Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 18:08:49 -0800 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert - January 20, 2000 GLAADAlert January 20, 2000 The GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation 1. Military picks and pans at Los Angeles Times 2. Front-page news: Gay straight clubs 3. Gays and God Military picks and pans at the Los Angeles Times Recent editorial pages of the Los Angeles Times show just how mixed the representations and reactions to issues concerning lesbians and gay men can be, even in the same media outlet. The issue in this instance is lesbians and gay men serving openly in the U.S. military. The Jan. 11 issue contained an editorial column by contributing editor Robert Scheer. In "Gore's Right: Don't Ask, Don't Expel," referring to Vice President Al Gore's comment and later retraction that he would want to know in advance if anyone he appointed to the Joint Chiefs of Staff would support his position of allowing lesbians and gay men to serve openly, Scheer shows the fallacy of the military's discrimination by writing about Tom Dooley and Malcolm S. Forbes. Dooley was a Navy doctor honored in the 1950s and early '60s for outstanding dedication and job performance in South Vietnam by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Giovanni Cardinal Montini (who became Pope Paul VI), the University of Notre Dame and the South Vietnamese government. He was also gay and his career and life were ruined by investigations into his private life and sexual orientation. Forbes was a World War II military hero, serving in the Army and awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart. Scheer sums the whole issue up succinctly, writing: "Dooley and the elder Forbes - and there are undoubtedly many others - demonstrate that gays are fully capable of observing military discipline and performing with valor and honor. It is denigrating to their memories to deny that one can be both gay and a military hero. It is also to deny the truth: Homosexuals distinguish themselves in every aspect of American life, and it's time they be allowed to enjoy the full measure of their citizenship in this society." Two days after this worthy editorial, the Jan. 13 issue carried a not-so-worthy editorial cartoon by Michael Ramirez concerning the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. A gate guard at an Army base is shown thinking "Don't Ask, Don't Ask, Don't Ask," as he looks wide-eyed at a soldier sitting in a jeep with his arm around a sheep in a couple-like fashion. While a certain amount of leeway must be afforded satirical cartoons, this callus connecting of homosexuality and bestiality is beyond that leeway and crosses the line to defamation of a category of people. The stereotyping is blatant and reinforces lesbian and gay enlisted personnel as objects of contempt rather than as equal soldiers. Please contact the Los Angeles Times and let it know while you appreciate its inclusion of Scheer's article affirming the need for equal treatment, stress that better judgment must be used to exclude editorial cartoons that dehumanize and malign. Contact: Janet Clayton, Editorial Page Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; fax: 213-237-4712; e-mail janet.clayton@latimes.com Front-page news: Gay straight clubs The Jan. 18 issue of USA Today featured a front-page article about burgeoning high school clubs for lesbian, gay and accepting straight students. Such clubs have gone from less than 100 two years ago to more than 600 today. The sizable article, "Gay students stake their ground," covers the current climate, including schools that have allowed such clubs, ones that have not and the legal battles that have ensued. It also focuses on the recent activity at El Modena High in Orange, Calif., where the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance was blocked by the school board. The students have sued in federal court for violation of the Equal Access Act. Writer John Ritter provides a balanced article, quoting sources on both sides of the issue. More importantly, he gives the students themselves a voice to explain why they want such clubs, how they often do not feel safe at school and what types of harassment they experience. Included is a chart provided by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network that breaks down frequency and type of harassment. The chart's data are powerful arguments as to why lesbian and gay students need protection and desire clubs to help them fit in. Please thank USA Today for running this story and giving it such a prominent position (front page with a picture, a half-page jump to page two with another picture, a chart and a map). The more positive exposure this issue receives, the more chances there are for lesbian and gay students around the nation to succeed in getting what they need and deserve to have in their schools. Contact: Karen Jurgensen, Editor, USA Today, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209-3901; fax: 703-247-3100; e-mail: kjurgensen@usatoday.com Gays and God The issue of how a growing number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members are incorporating religion into their lives is the topic of "Finding Their Religion," appearing in the Jan. 1 issue of the National Journal. Writer Shawn Zeller delves into the reasons behind this trend, its support and opposition within the community to it and how anti-gay groups such as the Family Research Council are trying to downplay the movement. Zeller includes many diverse opinions voices in the article to explain the importance of religion and spirituality to the community and how groups such as Equal Partners, Dignity/USA, Affirmation and Q-Spirit fill that need. He also includes information on the activities of Rev. Mel White of Soulforce, a group practicing nonviolence and activism to change anti-gay religious organizations and leaders, and Rev. Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist minister who performed a same-sex commitment ceremony and was defrocked. Please thank the National Journal for giving its readers, many of which are involved in national politics, a much-needed reminder that members of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are not godless people outside of religion, as we are often falsely portrayed to be by anti-gay and conservative organizations. Zeller presents reality - that we are multi-faceted people interested in more than just sexuality. Contact: Michael Wright, Executive Editor, National Journal, 1501 M St., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 2005-1700; fax 202-739-8540; e-mail mwright@njdc.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. 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