Newspaper Page Text
“Although the American
Psychiatric Association now says
homosexuality is riot a disorder,
an overwhelming number of
scientists disagree with the
APA’s de'cision.” And went on to
document suposedly negative
effects of homosexuality. It gave
no documentation as to just who
the “overwhelming number of
scientists” were.
Smith: Most “scientists” have
no qualification to judge on the
health of homosexuality anyway.
What does a physicist or chemist
know about it? As for Graham,
you have to expect that kind of
thing in his Column; it’s an ex
pression of homophobia and I
wouldn’t want to just repress it.
The Journal-Constitution has a
long history of suppressing gay
news and it won’t change fast.
They fired Charlie St. John,
shortly after he was appointed to
the Atlanta Community Relations
Commission, the first open gay
person to be appointed to a
governmental agency by a major
Southern city . At the saine time,
the police also raided his apar
tment on a “search for drugs”
while anybody who knew Charlie
was aware that he didn’t touch
drugs at all, didn’t even allow
people to smoke in his apartment.
We’ll be sending out a letter
soon to local press and TV
requesting meetings, and the
work will take time, stretching
over several months.
Bird: Are you working with
gays on a national level to change
the press’s attitude? I noticed in
Continued on Page 12
DOWN WITH APATHY
By Marty Cochran
If there is one thing we
should detest the most in our
present social order, it is apathy.
There has been’far too much of it
in our entire American Society
and especially in our Gay com
munity. As your president, I get
all sorts of feedback from the
community, most positive, some
negative and the most disturbing
feedback of apathy or in
difference. The most typical
response to the Gay Christian
movement is “Are you kidding,
what difference does, it make,
one’s sexual preferance that is.
Why should gays group together
as Christians. They are no dif
ferent than anyone else.”
There in lies the big fallacy,
although we can fit into the,total
spectrum of society, we most
definitely do have differences.
Whether people, straight or Gay,
want to admit it or not, there is a
definite ‘ Gay sub-culture, with
definite needs and goals.
Estimates put the population of
the Gay Community in. metro
Atlanta around the 200,000 mark.
Recently, one of our members
answered the challenge of a critic
as to why should there be a
Dignity Atlanta. Although
oversimplified, the answer was
well put, “simply because we
are!” This is where my conviction
begins. I personally feel that it is
not Christian to be apathetic. I
can not say that I am doing my
very best if I am satisfied to let
the mistreatment and persecution
of Gays,continue, by .the,attitudes
of a misinformed “straight”
Editors Note: “Down With Apathy” is a reprinted from the
Dignity/Atlanta Newsletter,
majority. As Christians, it is our
duty to let them know that there is
life and growth in Dignity Atlanta
as well as MCC and many other
organizations-that we don’t have
a bunch of people sitting around
resting on their laurels, but a
•group of Christians who are
involved.
You ask, “How can Dignity -
Atlanta , help defeat the apathy
that we encounter around us?”
We must get the Gay community
moving; we must not be satisfied
LETTERS
Dear Editor:
Sorry to be so late ' in
acknowledging your car d which you
enclosed in the first issue of The _<■
Barb. As you may remember, I
am the prisoner who you said youi
would send the complimentary
subscription to. I have indeed
received two issues of The Barb
and can’t begin to tell how very
much 1 enjoyed them. T would
have acknowledged y° ur gif*
before' now but times are hectic
here. In ‘73 the mairi prisori was
completly destroyed by a riot. I
transferred over here to the
reformatory to get away from the
radical rioters and last week the
wee darlin’s here decided they
wanted a riot of their own. It was
nipped in the bud and nothing
much came of it, but it did mean;
that we were all locked up and
communications with the outside
were curtailed for awhile.
until every Gay person nas the
opportunity to fully express
himself as an accepted spiritual
being as well as a first class
citizen of this country. .
There are several areas in
which we as Christians can defeat
apathy. First of all, we must show
responsibility. We can’t just
storm through Catholic
churches with snouts and
signs of “Gay is Great and Gay icT
Continued on page 14.
Sp, now that I am again able to
write letters, let me say again
how much I enjoy your
newspaper. I think it is fantastic!!
The. only other gay paper I’ve
ever seen is the Gay Liberator,
and while the Liberator is fine in
it’s own sense, The Barb is much
more campy and entertaining! ! ! I
am 31 years old and have been
locked up for about 10 years now.
When i was on the outside it was _
almost unheard or to set ga^
newspapers, so you can un
derstand how much of a. giant
leap I see in. the gay movement
from your, paper. I can hardly
believe gay issues has progressed
so rapidly. :
If' there is ever anything I can
do for you, just drop me a line and
I will give it a hop, skip and a
jump to do it if I can. I’m a firm
believer in gay folks helping and
standing by each. other. Unfor
tunately, these 3 life sentences
I’m serving don’t leave much foi
me to do, but perhaps I can dc
something some day!
Editor’s Notebook
The June issue of the Great
Speckled Bird contained a lengthy
interview concerning my thoughts
on Atlanta based alternative
newspaper that has received
frequent national recognition.
Their coverage of the civil rights
efforts of gay pebble has im
proved greatly.
The interview was prompted by
the controversy surrounding a
series of articles on gay life styles
in Atlanta published in the
Atlanta Journal. After reading it
several times I felt that reprinting
it here in the Editor’s Notebook
would be appropriate. fhe in
terview tells you a little bit about
my part in the local sence in
Atlanta. It also says a great deal
about my general view of political
idealogies for the gay movement.
The article represented below
appeared in the June 12, 1975
issue of The Great Speckled Bird.
Interviewing for The Bird was
Bob Hippier.
Bird: What was your personal
reaction to the Journal-
Constitution articles, and what
has the Atlanta Gay Coalition
done since then to educate the
media?
Smith: The articles in the
Journal-Constitution didn’t
describe broad rarige of ex
periences possible for a gay in
Atlanta* They dealt far too much
with the sensational and negative
aspects of gay life.
The thing that gpt a lot of us off
our asses was the realization that
these articles as poor as they
were, were the best that had been.
written about the local gay scene
in the media. Something had to
be done to set up contracts with
tne meuia and improve the
treatment we were getting.
Since we held the press con
ference the Journal-Constitution
seems to have improved their
coverage of gays to some extent.
For instance, they ran a couple of
stories covering the sergeant in
Florida who came out openly as a
gay and wants to stay in the Navy.
Bird: They’re still running
negative stuff, though. A recent
Billy Graham column they ran
said, “Homosexuality is a per
version...it is clearly the product
of a reprobate mind.” The same
week, their science writer,
Charles ' Seabrook said,
The .Barb is published monthly by ,, ^yertising Representatives:
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Barb management.
Editor Bill Smith
Associate Editor .. Richard Evans Lee
Telephone (404) 874-3232
Barb Staff:
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ploy *
amongst the STARS*
* Daisy Dalton
*Mic key Day
*Samantha
*R.C. Cola
SHOWTIME..10:30
Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches
Annual Conference
Dallas-July 29th - August 3rd ,
Guest Speakers:
Massachusetts State Representative:
Elaine Noble
Theologian, Author:
Norman Phtenger
Adolphus Hotel - Dallas Texas - July 29th - August 3rd
For more information contact your local
Metropolitan Community Church