Badpuppy Gay Today |
Monday, 22 September 1997 |
Table of Contents:
1. GLAADAlert Follow-Up: Hate Mongering Radio Host Hit With Hate (KBRT-AM (local radio station), Crawford Broadcasting (broadcasting company), Federal Communications Commission (regulating commission) 2. Ford Exec Makes For Good Fortune (Fortune (magazine) 3. Miami Herald's Positive Outlooks (Miami Herald (newspaper) 4. "Goo-goo buster" Goes Ga-ga For Intolerance (San Antonio Express-News (newspaper) 5. Woonsocket Call For Moving Into the 20th Century (Woonsocket Call (newspaper) New Mexico Radio Station Comes Out With Frequency (KUNM-FM, 89.9 (local radio station) 7. Dr. Drew and Adam JUMP on "The Bare Facts" (JUMP (magazine), Lovelines (advice show) 1. GLAADAlert Follow-Up: Hate Mongering Radio Host Hit With Hate As reported in last week's GLAADAlert, on the August 29 show of Crosstalk on Christian-owned KBRT-AM in Costa Mesa, California, host Rich Agozino suggested that homosexuality should be punishable by death. According to his interpretation of the Bible, Agozino said that, "Lesbian love [and] sodomy are viewed by God as being detestable and abominable....Civil magistrates are to put people to death who practice these things." He also urged listeners and callers to write to state legislators calling for laws that would sentence lesbians and gay men to death. Since Agozino announced his execution-style morality, KBRT-AM reports that it has been besieged by a torrent of criticism, including, unfortunately, a bomb threat. GLAAD opposes violence as a means of voicing dissent against intolerance and bigotry, even when a media outlet advocates violence against lesbians and gay men. However, the harassment felt by KBRT-AM and Agozino will hopefully give them a greater perspective on the threats and attacks lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people suffer daily due to the hostile environment people like Agozino create. Write the station manager at KBRT-AM and Don Crawford, owner of the station, reminding them that its acts of hatred foments deep fear in the lesbian and gay community, and promotes violence against lesbians and gay men in Orange County. In addition, consider filing a complaint with the FCC. Contact: Don Crawford, Owner/President, Crawford Broadcasting, P.O. Box 3003, Blue Bell, PA 19422, phone: 215.628.3500, fax: 215.628.0818; Ed Personius, Station Manager, KBRT-AM, 3183 Airway Avenue, Suite D, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, fax: 714.754.0735; Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 1919 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20554, phone for AM Radio Complaint Division: 202.418.2795, e-mail address for complaints: fccinfo@fcc.gov. 2. Ford Exec Makes For Good Fortune The September 8 issue of Fortune magazine features "My Life As A Gay Executive," a powerful personal reflection by openly gay former Ford Chief Financial Officer Allan Gilmour. In the introduction, Fortune writes, "Gays and lesbians who aspire to top corporate jobs find they must leave their sexual orientation at home because disclosure could injure their careers....How Gilmour's [closeted] homosexuality affected his success at Ford can only be guessed at," noting he was passed over for CEO twice even though he was the candidate of the outgoing CEOs. Gilmour describes his own slow discovery of his sexual orientation, and explains that he understands why corporations avoid openly gay hires from high-profile jobs: "Companies don't want executive personality being discussed; they want the products to be discussed." As he began to attend more gay events, he "was concerned about general chitchat or rumors. Being gay complicated my life," he says. While still closeted, he became connected to the community by establishing a trust for lesbian and gay causes under a different name, and visited gay places like San Francisco and Provincetown. "Seeing how gay people lived and played in places like this would surprise people who are anti-gay. Our world is not that much different from the straight world," he says. "What worried me most about coming out was the effect on Ford," he admits. "I was afraid of being a diversion away from the business of Ford. I'd be a lightning rod. I was also afraid in a personal sense that I would be marginalized." He discusses how after he retired, he came out, and how he supports nondiscrimination policies and domestic partnership policies at corporations. He also notes that "some companies will want to be leaders in eliminating homophobia and in providing fully equal treatment for gays and lesbians. The last acceptable prejudice is one too many. Yes, companies are in business to succeed and prosper, but discrimination and intolerance are never good business." In the traditionally conservative world of blue-chip companies and financial media, Fortune's inclusion of a lengthy and candid discussion by Gilmour serves to open doors and minds in corporate America. Please thank Fortune for publishing this solid and intimate article on Gilmour and the corporate closet. Contact: John Huey, Managing Editor, Fortune, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY 10020-13931, fax: 212.765.2699, e-mail: fortun letters@pathfinder.com, feedback form on WWW: http://pathfinder.com/boards/fortune. 3. Miami Herald's Positive Outlooks As a part of Outlooks, a new regular Miami Herald column about "gay and lesbian life in South Florida," openly gay Herald staff writer Steve Rothaus wrote a September 18 article, "Community makes political efforts challenging for gays and lesbians." Comparing the political dynamism of San Francisco with the struggling efforts of over two decades to try to pass a Dade County human-rights ordinance, Rothaus notes, "A big difference between Dade and San Francisco, according to Jorge Mursuli, co-chairman of Safeguarding American Values for Everyone, Dade's leading gay-rights group: 'In Miami, you have a very intolerant Latin community. I think it's unfair to stereotype any community, but in this case, I think the majority of leaders in the Hispanic community clearly communicate intolerant behavior or take intolerant positions,' said Mursuli, who is Cuban American. Another major reason many Dade gays don't get involved politically, said Mursuli: They live in the same town as their relatives." Rothaus also spoke with lesbian activist Sue Sponnoble, who he quotes, "'We need to learn how to bridge cultural gaps. I would ask that the Latin and Latina people in our community work together to do from the grassroots up community education. Is it painful? Absolutely. But we must be in control of our own lives.'" So far, other Outlook articles by rotating columnists Dorothy Atcheson, Johnny Diaz, Nancy Murrell and Rothaus have included a discussion of fundraising challenges for community churches, cyberspace, school support groups and issues in naming one's partner. Please commend the Miami Herald for what promises to be an outstanding regular column exploring our multi-faceted community. Contact: Larry Olmstead, Managing Editor, Miami Herald, One Herald Plaza, Miami, Florida 33132-1693, fax: 305.376.8950, e-mail: heraldedit@aol.com. 4. "Goo-goo buster" Goes Ga-ga For Intolerance As artists, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and other San Antonians in favor of fostering cultural expression reel in shock after the local City Council unanimously voted to slash funding for local arts by 15 percent, targeting lesbian and gay artists and events, San Antonio Express-News columnist Roddy Stinson's September 13 article reveals the intolerant sentiment behind the move. Stinson begins his column by presenting a "Goo-Goo Busters" award to the San Antonio City Council, for bringing the city's arts budget "back to basics." He then goes on to decry previous use of the city's funds and singles out the sexual orientation of one of the lesbian artists. All of the examples he uses to illustrate the "courage" displayed by the Council's move are women of color artists, two out of the four included are identified as lesbian. He takes program notes out of context, using them much like Sen. Jesse Helms used the late Robert Mapplethorpe's art as a straw dog for attacking the lesbian and gay community. He defines all art which does not suit his particular taste as "goo-goo" or irrelevant and defines lesbian and gay artists as "cultural elitists who believe tax payers owe them a living." All that lesbian and gay artist are asking for is to not be singled out and denied funding solely on the basis of their sexual orientation and identity. In an interesting side note, the U.S. Senate recognized that arts funding is vital to an intelligent and engaged society when it voted to maintain the National Endowment for the Arts last week. Please write to the San Antonio News-Express and tell them that Roddy Stinson's column makes very clear that the reason he is so happy about gutting the arts in San Antonio is not fiscal, it's simply bigoted. Also, let the San Antonio City Council know that the value of art should not be determined based on the sexual orientation of either the artist nor the content of the work. Doing is so is homophobic. Contact: Robert Rivard, Managing Editor, San Antonio Express-News , PO Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297-2171, fax: 210.225.8351, e-mail: lburkett@express-news.net; City of San Antonio City Council, PO Box 839966, San Antonio, TX 78283-3966, fax: 210.207.7027, e-mail: Howard W. Peak (Mayor) hpeak@ci.sat.tx.us Roger Flores, II rflores@ci.sat.tx.us Mario Salas msalas@ci.sat.tx.us Debra Guerrero debrag@ci.sat.tx.us Raul Prado rprado@ci.sat.tx.us Rick Vasquez rvasquez@ci.sat.tx.us Jose Menendez jmedendez@ci.sat.tx.us Ed Garza egarza@ci.sat.tx.us Robert Marbut rmarbut@ci.sat.tx.us Tim Bannwolf tbannwolf@ci.sat.tx.us Jeff S. Webster jwebster@ci.sat.tx.us. 5. Woonsocket Call For Moving Into the 20th Century Responding to the recent bizarre enforcement by North Smithfield, Rhode Island, police of a nineteenth-century sodomy statue against "abominable and detestable acts against nature," a September 10 Woonsocket Call editorial illuminates the absurdity of the situation. "The embarrassing and avoidable chain of events that ended with members of the gay community protesting the North Smithfield Police Department is the result of social inertia--the strange but paralyzing principle that stops us from fixing things that are broken," it begins. After a man was robbed by a man he was having sex with at a highway weigh station, he reported the incident to police and found himself arrested. "We have to give the theft victim some credit for having the chutzpah to tell police all the details," the editorial says. "We also figure the victim never imagined he would end up in jail for...a 19th century statute...punishable by seven to 20 years in prison even if you are a consenting adult. Bottom line, the victim also became the perpetrator under a law that clearly has not kept up with the times. This is what happens when the rules are vague. The result: Victims become suspects, laws become a sword and a shield and the public is left scratching its collective head. Alice in Wonderland never had it so good." Please comment the Woonsocket Call for this thoughtful and biting editorial highlighting the absurdity and discriminatory nature of sodomy law. Contact: Karen A. Bordeleau, Managing Editor, Woonsocket Call, 75 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895, fax: 401.765.2834. 6. New Mexico Radio Station Comes Out With Frequency On National Coming Out Day, October 11, public radio station KUNM 89.9 FM in New Mexico will feature an entire day's worth of programming focusing on lesbian and gay issues, people and music. Locally produced shows will address topics such as gay marriage, parenting and politics and issues within the Hispanic and Jewish lesbian and gay communities. In addition, interviews will feature lesbian and gay luminaries Urvashi Vaid and Michaelangelo Signorile. The "Folk Music USA" show will focus on lesbian and gay folk musicians, and the day will end with a planned disco dance party. October is both Lesbian & Gay History Month and houses National Coming Out Day. Thank KUNM for their programming honoring our community an encourage our local stations to do the same. Contact: Richard Towne, General Manager, KUNM-FM, 89.9, Onate Hal, UNM, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1011, fax: 505.277.8016. 7. Dr. Drew and Adam JUMP on The Bare Facts The premiere issue (September/October) of a young women's magazine called JUMP features, as it says, "Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla--those totally smart, sensitive guys from the nationally syndicated radio and MTV show Loveline" giving some mixed advice to a girl who thinks her female best friend is hitting on her. "Help! Sometimes I can't tell if my best friend is just being affectionate or if she is trying to make a move on me. Am I an uptight goof or should I say something to her?" asks Bethany of Madison, WI. Dr. Drew explains to her that "everyone deals with public and private displays of affection in different ways," so to tell her friend she is uncomfortable with this level of touching. Adam suggests "you talk to her about how much you like that guy in Trig class or say something like, 'How alien was that Ellen episode a few months ago, anyway? Could you imagine?' The reaction you get from her--confusion, agreement, dismay--will give you a much better idea of where she's coming from." He allows that, "There are more direct ways you can ask her about what's going on without offending her or losing her friendship. The most important thing is honesty." Just as with their comments about lesbian, gay and bisexual issues on Loveline, the sensitivities of Dr. Drew and Adam here are something of a mixed bag (see GLAADAlert 2/21/97). While Dr. Drew's advice made sense, Adam, in an attempt to be funny or frank, at first suggests essentially that Bethany say something to alienate her friend in case she is either bisexual or lesbian. If, as Adam later suggests, "The most important thing is honesty," then why not suggest Bethany simply openly discuss issues of sexual orientation with her friend? While it is a good sign of things to come that JUMP included a question about sexual orientation in its first issue, both Dr. Drew and Adam Carolla have sometimes elicited views on lesbian, gay and bisexual matters that were neither "totally smart" nor "sensitive." Let JUMP know that their inclusion of Bethany's question is appreciated and that you look forward to more lesbian and bisexual young women's issues and stories in the future. Also, caution JUMP that while sometimes Dr. Drew and Adam give sage advice on sexual orientation, it can sometimes also be entirely off the mark. Contact: Lori Berger, Editor-n-Chief, JUMP, 21100 Erwin Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, fax: 818.716.5626, e-mail: letters@jumponline.com ________________________________________________________________________ The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation in the media as a means of challenging homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. Listen to GLAADAlert on GLO Radio at www.gloradio.com!! Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ________________________________________________________________________ |
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