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Rhodes' Attitude
Questioned
To the Editor:
"Lesbians complain there's not equal
representation with gay men; well they
should organize." So said newfound
"activist" Richard Rhodes in an interview in
the April 8th issue of ETC. Apparently Mr.
Rhodes believes his paternalism toward
lesbians will win our votes for him in his
race for the Georgia House of
Representatives.
Rhodes also characterizes the support of
women-only space as alienating. Perhaps he
forgets that out of women-only ALFA has
come some far reaching organizing,
including marching for civil rights in Selma,
Alabama; leading the gay pride march as the
oldest gay organization in town; co
sponsoring with Black and White Men
Together (BWMT) the successful passage of
the City of Atlanta anti-discrimination in
bars law; and organizing a lesbian pride
march during gay pride week of 1982.
And by the way, who is complaining?
Probably the only place lesbians do not have
"equal representation with gay men" is at the
bank, a fate suffered by all women, who still
earn only 62 cents for every one dollar
earned by men.
Rhodes said we don't vote for a gay
candidate, but for the issues. The issue here
is a man reeking of misogyny seeking the
lesbian vote because he is gay. Good luck
Richard.
As I recall, Mr. Rhodes used to go by the
name of Dick. Perhaps that's too suggestive.
cc: ETC
Sincerely,
M. P. Schildmeyer
Anti-AIDS Drugs
Story Incomplete
To the Editor:
As a PWARCI was very concerned with
some of the ommissions and errors in Terry
Francis' article in your March 29 issue
entitled "Experimental Drug Symposium."
The article did cover a large amount of the
information presented on new anti-AIDS
drugs but, there are some facts I feel
compelled to point out
The article stated that Antabuse is
available over-the-counter in this country.
Antabuse has been available for many years
as an adjunct in the treatment of alcoholism.
Due to potentially lethal side-effects when
combined with alcohol, Antabuse is
available by prescription only. The data are
not in on whether Antabuse will "boost" the
immune systems of PWAs and PWARCs.
Ampligen appears to do much more than
just stabilize the T4 cell counts as reported.
Ampligen has anti-viral capabilities as well
as immune modulating effects. Those
"clinical improvements" mentioned are
significant in and of themselves. Night
sweats as well as diarrhea abated in a
majority of pilot study participants.
Participants also reported increased levels of
energy and well-being. All of this without
toxicity at even high doses.
Toxicity is the major problem of most of
the drugs being studied. Michael Callan, a
six-year survivor of AIDS, stated that he
refused to place any toxic drugs into his
system. Few, if any, of the PWAs surviving
longer than five years have been on AZT.
Perhaps this shows how important a
consideration toxicity is. Many of the new
drugs such as DDC are even more toxic
than AZT.
Another problem is reliability of study
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data. The company producing Ribavirin
released data too early and has released
data that are highly suspect. They have
perhaps endangered Ribavirin
permanently.
Clearly, I agree with the article in that
we all must become educated medical
consumers. We must be able to make
wise, informed decisions for ourselves
and not follow blindly the advice of our
physicians. We must become active
partners in our care with our physicians.
While Southern Voice "does not
endorse any experimental therapy on
drug treatment," I think it does have a
responsibility to the community to
present accurate and thorough coverage
on AIDS issues and concerns. If, as
projected, 30,000 Georgians will
become PWAs by the mid-1990s, there
is a very large body of people who need
to know and need to know NOW.
Name Withheld by Request
Ed. Note: We appreciate your concern
and apologize for the error concerning
Antabuse. Unfortunately, space
limiations prevented a more complete
discussion of the drugs. Plans are
underway for an in-depth article in the
near future.
VanderEls'
Journal Brings
Tears, Concern
To the Editor:
I was deeply moved by the "Journal of a
Lesbian Mother" printed in your last issue.
As a lesbian mother who has been fortunate
enough to keep custody of my child, I found
myself in tears over Leigh VanderEls' loss
and the love she has for her son. And so
afraid that the same may happen to me and
my child. Our judicial system remains
uneducated and insensitive to lesbian and
gay parents, a condition that I fear will last
far beyond my years, and probably my
child's years.
I am a professional woman and I am
closeted on my job. I am also very hesitant to
tell anyone except my closest friends that I
am a lesbian, out of fear that my ex-husband
will try to take my child away. It's a very
stressful situation to be in- tom between the
desire to keep your child and the need to live
an open and honest life. I'm sure Ms.
VanderEls had a very difficult time deciding
whether or not to be open about her
lesbianism in court. It’s really a "damned if
you do, damned if you don't" situation. If
you do, you run the risk of losing your child.
And if you don’t, you have to live a lie and,
in essence, say to your child, "It's okay to lie
and deny who you are." VanderEls showed
great courage by refusing to deny who she is
and by stating she believes she is a good
parent whether she is a lesbian or not. It's a
travesty that her honesty was met with such
hate and vindictiveness by the judge.
I will be waiting to hear what happens to
Ms. VanderEls and her child at the Georgia
Supreme Court. My prayers will be with
them.
Is there any way I can contact Ms.
VanderEls? I cannot print my name because
I am afraid that my employer, or fellow
employees or my ex-husband may see this.
Thanks for any information you can give me
-Name Witheld By Request
Ed. Note: You can write to: Leigh
VanderEls Legal Defense Fund, PO Box
8534, Atlanta, Ga. 30306.
SNAAC for
Thought
To the Editor:
I am writing on behalf of the Simon Nkodi
Anti-Apartheid Committee (SNAAC). For
the last two years, SNAAC has been
working to raise awareness about the
struggle against apartheid in South Africa
among Canada’s lesbian and gay
communities. Specifically, we have worked
to publicize the case of Simon Nkodi, a
black gay activist jailed in South Africa for
anti-apartheid activities.
As you may know, Nkodi was arrested in
June, 1984 and held until his release on bail
in July, 1987. He and other activists known
as the Vaal 22 were finally brought to trial
on treason charges in January 1986.
Although Nkodi and most of the others are
now free on bail, the trial continues and is
expected to go on for at least another year.
Although they are no longer in prison, the
defendants must attend all the proceedings
five days a week, report to the police daily
and their movement is severely restricted.
These requirements mean they are unable to
work to support themselves and must depend
on the generosity of their friends and
supporters to subsist.
Simon's family and friends are not
wealthy. In light of this difficult situation,
SNAAC has committed itself to making
direct contributions to Simon's support We
have pledged to send a minimum of S100
per month until the trial concludes and he
can return to work.
We are counting on you and other
members of the community to help us meet
this commitment. Rites has generously
agreed to let us contact you directly to make
this request.
Please make your cheques payable to
SNAAC and indicate that your donation
should be directed to the Support Campaign.
If you would like to make a series of
contributions, postdated cheques will be
gladly accepted. All funds will be forwarded
directly to Simon in South Africa.
If all of us pull together, we can help
Simon through this difficult period. The
support that we show for Simon will be an
important contribution to both the struggle
against apartheid and racism and the struggle
for gay liberation.
Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Tim McCaskcll
The Simon Nkodi Anti-Apartheid
Committee
Post Office Box 65, Station F
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 2L4, CANADA
Quote of the
Month
"The Civil Rights Restoration Act would
force churches to hire active homosexual
drug addicts with AIDS to be a teacher or a
youth pastor."
-Moral Majotity leader Jerry Falwell, in a
telephone and mail blitz attempting to sway
Congress to support Ronald Reagan's veto
of the landmark Civil Rights Restoration
Act. FalwelTs strategy - and Reagan's last
minute lobbying - did not succeed. The veto
was easily overridden by Congress, thus
approving legislation that prohibits
recipients of any federal funds from
violating anti-discrimination laws.
According to reports in the Boston Globe,
some of the bill's strongest opponents
discounted Falwell's argument, claiming
the bill does not guarentee civil rights
protection on the basis of sexual
orientation.
-Reprinted from the Gay Community News
Viewpoints is part of a continuimg effort to provide a forum for our community. We invite your
ideas, comments and feelings and your responses to ideas expressed in this space.
The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not neccesarily represent the views of
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Mail to:
Southern Voice/Viewpoints, PO Box 54719, Atlanta, Georgia, 30308
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