Out in the Mountains Book Review: Vaid lmpresses with Virtual Equality Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay & Lesbian Liberation, by Urvashi Vaid. Published by Anchor Books. Review and Interview by Joy D. Griffith We are second class citizens, persecuted and demoralized in the land where supposedly "all are created equal.” Urvashi Vaid took off a year from leading the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to write Virtual Equality, a book which analyzes the placement of the gay and Health Resources AIDS HOTLINES: I Ven'n0nt 800-882-2437 New Hampshire 800-752-2437 New York State 800-541-2437 Massachusetts 617-522-4090 Maine _ 800-851-2437 National 800-342-2437 Canadian 613-563-2437 Addison County AIDS Network For meeting time,ca11 Dick at 352- 6679 or Kate at 388-4193. AIDS Community Awareness Pro- ject (ACAP) PO Box 608 St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 (802) 748-1 149 AIDS Community Resource Network (ACoRN) PO Box 2057 ‘ Lebanon, NH 03766 (603) 448-2220 Bennington Area AIDS Project PO Box 1066 Bennington, VT 05201 (802) 442-4481 or 1-800-845-2437 Brattleboro AIDS Project PO Box 1486 Brattleboro, VT 05302 (802) 254-4444 (Helpline) (802) 254-8263 (Office) Gay/Lesbian Alcoholics Anonymous GLAA, P.O. Box 5653 Burlington, VT 05402 (802) 658-4221 Lesbian Cancer Support Group (802) 660-8386 ‘ North Star (Holistic Health Care) RR2 Box 3255 Morrisville, VT 05661 (802) 888-2858 Vermont AIDS Council PO Box 275 Montpelier VT 05601 (802) 229-2557 Vermont C.A.R.E.S. (Committee for AIDS Resources, Education, and Services) PO Box 5248 - 37 Elmwood Ave., Bur- lington, VT 05401 (802) 863-2437 (Burlington) 1-800-649-2437 (VT) Vermont Department of Health 1-800-882-2437 (AIDS Hotline) or (802) 863-7245 (AIDS Program office) VT PWA Coalition PO Box 11 Montpelier, VT 05452 1-800-69-VT-PWA or (802) 229-5754 Vermont Women’s Health Center 336 North Avenue Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 863-1386 Read OITM Monthly lesbian movements in the American Society. Vaid finds us to be in a state of conditional equality based on the appearance of acceptance by straight America. With only a few significant visible gains to our credit, our status continues to be blocked by the country in which we live. This political visionary examines what we want, and raises the banner to the gay and lesbian community to vigorously pursue our struggle for equality with all citizens of America. "I do not have brilliant answers to the problems of general apathy or unwillingness to be involved on the part of so many gay people,” Vaid said in a recent discussion. “Activism reflects both the internal and the external conditions people live under: If people are comfortable with their sexual orientations and open about them, I find they are more likely to be involved; and if people experience discrimination, they are more likely to be involved. A group that gets together to talk about being queer is the most important strategy to overcome disengagement and lack of involvement. “The good news,” Vaid continues, “is that more and more of us are involved in the movement —— as volunteers, donors, members of national groups or as openly gay people who come out in our circle of family and friends (critical work that does more to advance gay equality than any other act)." Vaid urges us to join, get information, and support our groups and each other in the struggle. "The importance of (groups like) Lambda Legal Defense Fund and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force was demonstrated to me again as I read the Supreme Court's decision in the Colorado case. We could not have won without LLDEF's legal work or without NGLTF's community organizing and educational efforts. That's my piece," she says. V fiubscribe to OITM AIDS Quilt to Cover National Mall WASHINGTON, DC —— The NAMES Project will display the AIDS Memorial Quilt in its entirety in the nation’s capital on the weekend of October 11-13. Over 40,000 panels —— 24 football fields of fabric — will be unfolded as 70,000 names are read. ‘ The litany of the names of the dead will continue for the full three days as more than 2,000 readers, many of them well-known and respected public figures, each take a turn at the podium. Since its last showing in Washington DC in 1992, the Quilt has doubled in size. More than 10,000 volunteers will participate in the three—day display, and an estimated 750,000 visitors are expected. Over 23 miles of walkway fabric will be laidrdown between Quilt sections to allow viewers to get close to each memorial panel. Founded in 1987, the NAMES Project Foundation sponsors and displays the AIDS Memorial Quilt to help bring an end to the AIDS epidemic. The Quilt is seen in smaller traveling sections by more than one million people annually at nearly 2,000 display sites. This may be the final time that the Quilt is able to be shown in its entirety. V hands, kissing, sneezing, wr 'r’st:i:nfg'q M