Page 6, Out in the Mountains

Cabin Fever

Cabin
Volleyball .

This year marks the fifth year that
Vermont Gay Volleyball (VGV) has been
in existence. On Sunday evenings from
5:30 - 8:00 pm come and play volleyball
with us. The cost is approximately $3.00
per person. This money is used to pay for
the gymnasium rental fee.

If you are wondering whether you are
good enough to play, don’t worry. We
encourage all levels of players and no one
is excluded. VGV is a fun and

Fever?--Try Vermont Gay

non-threatening way to get some exercise,‘

meet some new people and have a great
time. We have all heard from time to
time that there are not many opportunities
to meet other gay people. VGV can be an
answer to that. For many of us, it has
been a nice alternative to the bar.

If you would like to play and need
more information, call 864-3617 or write
VGV, PO Box 248. Hinesburg, Vt. 05401.

Come fight those cabin fever blues.
We look forward to seeing you soon.

  

//

fly PI’:/es

by appointment

Hinesburg Village

20 minutes southeast of Burlington

482-2434

Commentary: Reflections on a Meeting

By Susan Lea Aranoff

On Sunday February 1st, over sixty
lesbians and gay men gathered in South
Royalton to attend a Vermont Coalition of
Lesbians and Gay Men meeting. No, this
is not an official report of all that
transpired, though I hope that such a
report appears elsewhere in this issue.
Rather this is a personal account of some
of what I experienced at the meeting. I
sent it to Qu; [n The Mgugtaigs with the
hope that it might inspire some more
people to attend LOV (Lesbians of
Vermont) or Coalition meetings. They can
be really wonderful and powerful events.

10:00 A.M.: No time for a second cup
of coffee. No time for a leisurely Sunday
morning. Barely enough time to call the
local general store and ask them to hold
my Sunday New York Times.

10:25: I arrived in South Royalton
with five minutes to spare. The town
Green I see everyday was magically
transformed by lots of cars with wonderful
bumperstickers. "WE are Everywhere"
"Arms are for hugging", "I love dancing",
"When the people lead, the leaders will
follow", "Women make great leaders, you're
following one". I wish my Green could be
that inspiring and exciting everyday.

10:30: There were already three times
as many people as I expected and more
were arriving. We kept having to add
chairs to our already large circle. There
was a lot of energy and excitement buning
through the room. A lot of tentativeness
too. No one was quite sure what was
going to take place, what decisions were
going to be made, but there was a sense

that something was going to happen.
Something big. There seemed to be a
collective marvel at how large and powerful
we had become.

10:40: The meeting started. As a
cofacilitator, I had difficulty speaking at
first. The group was perhaps too large and
unfocused. My words seemed to leave my
mouth and enter a large void. We
discussed the task at hand. We were to
divide up into a women's group and a
men's group. Within these smaller groups
we were to discuss whether or not we
wanted a lesbian and gay civil rights bill to
be introduced.

10:50: I was glad when the men left
and the space became women space. It
was an easier space to be'in. Easier to
grasp and access the ideas and discussions.
We started our meeting by going around
our circle of thirty-five and introducing
ourselves. We each said something about
who we are, what we do in our lives, how
and where we live. This took some time
but for me it was time well spent. It was
great to hear so many women say "I am a
lesbian" and it was neat to hear about the
interesting and diverse lives we lead.
When we began discussing whether or not
to support the introduction of a civil rights
bill we went around our circle again. We
each spoke to what we felt we would be
able to do to support the passage of a civil
rights bill. Many women disclosed fears of
losing their jobs, custody of their children,
citizenship, financial aid. And still these
women were willing to do what they could.
Some spoke of testifying at a hearing with
paper bags over their heads to conceal
their identities. Some spoke of writing
letters to their elected officials or

/

 

‘met together in our large group.

 

Even Monkeys!

"My recommendation to you is that
you forget all about this stuff (being gay)
and turn straight."

This was the reaction of Rep. Kittredge
Haven (R-Panton) when approached by a
member of the gay community lobbying for
H.?A7, the lesbian/gay anti-discrimination bill.

Mr. Haven went on to say that he
opposed any kind ,of limitations on landlords
or employers as to who they could or could
not discriminate against. He specifically said
he believed landlords and employers_should
be allowed to discriminate based on race, age
or "any other reason they want to."

In the ensuing discussion, Mr. Haven
indicated that he felt homosexuality was
unnatural and that "even animals don't do
it." When he -was informed that, in fact,
homosexuality is found in most species of
animals he queried, "Even monkeys?" Yes,
Mr. Haven...even monkeys

newspaper editors without signing them, but
explaining the risks they would incur if they
did sign their names, thereby illustrating the
need for civil rights legislation. We spoke
of the unpleasant realities of possible abuse
from our opposition. And yet we spoke of
our strength. We spoke of our
commitment to ourselves, each other. We
spoke of needing to begin the struggle for
our rights here in Vermont.

When we began our discussion it was
difficult to sense the direction in which we
were moving. But a momentum began to
build. Our pace was slow and methodical.
We stayed pretty clear and mostly focused.
We spoke in concrete terms about the
necessary tasks at hand, the burdens or
organizing, our energy or lack thereof, our
time or lack there of. We resolved to
support the introduction of and work
towards the passage of the civil rights bill.
It was a very deliberate decision, arrived at
through a very deliberate process. At times
I was frustrated with the slow pace. I
wondered if we really had enough time in
the day for such a time consumptive
process. But after the decision was
reached, I felt as though it was a very well
grounded and supported decision, much
more so than if we had just voted earlier
on. True, the end result may have been
the same, but the process we went through
made the decision real for every one of us

Like many of us, I have been involved
with many organizations for many years.
Some practice consensus decision making
and some use Robert’s Rules of Order.
Rarely have I felt as empowered by a
meeting or a group as I felt that Sunday in
South Royalton.

After lunch:

The men and women
Here
too, there was a lot of careful talking and
careful listening. It has been a long time