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Receives 1.4 Million Hits in Four Days Rev. Mel White Urges Dr. Laura's Foes to Let GLAAD do the Job Scott Miller Disagrees: GLAAD Hasn't Been Able to Tone Her Down |
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Compiled by GayToday
Aravosis says that the site's most recent press hits include Access Hollywood, USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle. He advises: "Prepare for some big media hits next week. Thanks for everyone's help in making this online campaign against intolerance a tremendous success....so far. We still need to convince Paramount that double standards on civil rights issues are never acceptable." To date, according to Aravosis: " Paramount is showing signs of strain. Their employees have admitted that they're getting inundated with phone calls, and they even had to unlist the phone number of one of their top executives after we targeted him for calls. Actually, as a funny aside, some callers have reported that the employees tasked to answer the phones have admitted that they actually agreed that Paramount should drop Dr. Laura!" Simultaneously, the Rev. Mel White of Soulforce, Inc. has declined to send emails to Paramount, explaining that he believes that the principles of his non-violent group militate against such action. Addressing his friends and Soulforce, Inc. members, the Rev. White said: "During the last 24 hours, I've received endless requests to email Paramount about Dr. Laura . And though I congratulate each one of your for your willingness to speak out against her dangerous rhetoric, here's why I can't join you in your campaign…at least not yet. "My understanding of the nonviolent methods of Gandhi and King tell me that the current blitzkrieg of phone, fax, and email messages to Kerry McCluggage, Paramount's Chairman, and the threat of confronting him and his senior executives at their homes and favorite restaurants around Los Angeles are acts of violence against them.
"That demanding process begins by attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement of our grievances. "Which of you has monitored Dr. Laura long enough to document your own case against her? Which of you has presented your case to Dr. Laura in person with the hope of changing her mind and heart? Which of you took time to meet with the executives at Paramount to explain calmly and quietly why Dr. Laura's rhetoric leads to suffering and death? "Those are steps required for legitimate negotiation before any kind of direct action should take place. "Joan Garry and her colleagues at GLAAD carefully documented a case against Dr. Laura's rhetoric. They presented their case in person to Dr. Laura on two different occasions, hoping to win her friendship and support. When it appeared obvious that Dr. Laura was not about to change, GLAAD asked for a meeting with Paramount's Chairman McCluggage to show their case against Dr. Laura and to make three demands. He agreed to meet. "First, GLAAD asked Paramount to enforce a "no tolerance policy" against anti-GLBT rhetoric on the new Dr. Laura television program. Second, they warned Paramount that Dr. Laura's "authorities" were bogus and asked Paramount to insist that Dr. Laura consider all the evidence. Third, they demanded that Dr. Laura's program include other voices to speak in our defense. "Chairman McCluggage and an impressive group of Paramount executives met with the people of GLAAD. After the meeting they promised to deliver on the last two demands, but requested more time with Dr. Laura to convince her to enforce a "no tolerance policy" against her anti-GLBT rhetoric. Paramount also agreed to a second meeting with GLAAD. "Before that meeting could convene, the email blitzkrieg began. Mr. McCluggage was negotiating in good faith; and for his trouble, our community has demonized him, threatened him, and effectively closed down his professional and personal means of communication. (It's a tactic used often against us by our adversaries on the 'religious right.') "You know that I am determined to help end the false and inflammatory rhetoric from Dr. Laura and from all her new friends like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. That's what Soulforce, Inc. is all about. But this is not the way to end it, at least not the way to end it nonviolently. "Please, stop your email, fax, and phone campaign…at least for now. Let GLAAD continue their negotiations with Paramount. If Paramount refuses to negotiate or breaks its promises to GLAAD, then more negotiations are called for. "Only when you know there is no hope to negotiate a settlement should you plan a massive direct action; and then that action is not to bully or coerce but to demonstrate our sincerity and our moral courage to Dr. Laura and the people of Paramount. "In the meantime, don't spam me either. I'm on your side, remember. If you want to see why I'm against this campaign in detail, just click on Soulforce Check out the Four Step Journey into Soulforce. Step Four summarizes the rules for nonviolent negotiation and direct action from the lives of Gandhi and King. "Or if you want to see how a nonviolent direct action works, join us on March 24 in a civil disobedience on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles at the Fox Family Channel headquarters. The history of our negotiations with Robertson and Fox and the steps leading up to this nonviolent direct action can be found at
"I'm gay. I'm proud. And God loves me (and you) without reservation! AMEN! "Mel White, Co-Chair, Soulforce, Inc." Disagreeing with the Rev. White's approach, Scott Miller, news service commentator, has addressed the gay minister: "Hi Mel, "Despite the personal heading, I realize that the email you wrote me was a generic one to those who have been advocating boycotts against Paramount. For one thing, outside of economic boycotts and sending email, I have never advocated some of the harassment tactics that your email described. "We agree about many things and I have the utmost respect for you, but we disagree strongly over this. "Where we disagree:
"Every time Dr. Laura's remarks get heard by an impressionable, questioning gay teen who may be contemplating hurting themselves over the negative gay messages that get hurled at them daily in school, violence is done. Everytime she gets heard by a homophobe who just needs a bit more affirmation that gays are genetic mistakes before he goes out and bashes one, violence is done. Every time the public hears more of the lies and distortions from NARTH and the FRC, damage is done to our struggle for civil rights. "GLAADs efforts have only stepped up Dr. Laura's attacks. 2) GLAAD initially did this with little consultation or input with the GLBT public they purport to represent. And little communication to us over what was actually being done. It has only been recently, when the threat of losing funding, support and prestige has come across loud and clear, that the tune has changed. "Don't get me wrong, GLAAD has accomplished many worthwhile things. I would not put the Dr. Laura saga at the top of that list, however. It is one thing to document the case against Dr. Laura, it is another thing for them to negotiate on behalf of a community that may not want Dr. Laura on Paramount at any cost. "This is a case where many of us in the GLBT community have chosen to speak for ourselves. GLAAD does not speak for every person in the community on every issue. We have the right and the duty to make our voices heard. 3) When it comes to Dr. Laura there is, essentially, nothing to really negotiate. This is a zero tolerance issue. Dr. Laura is one of the most dangerous homophobes on the airwaves and there is a litany of evidence to prove it. "Paramount recently expressed the following sentiment: ``We respect and believe in Dr. Laura's right to have and express her own point of view, just as we respect the individual opinions of all our talent, employees and producers.'' "Do you suppose that Paramount would issue the same statement over a planned show by David Duke or any other racist or anti-Semite? Would there ever be a planned show by a racist or anti-Semite? Of course not. "And why is that? Because those shows would not translate into big bucks. "Ask any right-wing evangelist in good standing and you learn that gay-bashing brings in the dollars. Put up a popular gay-basher like Dr. Laura and the money will roll right in. "When much of the talent you employ is gay....employees that have earned Paramount millions upon millions over the years....to allow a Dr. Laura additional access through their studios is unconscionable. "There is no room for negotiations here. We do not want Paramount to run her show. Period. "Does that mean that Dr. Laura should not have a TV perch to broadcast from? No. But let her find one that has not been built off the toil and backs of gays and lesbians. "Let her make a deal with Pat Robertson. 4) As for the contention that we need to work on Dr. Laura with negotiations and persuasion to get her to soften her stance...... "Any reading of her positions shows several blatant things. "First, she does not even admit she is a gay basher. She doesn't believe she has ever said anything bad about gays. Schlessinger is in denial on this most obvious point. "Second, any attempt over the years to even get her to soften her attacks has only caused her to get bolder and more hostile. There is a track record here. "Third, use of FRC and NARTH as major resources for information, when it is easy to discredit the veracity of virtually all of their so-called 'data' proves that she is not seeking truth here. She is using propoganda to disparage and denigrate our entire community. These are not the resource tools of somebody who seeks a rational discussion of the issues. "Fourth, she hides behind her unique interpretation of her specific brand of Judaism to imply that gayness and Jewishness are mutually exclusive. Yet another damaging untruth. "In closing, let me say that I do not call for violent acts against Paramount, but I do call for an economic boycott of their product until the show is dropped. And every time we refuse to see a movie, such as "The Next Best Thing", we should inform Paramount by phone and e-mail. "If the show goes on the air, the next step will be boycotting the advertisers of their shows. "This is the only language they understand. If a racist, or anti-Semite, or misogynist were involved, a boycott would not even be called into question and Paramount would never put out the type of mealy-mouthed statement seen above. Because they never would produce such a show. "Let's be real about this.....this is not about Paramount's concern over freedom of speech. This is about Paramount licking their chops over the huge amount of money they can make off a prominent gay-basher. "Mel, you say "Only when you know there is no hope to negotiate a settlement should you plan a massive direct action." "I say, there is nothing to negotiate. There should be no show. It is wrong to air. And it is wrong to allow such a notorious gay-basher to reach even more people and do further damage through use of Paramount's airwaves. "Scott Miller" Recommending direct action, including emailing, faxing and telephoning, Paramount, John Aravosis says: "To date we've been targeting two of Paramount Television's top executives - Frank Kelly and Kerrey McCluggage - for calls and emails. As Paramount has decided to unlist the phone number of Frank Kelly, we're now referring people's complaints to Michelle Hunt, their media relations person. "Please keep calling Paramount Chairman Kerry McCluggage at (323) 956-5076 - it's the direct line to his office. "But please also start a new round of calls to Michelle Hunt at her direct phone line 323-956-8266. fax 323-862-1323, and email michelle_hunt@paramount.com "And why not copy and paste these four paragraph into an email and send it to several friends with a copy of our Web address www.StopDrLaura.com and a message asking them to call, fax and email Paramount and demand they drop the Dr. Laura TV show." |
Washington, D.C.—John Aravosis of Wired Strategies reports that: "In its first four days of operation, the StopDrLaura.com Web site got 1.4 million hits."
