| Transcript |
U=kiH:k-
Congratulations on your January issue
announcing your entry into the alternative newspaper world and away from the
separate but equal philosophy within
which the paper has struggled for the past
four years. While it has been pleasant for
me to have a newspaper which covers
feminist issues and is a "women's paper,"
I am willing to admit that the paper has
never gained the support from women
which it needs in order to survive. I
believe that you have taken a necessary
turn which may gain more support from
a wider spectrum of readers. I still feel
sure that you will continue to cover feminist issues better and with more depth
than any other paper in town.
In regard to your "Ten Years Ago"
story on various community activists,
however, I would like to add a few facts
which Upfront publisher Gary Van Oote-
ghem and KPFT personality Ray Hill
neglected to include in their histories
of the past ten years. Because both men
often claim to represent the entire gay
community (which they do not) and because I am a lesbian feminist, it is appropriate for me to comment upon some of
their forgotten activities.
It was Ray Hill who encouraged the
taking of photographs and videofilm of
members of the gay community at the
Town Meeting I in 1978. For some, these
photos were taken against their will and
under protest. It was Hill who refused
and still refuses to turn over said photos
and videotapes to the gay community.
Fortunately, a few concerned feminists were able to liberate some of the
photos and have them placed in a bank
vault for safe keeping.
Recently it was Ray Hill who, in a
grand feminist gesture of appeasement,
called a few women members of the
Houston GPC to inform them that a
new job for a gay or lesbian person had
been offered to the GPC by the mayor's
office at a salary of $9600. While another
job has also been offered, at a minimum
salary of $21,000, Hill has yet to inform
women or to ask for input on this higher
salaried, upper level position. I suppose
he forgot.
Most recently, it was Ray Hill and
Gary Van Ooteghem who so effectively
worked to block the GPC from voting
to reinstate the boycott of Coors Beer,
even after a GPC committee had shown
17 pages of well-documented evidence
that Coors continues to fund right-wing
candidates to the U.S. Congress who
consistently and without exception have
voted against gay, women's, and abortion
rights and for anti-gay, anti-feminist
legislation. At the last GPC meeting, Van
Ooteghem gave an eloquent speech telling
us that the local Coors distributor is our
friend because he buys ads in Upfront
and Hill reminded us of how much
money this distributor has paid out to
GPC and has provided for beer for gay
men's parties. Neither man seems to care
that the Coors family uses profit nationwide to elect anti-gay, anti-feminist
candidates. Coors is our friend as long
as the local gay paper, the local GPC
and local gay men's parties are not
threatened!
Both Hill and Van Ooteghem are
experts at feminist rhetoric, but when it
comes to action, both are self-serving,
anti-feminist reactionaries who certainly
do not deserve the place of honor and
recognition which Breakthrough accorded
to them in the "Ten Years" story. You
would have done better to have given all
of their allotted space to Patti O'Kane,
an activist truly deserving the honor.
Again, I wish your staff good luck
and I look forward to what I hope will
be a long and happy future for Breakthrough as an alternative newspaper.
Linda Lovell
Editor's note: We asked a lot of people,
including several gay women and men, to
participate in our "Ten Years Ago"story.
Of those who declined, some found it too
painful to relive that time, some were too
busy, others not busy enough.
The letter from [former] Councilman,
Louis Macey, (Houston Breakthrough,
Dec./Jan. 1980) sounded more like a
warning than a comment. It appears as
though Mr. Macey would have removed
Breakthrough from the local newsstands
if given the opportunity. His motives, of
course, were lofty. He simply believed
that the front cover was a "discredit"
to women. That sounded nice, but had
his plans been implemented, Breakthrough
might have been indicted, or possibly
sanctioned out of public view.
Similar litanies abounded at the National Women's Conference held in Houston last year. At that time, as you may
recall, numerous right-wing groups
were accusing Feminists of circulating
"obscene" materials in the form of literature advocating abortion and homosexual rights. Indeed, "their" motives
were lofty too. For as they said, "Children needed to be protected against such
obviously deviant ideas." Had the political right prevailed that day, we might
have lost everything from The Houston
Post to Ms. Magazine. Truly, censorship
by any other name is still censorship. It
will invariably work against those who
dissent, especially in matters pertaining to
sex. There are no exceptions to this rule,
as history is my witness.
Hence, Feminist publishers should be
wary of something. Supporters of the
Women's Movement know very well that
much Feminist material dealing with sex
and violence is rendered in good faith. Indeed, it is [the] intention of such literature to inform, not instigate. But the
rubric of the law cannot make moral
judgements, and your enemies already
have. To them, sex is violence and violence is sex, and both culminate in the
rise of the Women's Movement. It is futile
trying to reason with such people. Their
minds are simply made up, fixed and
irrevocable. They are totally committed
to erasing Feminism at its very core. They
will censor capriciously if given the
chance.
In conclusion, therefore, let me urge
you to be diligent in protecting First
Amendment rights. It is certainly understandable why Feminists would oppose
ludicrous pornography. But this is an abstruse matter—too abstruse in fact to be
trusted in the hands of bigots who consider Feminism pornography in its very essence. Of this we may be certain. The
First Amendment is not needed to protect
only popular opinions; and believe me, in
this part of the country, Feminism, homosexual rights and sexual candor are
not especially popular. This has been aptly demonstrated by the humiliating dismissal of Women's Advocate, Nikki Van
Hightower. So please, fight pornography
with continued efforts toward understanding and research, not censorship of
any kind. Failure to do so could mean
disaster.
John L. Indo
Every time my Breakthrough arrives,
I read it immediately. And each time I
find news of events or activities which
happened a few days ago or a week ago
or a week+ ago. Either don't bother
to include those events or activities or
mail the Breakthrough earlier. It's
ridiculous!
Carolyn Habenak
A/though in Network / try to print up-
to-date items only, I cannot know when
your paper will be delivered. At times
I choose to include an event (whose
time may have passed when you read
about it) if it is a function of an organization which may have similar activities
in the future. "For further information. . ." is the last sentence of every
notice, with an address or phone number
of the sponsoring organization. If you are
interested in the event described, perhaps
you would like to participate in their
other activities; call and add your name
to their mailing list. Network includes a
broad spectrum of events and organizations in order that our readers can build
their personal networks as extensively
as they wish.
Network is a free service to nonprofit and women's organizations and we
encourage them to get information to
us far in advance. This is not always
possible for them and our policy has
always been to accept notices right down
to the wire.
Lynne Mutchler
Network Editor
I will not be renewing my H.B. subscription this year, and I wanted you
to know why.
Differences in location (Harlingen,
TX to Maryville,TN) have nothing to do
with it. Your material has been moving
so far left this past year that I no longer
can identify with it, only on rare occasions (pornography, child abuse, secretarial abuses, women in business, etc.).
We will, after all, accomplish nothing
at all of substance in this male-dominated
world unless we make notable inroads in
the political system—where the action
is—not in "Baba's ashram" or outside
the gates of Seabrook.
Sometimes I am not quite sure if I
am reading Breakthrough or Mother
Jones. As a matter of fact, M.J.'s latest
issue (Feb./Mar. 1980, How Together
are Tom and Jane?) contains a penetrating insight in to the strategy of constant
agitation in all fields of endeavor which
the organized left must deliver in order
to satisfy their various memberships.
Ida Morris
Maryville, TN
Ron Waters, state representative for the
Heights and Montrose for the last four
terms of the legislature, withdrew his name
for re-election and filed against incumbent
Jack Ogg for the 15th senate district seat.
Houston Chronicle political reporter
Joe Nolan immediately jumped on Waters'
case ("Waters creating waves in primary,"
February 10) stating that Ogg was unbeatable considering the "boxcar full of money" Ogg has raised and will raise from
the downtown monied boys. He further
states that "only the most die-hard of diehard liberals give Waters much of a
chance" and implies that Waters'only motive for running was that "getting Ogg [has
become] a liberal cause celebre." Nolan's
negativism belies the fear of special interests that Waters can, indeed, win this race.
Several factors are on Waters' side.
First, Waters' entire legislative district is
entirely within the 15th Senate District
and the voters returned Waters to the
House with over two-thirds majority last
election despite two formidable opponents. Second, most of the Democratic
public officials in this area are expected
to endorse Waters, including Congressman
Mickey Leland, Councilmen Ben Reyes,
Dale Gorczynski and Ernest McGowen,
plus many upper-echelon party officials.
These public officials head the same
effective organizations that backed
Leland and recently changed the face of
city council. Third, Ogg's conservative
support will decay with the unique
situation of a Republican presidential primary versus a Democratic caucus. Those
"Republicans in sheep's clothing" will be
less likely to cross over to the Democratic
primary as they have in the past.
Nolan's slant is further revealed by the
phrases he applies to Waters' actions:
"hard to believe", "last- minute razzle-
dazzle", "ludicrous", and "a total flop."
All this is designed to reduce Waters'
credibility as a candidate, to convince
voters and financial supporters that Ogg
has already won the primary. Nolan even
speaks of Republicans "taking on Ogg in
November." But Waters will energize voters in a way that is impossible for Mr. Ogg,
because we remember Ogg as the chief
architect of the municipal utility district
fiascos, the loan shark bills, the abortion-
is-murder bill. We know that both the
Texas Observer and the Texas Consumer
Asssociation rated Ogg's voting record as
the worst. (TCA gave Ogg 18% on consumer legislation and Waters 87%, the
highest of any Harris County legislator.)
We remember Ogg's votes for conglomerate oil at the expense of the independent oil producers and his reputation in
Austin as "the best money can buy."
Gary Allison Morey
Democratic Executive Committee
Precinct 40
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HOUSTON BREAKTHROUGH
FEBRUARY 1980 |
