masthead above. Include your address and phone so we may contact you to verify the letter.

To the Editors:

Have you ever noticed how quickly people jump to conclusions without really knowing the facts? In response to a letter you published on February 10 about "a certain coffee shop" in Dublin Village Center, I would like to portray what the "horse" really believes.

The owner would never throw away any periodicals whether it be copies of the Gay People's Chronicle or any other special interest paper. Employees throw away copies of all free publications only when they are outdated, crumpled and are covered with coffee spills. The owner is very aware of her customers' needs and seeks to cater to as many interests as possible.

The quote published about how the owner does not "want her business associated with anything gay," is not only based on rumor (in fact it borders on libel) and thus has no validity, but a closer look will reveal the contrary. Within the owner's three stores, she employs a lesbian and two gay men. So much for not wanting the business associated with anything gay.

I would also like to state that the papers are not being thrown away, they have simply not been delivered for a few months. There is space designated to accommodate free distribution papers and this paper has never been excluded.

To the Editors:

I just moved here from Boston with my lover. I picked up the Gay People's Chronicle since I wanted to support gay owned and operated stores, or at least gay-friendly. I called the Clifton Web in Cleveland and was told that they were very gay-friendly, although not gay owned and operated.

Gay-friendly? Well, we went to the store, purchased some items and cards, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the sales girl give that old "limp wrist" gesture, unaware that I was noticing. After leaving the store, the same woman and a middle-aged man said, or should I say snickered, "There goes two more."

What year is this-1969 Stonewall or 1995? I suggest anyone who has had a similar experience to write to the Chronicle. Let's support our own or friends, not those who are after our "gay bucks" and then ridicule us afterwards. I would strongly suggest a donation to AIDS Task Force and AMFAR and some sensitivity training for the Clifton Web.

Kenny Yorke Shaker Heights

Attempts were made to bring Kenny Yorke and Clifton Web owner Gary Levin together to discuss this. Yorke declined the invitation to speak with Levin.

Levin said, "If in fact this did happen in my store, I would hope that the individual would come to me as the owner to try to get to the bottom of it. That kind of behavior among my staff is intolerable, and I would want to have the opportunity to deal with it effectively." Levin added that many of his staff members are themselves gay or lesbian, and the store has catered to the Cleveland gay and lesbian community for the past ten

years.

To "Name withheld by request": watch A thief is a thief

what you say when you don't know the facts.

To you sirs: I understand your sensitivity to the intolerance shown to gays and gay issues, but I think you should at least have done some checking before writing the response you did. Had you done so you would have realized that non-delivery, and not dumping, was the issue.

Brenda Pagliarulo, Manager Cafe Cappuccino Dublin

Excuse us while we wipe the egg from our faces. The delivery mixup has been corrected, and Cafe Cappuccino should again be receiving the Chronicle. We regret not checking with store management, and will do so in the future-see the next letter. However, the bulk of the editorial note following the February 11 letter was intended to call attention to the general problem of the Chronicle and other lesbian-gay papers being removed from racks, sometimes by passers-by, and thrown out. This remains an ongoing problem in many areas, and we continue to appreciate readers telling us when it happens.

-Editors (who are not all "sirs")

To the Editors:

-Editors

Over the past month both the Chronicle and the Plain Dealer have run stories about a person who allegedly attempted to take money from the 1994 AIDS Walk. Since that time, I have heard many comments from our community, most of which I find inaccurate or just plain disgusting.

One of the most widely mentioned comments is that the accused man tried to steal money from the AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland. The AIDS Walk and the AIDS Taskforce are not the same. If someone tries to take money from the AIDS Walk, they are trying to take money from the AIDS Taskforce, AIDS Housing Council, the Cleveland Les-

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controls of the Walk if money came up missing. But to catch someone allegedly taking money shows evidence of adequate financial control. From what I understand, all money was recovered.

The comment that really makes me ill is that the accused man has done so much for the AIDS community in Cleveland that he should not be prosecuted. I believe one of the greatest flaws in the American judicial system is that people are not sentenced for what they have done, but for who they are. Social status, race, gender, and past service should not be a factor in prosecution. Regardless of any past service to the AIDS community, if found guilty of stealing from the Walk, a person should be sentenced to the fullest extent of the law.

I will not judge the accused; that is up to our justice system. I am only saying that if found guilty, he should be sentenced the same as any thief, not as someone who has done so much for the AIDS community. There is no such thing as a "good thief" or a "bad thief." A thief is a thief.

bian-Gay Center, the Free Clinic of CleveA mirror image

land, Stopping AIDS Is My Mission, the Open House, the Women's Center of Cleveland, Planned Parenthood, and the Hemophilia Foundation.

Another comment I hear is one questioning the AIDS Taskforce's ability to provide adequate financial controls at the Walk. Again, the Walk is a collaborative effort of nine agencies. I would question the financial

To the Editors:

Dallas Owens Cleveland

I saw a play titled A Soldier's Story at Cuyahoga Community College eastern campus. It offers thoughtful material for the gay and lesbian community. At least from my experience of some facets of this community and much of the literature, I feel it applies. The Pulitzer-winning play's focus, for

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