Letter from Mel White to All, 2/27/95 Brothers and Sisters, This letter comes to you from a grateful friend in Cell 276, Isolation Block, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Your cards, letters, and e-mail hard copies are delivered to me almost every day through the food slot in my thick steel door. And though no solid food has come through that slot for 14 days, I have gorged on your thoughtful, loving letters. After a deputy sheriff opens and inspects each piece (now averaging 70 each day), I'm left to sit on my steel bunk, read your messages, and thank God for my good fortune. What a great and rapidly growing family we are. With all our faithful friends and determined supporters who are heterosexual, we can't see ourselves as just the lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and gay community anymore. The letters neatly stacked under my bunk come from P-Flag members and other parents, friends and family who support our just cause with energy and courage. They come from various open and affirming churches and synagogues and other clergy and laity who refuse to let anyone try to limit God's love for all Her children. And they come from just plain Americans who are tired of the extremist rhetoric, sick of the discrimination, and determined to help end the suffering. Of course, the letters that invariably move me the most are from people who are just taking their first, brave, tentative steps out of the closet. I'm so proud of you. Don't waste any time looking back. Life is just beginning. Welcome home! What's going on? Many of you have asked me to catch them up on what's happening in Virginia Beach. On February 15, Pat Robertson ordered the police to arrest me for 'trespassing' as 12 local religious leaders and I were approaching CBN Center to make an appointment to see Pat. For 20 months I've been trying to reach him: First, for a private, off- the-record conversation. Second, with 2-3 Christian friends. Third, with 12 leaders of the religious community. Pat refused each request. This 3-step approach to resolving our differences is commanded by Jesus himself (Matthew 18:15-17). When I was arrested, we were simply following step 3 of Jesus' plan. Why do you want to see Pat Robertson? I wrote Pat Robertson's book 'America's Dates with Destiny.' I know the man personally and feel an obligation to try to help him understand the terrible consequences of his false and inflammatory rhetoric. All my experience and all my research says that the ugly and untrue charges lead directly to discrimination, suffering and death. I don't want to argue about his interpretation of those six biblical passages. I just want to show the data about hate crimes against us and how his rhetoric may incite those crimes. Do you think Pat Robertson will change? Martin Luther King, Jr., said that love demands he believe that 'Bull' Conner, the racist policeman in Birmingham, could become an integrationist. I believe Pat could change. It took me 30 years to accept my sexual orientation as one of God's great gifts. If I could change, so can Pat. Gandhi says truth, by itself, has an amazing power. King adds, truth presented in love will bring in the beloved community. Why are you still in jail? If I paid the $50 fine, it would imply guilt. And I am not guilty. CBN is God's property, not Pat's. And if I posted the $1000 bond, I would have to promise to stay away from CBN. Why are you fasting? As a part of nonviolent resistance to untruth, fasting is a way to protest. I am protesting Pat's misleading rhetoric and his refusal to discuss it with me. As a part of our Judeo-Christian heritage, fasting is a way to pray. I am praying that God will change Pat's heart, that he will see us, and that he will acknowledge and condemn the hate crimes against gay and lesbian people. How long do you plan to fast? If Pat will agree to meet with us to discuss the suffering of God's gay and lesbian children, I will end my fast, pay my fine, and hopefully go home to Gary, my family, and friends. (A Class 1 Misdemeanor here in Virginia could mean up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine). Until Pat agrees to meet with us, I must continue to fast. What can we do to help? Write or fax Pat (with courtesy and love.) Ask him to see me "to discuss the suffering of God's gay and lesbian children." Tell him your own story. Send newspaper stories of hate crimes against us. (c/o CBN Center, 977 Centerville Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. Fax (804) 579-2775). Write me here in jail. Your very encouraging letters are being shared with our growing team of volunteers. (James Melville White, P.O. Box 6098, Virginia Beach, VA 23456 or e-mail to NewLifeMCC@AOL.COM). Send funds to help the volunteers pay their mounting costs. Pat has a giant budget with endless media resources. We have you! (Bearing Witness, c/o New Life MCC/Fast Fund, P.O. Box 1026, Norfolk, VA 23501). Alert your local media (newspapers, radio, TV). The national media isn't taking this seriously, yet. Call (804) 480-8612 or (804) 543-2460 for the full story including letters, newspaper stories, press releases. One last thing. I am trying to stand against Pat's false charges by taking this stand. Every time you come out to a person in your life, you are taking your own stand against the false charges Pat and the others make against us. Come out, come out whoever you are and we will stand together. What about prayer? Shouldn't we be praying? I've never prayed harder or with more focus than during these last two weeks in solitary confinement. First, I pray for Pat. Remember, he, too, is a victim of misinformation. Pray that somehow we can turn him around with the truth. Second, I pray for our community. Our activists, God bless them, are tired. Act-up has fought the good fight for people with AIDS and they're still fighting it. The Lesbian Avengers are protesting in wild and wonderful ways. NGLTF is doing spectacular grassroots organizing against this endless stream of initiatives, referenda, and amendments that flow out of Pat's rhetoric. HRCF represents us with skill and commitment in the 104th Congress (God help them.) Victory Fund is working hard to raise funds to support local, state and national candidates who are running against the anti- gay rights candidates of Pat's Christian Coalition. Lambda Legal Defense Fund represents us in courtrooms all across the nation. GLAAD monitors the media on our behalf. Now we must go to the source of their problems and take a firm stand against the false and inflammatory rhetoric. Working together, volunteering our time and our money, praying earnestly for God's help and direction, we shall overcome. Mel ###