Newspaper Page Text
Page 6 - The BARB, September 1,1977
Dear Readers, i
At this unlikely time, let me introduce
myself. Editing the BARB for three
months now, I have managed to keep a low
profile and begin to accustom myself to the
“big city.”
Unlike Bill Smith, who has been the
BARB for the past couple of years, I have
not been “politically involved.” 1 have no
contacts downtown. But I do realize that if
significant gains are to be made for gay
people, change isjgoingho require political
action.
Political action. Like the 1st Tuesday
Democratic Club’s city Council candidate
forum. Not only can we find out which
ones are okay and which are the stinkers,
we also flex a political muscle. “Hey
candidate, what do you have to say to the
fifteen per bent of this city’s voters who are
gay?” This is the kind of local action that
goes a long way toward getting an anti-
discrimination ordinance and leads to a
national gay rights act.
Political action. Like the anti-Anita
protest...even though, we got stood up.
The Gay Rights Alliance did a good job on
short notice of organizing a demonstration
that was orderly, spirited and effective.
The three major television news teams
were there as well as the papers. We
cannot allow the American people to forget
us. “We are vour children.”
Editor’s Noteboolt
People like Frank Shereun, Gil Robison,
Linda Regnier, Victor Host and Bill Smith
are working through the System to effect
change for all the gay community. Georgia
Gay Alliance, M.C.C. Dignity and
Integrity are dynamic groups which are
working in various ways toward making
Atlanta a nicer place to be gay.
While I am not an active member of any
of these organizations, I consider their
activities important to all the BARB’s
readers. This kind of information as well
as relevant national news and indepth
features all go to make a good newspaper.
And a good newspaper is something I want
to see the BARB be.
Not that I want to disparage the en
tertainment section. After all, as gay
people we have a reputation of being very
involved in the ^artistic and entertainment
world. Just as the morning daily has to'
have a sports section and advice to the
lovelorn, I see a place for the “news of the
night” in the BARB also.
The object of all this was to let you know
“where I’m at” and where I want to go.
Now I’d'like to invite you, the readers to do
the same for me.
What do you think of the BAPJB? What
do you like about it? What do yo l not like?
What would you change...and v ny?
The BARB is growing. New blood, you
could say. And right now your letters are
important. You’ll soon be seeing ustwice-a
month. You may hot recognize us* but
we’ll be there.
Gary Poe, editor
P.S. Write soon.
Dear Editor,
Here in Nashville, there have been a!
number of violent crimes lately. It’s
not so much the increase in crimes that
alarms people, but the nature of the;
crimes. Last month, for example, a
highly respected Nashville engineering
executive shot and killed, his wife, tried
to kill his son, and finally killed himself
as a second son ran for help.
This is only one example In addition
to specific cases of local and national'
notoriety, front page coverage has been
given to the high incidence of wife
beating, child abuse and rape What;
bothers me most, however, is not the;
incidence nor the nature of the crimes,'
but the double standard applied to cover-*
age of crimes involving heterosexuals!
and those involving homo sexual a
Last fafi, a minister in the Middle
Tennessee community of Winchester was
charged with exploiting young boys by!
making them part of a nationwide
pornography ring His crime im
mediately became’a homosexual one
But why wasn’t the crime of "famil-
icide” considered a heterosexual one?
Why isn’t wife beating, now occurring
in 50% of the nation’s heterosexual
marriages, considered a heterosexual
crime? And certainly rape should be
considered a heterosexual crime.
Anita Bryant has appointed herself
the guardian of a rigid, paranoid, sex
ually hung-up society - from all in
dications, the most hung-up in the
western world And one of her soul
mates, a Nashville Baptist minister
trying to save us from the evils of
ABC’s!upcoming "Soap”, has called
homosexuality a tragedy. A tragedy?
Quite the contrary. The tragedy lies;
in their malevolence,, in their inability^
to see the* beauty and health of free
choice, hi their inability to see the beauty
emanating from the gay world The
tragedy lies in a heterosexual world
which still adheres to a puritan ethic
once responsible for the burning of
witches. The tragedy lies in their het
erosexual, male-dominated power
structure which oppresses anyone and
anything construed to be a threat
Blacks, Orientals, Indians, women,
homosexuals, "hippies,**, communists,
to name a few. The tragedy lies in
conformity, in stereotyping, in myths
like the vaginal orgasm and machismo,
in procreation carried out in the name
of vanity and reinforced through abuse
The tragedy lies in their abnegation’
of human rights.
When I was a child in Chicago during
the forties and fifties, the Black com
munity, still far from the threshhold*
of equality, launched an awareness cam
paign against the Black-White double;
standard In those days, headlines!
always denoted the race of Black crim- f
inals ("Negro Rapes Socialite”).
Finally, the Black newsp apers
countered by denoting the race of White >
criminals.’
I propose a similar and massive/effort
on the part of the gay community to I
label heterosexual crimes (and, by the;
same token, ignore heterosexual accom- j
plishments) for what they are, thereby
granting them the same credit they give
us. Rapists should be labeled "hetero-,
sexual” when appropriate, along with.
wife beaters, child abusers and mur-l
derers. / No newspaper today!
could escape the wrath of or litigation ,
by the Black community if its headlines t
identified race. Yet, in July, our papers!
carried the headline that two trans-.
sexuals (weren’t they people?) had been,
murdered. /
Currently, we are caught in a backlash;
of hatred and paranoia paralleled, in!
my lifetime, only by the McCarthy Era !
We are scapegoats - 1977’s Salem!
Witches. All our "dirt” will be ex-j
plotted while our accomplishments are!
ignored The beauty of my love life,
will be overlooked in favor of attacks;
on the danger of my being a teacher.
Consequently, while we carry on an!
active fight for civil liberties, we must
also wage a subtle - and not so subtle -
awareness campaign for a more
equitable press. It is high time the Anita
Bryants of the nation realized thatpeople
who live In gl ass houses shouldn’t throw
stones. It it, imperative that the gay
Community not let itself be maligned by a 1
majority community, seeking a scape- 1 '
goat for its own violent problems and
myriad sexual frustrations.
Laura Hoffman
Publisher's Perspective
The telephone rang, waking me from a,
fitful sleep. The caller was Robbie
Llewellyn. We had hot spoken since
before his arrest and triaL It was odd
that we talked casually as if nothing
had happened He sounded cheerful He
spoke of his hope that he would be
vindicated and set free j listened in
tently. Those knawing fears raced
through my mind again: "perhaps the
jury was wrong” A horrible event
compounded by the conviction of the
wrong man. I returned the receiver to
its cradle and lay back on the pillows
of my bed
For two weeks I had been a prisoner
in my own room Confined to bed, my
doctor would not let me get up for smother
week I felt trapped, helpless. I thought
of how Robbie felt Even if pair ole was
possible, many years of confinement
lay sdiead of him...confinement more
regimented and cruel than my short
"doctor ordered” exile.
As sleep slowly returned, my mind
wandered over the gamut of emotions.
I saw his sister’s face at the trial’s end
the things she said..the bitterness...the
fight for composure...the hours waiiting
to testify...sitting and chatting with a
woman I respected, yet who would
contradict my testimony in court..the
cloying anger amd pity as Mrs. Winokur
approached me with the life story of her
son on her lips. Sleep finally came as
did the dawn The tiredness was gone,
but the emotions, the feelings were still
there
We reported all of the facts on the
Llewellyn triad that we had Two news
airtides, a summary feature amd one
editorial were devoted .to the trial This
will be the fifth article dealing with the
Llewellyn cause More may be written
amd other publications may deal with
this "news.”
Richard Kavanaugh has broken the
silence on the Robbie Llewellyn case by
Now there are two editions of Gayellow Pages.
The National Edition includes listings for the
entire United States as well as Canada.
Published November and May; $5 third class
mail, $6 first class mail; outside North
America $7.
The quarterly NYC/NJ Edition covers New
York City, Long Island, and New Jersey.
Features include bar and cruising notes.
$1.50; $2 by mail.
GAYELLOW BUSES
p rinting an advertisement in Cruise mag- ]
azina The ad, placed by Lloyd Russell,
asks several questions which, un
answered, only add to the confusion
and rumor surrounding the case
Though we have no exclusive on news, |
I fed that during the past three years j
our staff has learned how to deal with;
news from an objective viewpoint Wei
hope that other publications will at least
follow our lead on that point
It is extremely difficult to remain ob
jective in the Llewellyn case He was
too dose to us. We felt our reports
were unbiased. We have consdentiously
avoided the rumors, the gossip spawned
in the aftermath of the trial Speculation
will always exist as long as humans
,have the ability to communicate We
have talked with all the parties involved
We fed that Mr. Kavanaugh and Mr.
Russd have made their points. While
the pages of the BARB are always
open to companion or opposing (pin
ions, we fed that it is important that
Robbie Llewellyn answer the questions
raised by the Cruise ad We have
invited Robbie Llewellyn to answer those
questions and give us an interview on
his case. He has tenativdy agreed to
do so and pending the approval of his
lawyers, that reply and interview will
appear in the September 15 issue of
the BARR
We do not wish to divide our community
by raising this subject Our community
can make great strides if we work to
gether. We do not wish to gloss over
the seriousness of the charges of which
Robbie Llewellyn has been found guilty.
But we do wish to remind our readt rs,
our community, that the
state is now exacting its
punishment upon him. To
ask for more “blood” seems
unnecessary and vindictive.
Mrs. DeBoard and her
daughter have suffered with
their son and brother. Their
burden is heavy; their bit
terness as understandable as
that of the Winokurs.
The questions now raised
must be answered. We hope
that once answered we can
return to the task of building
our community together in
h armony and strength.
Pick up a copy from your local bookstore or
order direct from Renaissance House, Box
292B, Village Station, New York, New York
10014.
There is absolutely no charge for a basic
Gayellow Pages entry. Write for an
application form.
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