Iette rs

HIV-Positive and
Straight

I have just finished reading the inter-
view Rob Larabee did with Jane Doe.
I feel that as the Co—Chair of the
Vermont People With AIDS.
Coalition, I must clarify some of
Jane’s statements.

The VTPWAC was formed
in 1989 to be a voice of advocacy for
people living with HIV Disease.
From our inception, we have been an
organization which has sought to pro-
vide a nurturing and caring environ-
ment where people living with HIV
can network and communicate their
successes and failures with fighting
for our lives. Our board has almost
always included gay and straight
members.

When Jane approached our
board in the fall of 2000 and asked if
we could sponsor a series of social
events for heterosexuals only, I
explained to her that we could not
create an event that was exclusive to
only one demographic group. The
Coalition has always made its events
open to all persons living with HIV
and AIDS regardless of sexual prefer-
ence. We strive to be inclusive and
not exclusive of anyone living with
HIV disease. We have also had many
returning heterosexuals and straight
couples over the past 12 years. Today
our retreats are about 50 percent gay
and 50 percent straight persons in
attendance. I

Jane did not tell you that .
when it came time this past fall to
complete our application for federal
prevention grants that I told her that
this was the time for us to attempt to
put together a grant that would allow
us to have events that targeted het-
erosexuals only. I then worked with
Jane and a couple of other heterosex-
ual people to design a program that
would provide education and social
opportunities for people that were
living with HIV and thinking about
returning to the dating scene or those
living in a relationship where one is
HIV+ and the other HIV-, to rein-
force the hypervigilence it takes to
keep the negative loved one safe. The
Vermont Department of Health only
funded the portion [of the grant pro-
posal] that was to take place at our
annual retreat for people living with
HIV. I then took the proposal, which
was my intellectual property, and

gave it to Twin States Women’s
Network so that we could co-write a
grant application to a private charita-
ble foundation so that we could at‘
least complete the portion of the proj-
ect that was pertinent to
heterosexuals. A
Another point that Jane
makes is that she only felt comfort-
able at our retreats when we offered a
heterosexual support group. We have

‘ offered such a group at every one of

our retreats for quite some time. I
cannot tell you when we started this
practice but I am sure that it has been
for at least the past 6 years of the I2

I we have been doing this work.

I continually remind my
gay board members that even though
Jane’s way of phrasing her concerns
tend to turn us off to what she is say-
ing, that there is a kernel of truth in
what she says and that we need to
keep our eye on what she is saying
and not how she is saying it.

1). Lee Works, Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Vermont People WITH
AIDS Coalition.

Feminist, Period.

So, Karen Karin. It’s presumptuous
for you to regard me as your “new
friend” as you mentioned in your
article “Drugs and Economics”
(May) based on the fact we’ve had
exactly one and only one conversa-
tion in which we disagreed vehe-
mently. But what galls me is that you
felt free to fling a vicious slur my
way in one breath and decide I’m
your friend in the next. You called
me a “feminazi” (a “stereotypical”
one at that). Calling me a Nazi in any
context whatsoever is an outrageous
insult especially because I am Jewish
and was, of course, deeply trauma-
tized by the Holocaust. (I can hear it
now. “Oh those feminists have no
sense of humor.”)

Get a grip, Karen. First
let’s hear an apology, then let’s hang
out for more than ten minutes where
your politics don’t make me want to
gag, and then we’ll talk friendship.

Crow Cohen
Burlington

The Last Word, Period.

I am writing to you today because I
am truly appalled at the responses to
John Castaldo and Chuck Kleteckas
letters. Some of your readers took
this opportunity to launch a personal
attack against two men who in my
opinion have the highest integrity
and a great deal of passion for the
rights of gay and lesbian Vermonters.
I am in disbelief when I read a com-
ment by awriter that implied that
both men were filled with “self-
loathing and internalized
homophobia.”
These attacks were obvi-
ously written by people who rarely
leave the city limits of Burlington or
dare to stand up in Montpelier and
fight for our rights. Mr. Castaldo and
Mr. Kletecka are more than just two
gay men from Waterbury, they are
leaders in this state who use their
influence and effort to further our
rights. Mr. Kletecka was present vir-
tually every day in Montpelier during
the civil union battle and continues to
work behind the scenes fighting the
hatred and propaganda spewed by
TIP and Nancy Sheltra. These two
men have done more for Vermont’s
gay community than most gay peo-
ple. These two are not the ones you
should be attacking, you should be
thanking them.
As for the picture, I didn’t

see it. I gather that is thereason I
can’t find OITM locally in Waterbury
anymore (and I guess I am a little
glad, because I don’t want to be asso-
ciated with that kind of image).
Don’t get me wrong, I love Drag
Queens and I think Yolanda is great.

However I “dare” to have the opinion

that being gay is much more than
sex, sex, sex, and having a picture of
a big dildo-wearing drag queen on a
community paper offends me person-
ally.

To the editor of OITM, I
would ask you to think about your
readers who may have lost the oppor-
tunity to pick up your paper locally
because of this picture. Personally I
don’t care about that wacko Nancy
Sheltra and what she thinks about the
paper, but I do care if it’s no longer
available in my community.

Paul O’Kane
Waterbury Center

editor’s notebook

Aself—described “sen-
ior gay man” — who
declined to sign his
name — wrote in to the
O/TM web guru wonder-
ing what we and “the
gay community in gener-
al” in Vermont could
offer “older gay men &
women.” After announc-
ing his opinion that we
had “very little" to offer,
he said he had recently
moved to Colchester
and found OITM “inter-
esting but strictly youth
oriented just as most of
the national [publica-

tions] are." [He conclud-
ed that it was “time that
local publications such
as yours start giving us
some recognition. The
life span of seniors is
growing very fast," he
wrote, and by 2005,
people over 65 “will rep-
resent 25% of the popu-
lation.’' So, he adjured
us, "please wake up &
smell the coffee." He
signed himself “A
Concerned Gay Senior.”
Although I turn
50 this month, I'm not
quite senior enough, so I

passed the note along to
a slightly more senior
MPM Board member,
Richard Slappey.
Because he brought up
some good points, I’m
excerpting parts of his
response.

“A few years
back, as an older gay
man living in a society
that appears more and
more skewed toward the
young, I, like you, ‘found
myself frustrated by
what I perceived as a
lack of voice — especial-
ly in my community,"
Richard wrote.

“However, after bitching A

about it for a while, I
decided that I would

never be heard if I just
sat back and com-
plained. I realized that to
claim my rights to a
voice I had to get active
and stay active in the
large mixed bag of indi-
viduals we call a glbt
community. Rights carry
responsibilities. This
realization led me to
involvement."

Richard has
served for 3 years on
the Mountain pride
Media Board of
Directors. His experi-
ence there has given
him first-hand experi-
ence in how difficult it is

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