preferably whee
parking.

4 — OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — JULY 1998

MOUIN PRIDE MEDIA

To OITM’s Readers:

All of us at lvlountain_Pride Media are very proud
of the continued growth and improvement in Out in the
Mountains. The participation of each additional volun-
teer brings a new strength, a new voice, and deepens our
reflection of the complete community. Out in the Moun-
tains is fundamentally a volunteer organization (though
we'd be more than happy to pay ad salespeople - at com-
petitive ratesl), and all of us currently working on and in
support of the paper acknowledge our debt to those who
preceded us, who founded, nurtured, and struggled to
develop the strong platform upon which we continue to
build and improve.

As always, the driving force behind the paper is its
editor, and we all benefit from the dedication of a cre-
ative, bright, passionate man who we fully expect to play
the traditional role of lightning rod in the community
for the paper's exploration of uncomfortable issues that
challenge, inform, and represent us to ourselves and oth-
ers. But the creativity and commitment at OITM don’t
end with Chris Moes; Barbara Dozetos, Don Eggert, and
Tracy Komons share the sleepless nights and the stresses
of satisfying dizzying deadlines. And long—terrn stalwarts
Steven West and David Grist are joined by David
Gramling, Micheal Albero, and Lenna Cumberbatch in
consistent, steady support. If it takes a village to raise a
child, it takes a community to put out this paper, and we
extend our thanks to all who participate in making Out
in the Mountains a success.

As we take stock of our past year and look ahead
to the next, the Board of Directors of Mountain Pride
Media is dedicated to improving the professionalism of
the organization — ourselves as a Board, the staff, and the
volunteers working on our behalf. Our mission is to fa-
cilitate constructive communication in our community,
and this needs to extend beyond just printing a great
newspaper. To these ends, the Board has established
Guidelines of Responsibilities for Board Members, and
we are developing personnel policies for our staff and
volunteers that stress professional behavior of the high-
est ethical standards, constructive participation in the
community, and respect in our interactions with all those
in our community.

Mountain Pride Media lingers at the crossroads of
moving from a grass—roots organization fully dependent
on the continuing commitment of volunteers to one with
a more professional framework providing the stable en-
vironment necessary to support the effort required to
produce Out in the Mozmtains every month. It’ s a thresh-
old we relish crossing. Out in the Mozmtains has more
painful growth and development ahead of it, but with
the active participation of the community it serves, the
paper will thrive and flourish as the primary communi-
cation vehicle for GLBT Vermonters.

Thanks for your support. And keep reading!
Bennett Law, President

Board of Directors

Mountain Pride Media

 I WE’liESOCRAlfl’ED'
- '

Out in the Mountains has

 tgrown the space that it

 

Any leads or ideas thatlcan helpiour search committee
will be graciously accepted at:

 A 'ncludes available

(802) 865-9294 or oitm@together.net.

OP-ED: Dean's No Opinion,
N 0 Answer is Wrong Answer

~ BY DEAN CORREN

The interview with
Howard‘ Dean {OITM May,
1998} let him off too easily. Not
having an opinion on whether
lesbians and gays should have

equal civil rights, marriage or
otherwise, is an opinion - a
very low one.

Using the courts as a
dodge is unacceptable. The
courts have their job to do, ex-
ecutive and legislative elected
officials have theirs. Basic po-
litical responsibility should re-
quire a clear position. Actual
leadership would require
much, much more.

He puts a chummier face
on it, but morally, Howard
Dean's position (especially to

the degree expressed by his ,

Attorney General’s brief which
could only be described as ho-
mophobic) is no different from
his opponents’. While their
positions might be summed up
as, ”We’re not sure we like you
enough to afford you the same
rights and responsibilities as
everyone else in our civil soci-
ety,” the Govemor’s position is
’’I’m not sure you're worth the
price to my re;election cam-
paign.”

In the interview the Gov-
ernor stated, ”Since nothing is
going to happen on this issue
in the legislature until the court
speaks there's no particular
reason for me to take a public
position on it.” His attempt to
link whether he makes his po-

sitions public to the actions of
other branches of government
is illogical and insulting. Fail-
ing any sense of responsibility
on his part, the insistence of
OI TM and its
readers’ vot-
ing power
should give
him the "par-‘

The Governor
   tion similarly im-

author ofhtthe bill that would
ensure the right of thegtermi—
nally ill to decide when to end
their lives and have the com-
petent, caring professional
support in that deci-
sion, I find his head-
in-the-sand support
of the current situa-

ticular rea- moral.

son” he   It's a lot like
needs to de— . abortion rights with
cide to make C0mmUmtY or a critical difference:
his position , . ‘ unlike abortion, the
p u b l i c . he s agalnst Supreme Court left
Would envi- . it entirely to the
ronmental It‘ so far! states, so we must
groups ac- . , act.

cept a refusal he sure ls" t Government
to takeaposi— - - can't "stay out” of
tion on  It‘ such decisions
clearcutting, when it is the fear of

NARAL a demur from sup-
porting or opposing abortion,
or even Wall Street a "no opin-
ion yet” on capital gains taxes?

Clearly, Dean is either
still waiting for the polling
data to tell him his position, or

, he's seen it, and knows you

wouldn't like it. But on an is-
sue of fundamental civil rights,
shouldn't ”no position” or "se—
cret position” be just as bad as
the wrong position? The Gov-
ernor is either with the GLBT
community or he's against it.
So far, he sure isn't with it.
Similarly, on the issue of
physician-assisted suicide, he
tries to take no position. As the

prosecution by government
that stops many caregivers
from helping when they know
it is the right thing to do, and
drives them into secrecy when
their moral drive to care for
their patients exceeds their per-
sonal fear. Clarifying the legal-
ity of physician assisted sui-
cide, while enacting careful
procedures and protections,
would end the status quo of
secrecy, stigma, potential for
abuse, and the immense un-
necessary physical and psy-
chological suffering for pa-
tients and their families.

Here too, no position is
just no good.

20.s — A Project of Men’s Health Project and Vermont CARES

BY THOMAS HENNING

Twenty something. The Gen-
eration X crowd. The generation ob-
sessed with fast, yet politically correct,
lifestyles. Throw being gay into _the
mix and you have a generation ob-
sessed with fast, yet politically correct,
lifestyles dressed by Tom Ford or
Banana Republic. Thatis the rhetoric
at any rate.

I grew up in rural Vermont with
a father raised on a farm in Iowa and
a Mother raised in a villa in Athens. I
have three brothers, one passed
away close to six years ago. My ex-
periences make me unique. I don‘t
feel that I am like the “other boys”. I
don’t think any of us do. In fact, we
are unique and we recognize the fact
that we are different. We have dis-
tinct perspectives and opinions on
being in our twenties, being men who
have sex with men, and HIV/AIDS. to
name just a few.

The young queer menis com-
munity is differem from the older queer
men's community. Our experiences
are no where near alike, our comings
of age are truly different. I think you
would be hard pressed to find some-

i one who would notiagreethat becom-

ing sexually active in the late 80’s and
early 90’s is drastically different than

those same experiences In the 70is.

As young men, who have sex ,

with men, we need to have open dis-
cussions around all aspects of HIV
and sex. We have to examine our
practices and ourselves and deter-
mine just how committed we are to
stunting the growth of this epidemic.
It is the younger community
that is fast becoming the highest
group at risk. HIV incidence-the num-
ber of new infections within a group-
is greater in young men who have sex
with men (YMSM). I was blown away
to read that YMSM accounted for 35%
of ALL reported AIDS cases through
December 1994, not to mention that
AIDS cases in rural areas are on the
rise. I am not down with that, sister,
I’ll tell you right now. We don’t need
the studies to show that a major rea-
son that MSMs are becoming infected
with HIV is due to high-risksexual be-
havior. I don’t know about you but
“Trojan Man" has not been riding up
on his stallion whispering sweet pre-
vention nothings in my ear every time
l’m hot for a man. Maybe he should
because according to the government

A ‘( I know not always a great "source but

pull up a chair sweetie ‘cause this info
is solid) As of 1995, the twenty-some-

thing community, accounted for over
100,000 AIDS cases in this country.
There is a need for us to come to-
gether and address these problems,
see how that works, and thatis why
we’ve formed 20.s. It is an initiative
to address the needs of 22-30 year
old men who have sex with men, and
l’m psyched. 20.s will be a program
designed and driven by us. That
means we are in charge, baby. We,
as twenty-somethings, are accus-
tomed to being told what is best for
us by our older counterparts. We
have all been there and we have all
done that. with 20.5 we have the
opportunity to come together, talk
about our needs and then deliver the
goods. HIV and AIDS may not be our
first priority, but in 20.5 we have the
real opportunity to establish what
needs are important to usand then.
together, find real ways to address
them. Let get together and talk about
us, and you know thatis one of our
favorite topics.

Alright, l’m starting to get a
nose bleed so l’m stepping off my
soapbox. I know what you may be
thinking. lcan hear you now. “Puh-

20.8, p10