H A P P Y N E W Y E A R ! ************************************************* The week of 01/01/96 on T H I S W A Y O U T the international gay & lesbian radio magazine * In NewsWrap: Apparently under pressure from the German government, global online giant Compuserve deletes access to more than 200 newsgroups from its service, including several non-sexual lesbigay message boards ... a first-ever gay and lesbian community center opens in Russia, an illegal lesbigay youth group forms in Argentina, the U.S. gets its first credit union for lesbians ... and several other stories ... [anchored by Cindy Friedman and Brian Nunes] * In Colorado Springs, Colorado, a so-called "homosexual cure" counselor associated with "Colorado For Family Values", the group responsible for getting the notorious Amendment 2 on the state ballot, has come under fire; CFV national spokeperson Kevin Tebedo resigned a week after an expose of "therapist" Colin Cook was published in "The Denver Post". CFV nevertheless continues to endorse Cook and his questionable methods. Reporter Sean Keenan Gilson gets a brief word from Tebedo, lets us hear some of Cook's counsel, & talks with a former "patient" and CFV President Will Perkins ... * In a personal commentary, "Readers Digest Redux", author Patricia Nell Warren ("The Front Runner") relates how her experiences as an editor at The Readers Digest taught her how "Truth" can be manipulated (and cites The Bible as a prime example) ... * It seems that, as the calendar changes, almost every news outlet feels compelled to look back at the year just passed ... and "This Way Out" is no exception. However, always defending your right to know, and in no particular order of importance, we stroll down memory lane with Cindy Friedman, Brian Nunes, Jean Freer and Dean Elzinga to recall some of the more obscure stories that crossed our desks -- and your ears -- during the past 12 months ... ... and more! ========================*=============================== --------- ===> NewsWrap <=== --------- For the week ending December 30th, 1995 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #405, distributed 01-01-96) [Compiled & written by CINDY FRIEDMAN, with thanks to Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Bill Stosine, Greg Gordon, Graham Underhill and Ron Buckmire] GLOBAL ON-LINE GIANT COMPUSERVE CUT MORE THAN 200 NEWSGROUPS FROM ITS SERVICE THIS WEEK, INCLUDING MANY OF ITS GAY AND LESBIAN MESSAGE BOARDS. GERMAN OFFICIALS ORDERED THE CUTS AS PART OF A CAMPAIGN AGAINST PORNOGRAPHY, BUT A NUMBER OF THE DELETED GAY AND LESBIAN NEWSGROUPS ARE NOT SEXUAL IN NATURE. SOME OF THEM MERELY CIRCULATE NEWS REPORTS FROM MAINSTREAM WIRE SERVICES. COMPUSERVE CURRENTLY HAS NO WAY TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO NEWSGROUPS IN GERMANY ALONE, ALTHOUGH THEY SAY THEY'RE WORKING ON IT. THE GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY, INCLUDING GLAAD, THE GAY AND LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION, HAS BEEN QUICK TO PROTEST WHAT ONE COMPUSERVE SUBSCRIBER CALLED "INTERNET FASCISM". THEY'VE ALSO BEEN QUICK TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO CIRCUMVENT THE DELETIONS, SUCH AS COPYING MATERIAL TO NEWSGROUPS THE CENSORS MISSED: FOR EXAMPLE, SOC.MOTSS. APPARENTLY THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES DIDN'T RECOGNIZE "MOTSS" AS AN ABBREVIATION FOR "MEMBERS OF THE SAME SEX". [Sources: REUTER NEWS SERVICE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE BOSTON GLOBE and REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH SIMILAR INTERNET CENSORSHIP IN THE U.S. HAVE BEEN TEMPORARILY STALLED. THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT HAD BECOME A VEHICLE FOR THE CHRISTIAN COALITION TO RESTRICT ON-LINE CONTENT, INCLUDING A PENALTY OF UP TO TWO YEARS IN JAIL AND A $100,000 FINE FOR MAKING "INDECENT MATERIAL" AVAILABLE. THE ACT WAS PASSED BY BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE AND SINCE NOVEMBER HAS BEEN IN A JOINT CONFERENCE COMMITTEE TO WORK OUT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO VERSIONS. A VOTE ON THE FINAL COMPROMISE VERSION WAS EXPECTED IN DECEMBER, BUT THAT CHANGED AFTER U.S. PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON INDICATED HIS WILLINGNESS TO SIGN IT. NOW THE ACT ISN'T EXPECTED TO COME UP FOR A VOTE BEFORE MARCH, OFFERING AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE COMPROMISE MEASURE LESS RESTRICTIVE. [REUTER NEWS SERVICE and ASSOCIATION OF ONLINE PROFESSIONALS press release] MAINE'S OPENLY LESBIAN STATE SENATOR AND U.S. CONGRESSIONAL HOPEFUL DALE McCORMICK THIS WEEK WITHDREW HER BILL TO ESTABLISH STATEWIDE CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS FOR GAYS AND LESBIANS. SHE SAID, "I DECIDED WHAT WE NEEDED WAS A PERIOD OF HEALING AND DIALOG" -- IN THE WAKE OF THE DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN OVER NOVEMBER'S STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURE TO PROHIBIT CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS FOR GAYS AND LESBIANS, WHICH WAS NARROWLY DEFEATED. OBSERVERS ON BOTH SIDES BELIEVE McCORMICK'S PROPOSED LEGISLATION HAD LITTLE CHANCE OF PASSING, BUT THAT'S NOTHING NEW -- MAINE'S TEN LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS OF THE LAST TWENTY YEARS HAVE ALL FAILED TO ENACT SIMILAR BILLS. MAINE SENATOR GEORGETTE BERUBE STILL HAS A MORE LIMITED GAY AND LESBIAN CIVIL RIGHTS MEASURE IN THE HOPPER, BUT SHE IS ALSO SAID TO BE CONSIDERING WITHDRAWAL. [THE PORTLAND (Maine) PRESS HERALD] RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE U.S. CONGRESS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON AGING WILL INCLUDE THE WORDS "SEXUAL ORIENTATION" IN THE PREAMBLE. WHEN THE CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN MAY, VETERAN LESBIAN ACTIVISTS DEL MARTIN AND PHYLLIS LYON SAW THE DEFEAT OF THEIR PROPOSED SECTION ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST LESBIANS AND GAYS, BUT THEY DIDN'T GIVE UP. ALONG WITH OPENLY GAY CONGRESSMEMBER GERRY STUDDS OF MASSACHUSETTS, CALIFORNIA'S CONGRESSMEMBER NANCY PELOSI AND SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN, AND MANY ACTIVISTS AROUND THE COUNTRY, THEY KEPT UP THE PRESSURE ON THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS. IN MID-DECEMBER, MARTIN AND LYON WERE ADVISED BY THE CONFERENCE'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THAT A SENTENCE IN THE PREAMBLE OF THE FINAL REPORT WOULD READ: "WE RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE, VALUE AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF AGE, SEX, RACE, ETHNICITY, RELIGION, CULTURE, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND SEEK TO SAFEGUARD ALL PERSONS FROM DISCRIMINATION." THE RECOMMENDATIONS SHOULD REACH CAPITOL HILL BY NEXT MONTH, ALTHOUGH THEY'RE UNLIKELY TO BE INSTITUTED BY THE REPUBLICAN-LED CONGRESS. [from a bylined story by MARY ANN SWISSLER in San Francisco's BAY AREA REPORTER] IN THE NETHERLANDS, THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM IS RENOVATING PART OF A RESIDENCE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS SPECIFICALLY SO THAT OLDER GAYS AND LESBIANS CAN LIVE TOGETHER. CITY COUNCILLOR JIKKIE VAN DER GIESSEN OBTAINED PUBLIC FUNDS FOR THE PROJECT OUT OF CONCERN AT THE DISCOMFORT GAY AND LESBIAN ELDERS OFTEN EXPERIENCE IN MAINSTREAM SENIOR CARE CENTERS. [REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS citing DER GAY KRANT] MOSCOW'S GAY AND LESBIAN GROUP TRIANGLE HAS OPENED THE FIRST GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY CENTER IN THE FORMER U.S.S.R.. IT'S THE SITE FOR SOCIAL AND MEDICAL SUPPORT SERVICES, CULTURAL PROGRAMS, A GAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVE, AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. A CHAPTER OF PARENTS, FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS AND GAYS -- P-FLAG - IS BEING ORGANIZED, AND A DESIGN COMPETITION IS UNDERWAY FOR A MONUMENT TO THE THOUSANDS OF MEN WHO WERE IMPRISONED FOR SODOMY DURING SIXTY YEARS OF COMMUNIST RULE. [REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS citing Moscow activist ROMAN KALININ] IN ARGENTINA, GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH ARE VIOLATING THE LAW BY FORMING A NEW SUPPORT GROUP, GRUPO DE JOVENES CONSTRUYENDO OTRAS SEXUALIDADES, OR "YOUTH CONSTRUCTING OTHER SEXUALITIES". THEY WRITE, "OUR PARENTS AND THE STATE HAVE EVERY RIGHT OVER US. THEY CAN AND DO INVADE OUR PRIVACY, DESTROY OUR PROPERTY, FORCE US TO UNDERGO MEDICAL/PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT, SEPARATE US FROM OUR LOVERS AND FRIENDS ...AND ALL WITH THE BLESSING OF THE LAW." MEMBERSHIP IS RESTRICTED TO THOSE UNDER AGE 21 "AS A SECURITY MEASURE". [REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] A HIGHLY-PUBLICIZED U.S. CREDIT CARD THAT DONATES PART OF ITS PROCEEDS TO GAY AND LESBIAN NON-PROFITS HAS LOST THE FIRST ROUND IN A LAWSUIT TO STOP ITS USE OF THE NAME "RAINBOW". THE RAINBOW CARD FOUNDATION IS BEING SUED BY RAINBOW FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED, AN ESTABLISHED NEW JERSEY CHARITY ASSISTING CHILDREN WITH SHELTER, FINANCIAL AID AND MEDICAL TREATMENT. SAYING, "THEIR CAUSES ARE NOT OUR CAUSES", LEGAL COUNSEL FOR THE CHILDREN'S CHARITY EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THEIR POTENTIAL DONORS MIGHT BE CONFUSED. U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE MARY LITTLE PARELL GRANTED A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION IN MID-DECEMBER PROHIBITING THE RAINBOW CARD FOUNDATION FROM USING ITS NAME IN THE NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY AREA UNTIL THE CASE IS DECIDED. [BUSINESS WIRE] A NEW CREDIT UNION FOR LESBIANS WILL BEGIN OPERATIONS IN THE U.S. IN JANUARY. THE PHILADELPHIA-BASED TRIANGLE INTERESTS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION IS CHARTERED BY THE U.S. NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION, AND DEPOSITS UP TO $100,000 ARE INSURED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THE CREDIT UNION IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT FINANCIAL COOPERATIVE PROVIDING SAVINGS AND LOAN PROGRAMS TO ITS OWNER MEMBERS. IT'S INTENDED TO STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE LESBIAN COMMUNITY THROUGH RETIREMENT PLANNING, EDUCATION AND LOANS TO LESBIAN-OWNED BUSINESSES. [TRIANGLE INTERESTS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION press release] IN AUSTRALIA, THE GAY AND LESBIAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PROJECT IS HOPING TO ESTABLISH THAT COUNTRY'S FIRST LESBIAN AND GAY CREDIT UNION IN EARLY 1996. EXTENSIVE MARKET RESEARCH HAS FOUND A HIGH LEVEL OF ENTHUSIASM FOR THE PROJECT AMONG GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND A FEASIBILITY STUDY IS NOW IN PROGRESS. THE PROJECT HAS THE SUPPORT OF C.U.S.C.A.L., AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ORGANIZATION, AND THE RESEARCH WAS PARTLY FUNDED BY A GRANT FROM THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS COMMISSION. [MELBOURNE STAR OBSERVER] AND FINALLY ... THERE'S BEEN QUITE A STIR IN AUSTRALIA SINCE THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IN NOVEMBER MADE AVAILABLE FREE TO VETERANS A PRESCRIPTION DRUG CALLED CAVERJECT. IT'S A REMEDY FOR MALE ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION, KNOWN AS "E.D.", AN AILMENT THE MANUFACTURER BELIEVES AFFECTS ONE MAN IN TEN. ONE ACTIVIST VETERAN, KEVIN WILLS, WAS SO ANGERED THAT SCARCE FUNDS WOULD BE SPENT ON CAVERJECT THAT HE ACCUSED THE DEPARTMENT OF "OPENING A CAN OF WORMS". STRANGE BUT TRUE: CAVERJECT IS MANUFACTURED BY THE GIANT DRUG COMPANY UPJOHN. [SYDNEY HERALD SUN] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IT SEEMS THAT, AS THE CALENDAR CHANGES, ALMOST EVERY NEWS OUTLET FEELS COMPELLED TO LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR JUST PASSED ... AND "THIS WAY OUT" IS NO EXCEPTION. HOWEVER, ALWAYS DEFENDING YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW, AND IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, HERE ARE SOME OF THE MORE OBSCURE NEWS ITEMS THAT CROSSED OUR DESKS -- AND YOUR EARS -- DURING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, REPORTED BY THIS WAY OUT'S CINDY FRIEDMAN, BRIAN NUNES, JEAN FREER AND DEAN ELZINGA: * HERE'S A NEW LOW IN "FEAR OF FRUITS" -- OSTENSIBLY IN DEFENSE OF "CULTURAL VALUES", WHICH HOLD THAT IT PROMOTES HOMOSEXUALITY, THE PARLIAMENT OF IRAN HAS ACTED TO PROHIBIT THE SALE OF ... SEEDLESS WATERMELON. [reported on "T.W.O." week of 7-31-95; source: GAY RADIO INFORMATION NEWS SERVICE/Sydney, Australia] * U.S. CONGRESSMEMBER RANDY CUNNINGHAM'S REFERENCE TO "HOMOS" DURING DEBATE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR MADE HEADLINES RECENTLY. ACCORDING TO "THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE", IT ALSO LED TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE KIKA DE LA GARZA TO ASK OPENLY- GAY CONGRESSMEMBER BARNEY FRANK IF HE AND CUNNINGHAM WOULD "KISS AND MAKE UP". FRANK RETORTED, "I'M GAY ... NOT BLIND!" [6-12-95, per BAY WINDOWS/Boston, MA.] * A GAY TEENAGER IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA WAS SUSPENDED FROM HIGH SCHOOL THIS WEEK FOR WEARING SKIRTS TO CLASS. ALBERNI DISTRICT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL VICE PRINCIPAL GIO MUSSATO SUSPENDED 18-YEAR-OLD PATRICK OVINGTON FOR TWO MONTHS, SAYING OVINGTON WAS OFFENDING THE OTHER STUDENTS. THREE OF HIS CLASSMATES WHO WORE SKIRTS TO PROTEST HIS SUSPENSION WERE SENT HOME AS WELL. "I WAS TOLD I WAS INFRINGING ON THE OTHER STUDENTS' RIGHTS BY WEARING SKIRTS TO SCHOOL", OVINGTON SAID. "I DON'T WEAR SKIRTS ALL THE TIME, JUST WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT." AND WHAT DOES OVINGTON WEAR? HE SAYS HE PREFERS ANKLE-LENGTH SKIRTS WITH A DRESS SHIRT AND LONG-SLEEVED SWEATERS ... BOLD ACCESSORIES ... AND ARMY BOOTS. [5-22-95, per THE ASSOCIATED PRESS] * THE ONLY CONNECTICUT STATE LEGISLATOR EVER TO HAVE COME OUT IS JOE GRABARZ. HE WAS RECENTLY MADE DIRECTOR OF THE CONNECTICUT CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, AND AT HIS OPENING MEDIA CONFERENCE HE WAS ASKED HOW HE'D HANDLE GAY AND LESBIAN ISSUES IN THAT JOB. HE SAID, "IT SEEMED KIND OF THE OBVIOUS QUESTION -- YOU KNOW, 'THE QUEEN OF CONNECTICUT STEPS UP TO THE PODIUM'". ACCORDING TO "THE NATION" MAGAZINE, HIS FLIP COMMENT DREW ONLY ONE PHONE CALL, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BROADCAST ON RADIO. THE CALLER WAS GRABARZ' OWN PARTNER, OPENLY-GAY ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT HARVEY FIERSTEIN. "YOU BITCH", YELLED FIERSTEIN. "EVERYONE KNOWS I'M THE QUEEN OF CONNECTICUT!" [12-18-95, per ANDREW COCKBURN'S column in THE NATION] * APPARENTLY THERE'S AT LEAST ONE ELF WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IN FAERIES. THE KEEBLER COMPANY, A LARGE U.S. PRODUCER OF BAKED GOODS, HAD CONTRACTED TO PROVIDE BOTH MINI-PACKS OF ITS COOKIES FOR THE AUDIENCE AND A COSTUME OF ITS TRADEMARK ELF "ERNIE" FOR STAGE APPEARANCES IN THE CHICAGO PRODUCTION OF CHARLES BUSCH'S CAMPY COMEDY "VAMPIRE LESBIANS OF SODOM". BOTH COOKIES AND COSTUME HAD ALREADY BEEN SHIPPED TO THE PRODUCERS WHEN KEEBLER SUDDENLY BACKED OUT OF THE DEAL AND INSISTED ON TAKING IT ALL BACK. A KEEBLER SPOKESPERSON SAID, "OUR ELF CANNOT BE ASSOCIATED WITH ANY PRODUCTION THAT HAS 'LESBIAN' IN THE TITLE". WHILE WE MAY WONDER JUST WHAT MAKES "LESBIAN" MORE OF A PROBLEM THAN "SODOM", OR EVEN "VAMPIRES", OR WHAT POSSIBLE THREAT LESBIANS COULD POSE FOR A PRESUMABLY MALE ELF, IT'S A SAFE BET THAT THE PROMOTION WAS SOME KEEBLER STAFFER'S HALF-BAKED IDEA. [11-13-95, per CHICAGO OUTLINES and THE NEW YORK NATIVE] * A MARRIED HETEROSEXUAL COUPLE IN IRELAND WENT TO COURT TO SEEK AN ANNULMENT BECAUSE HE BELIEVES SHE'S A LESBIAN, AND SHE BELIEVES HE'S GAY. WITHOUT PRESENTING ANY CONCRETE EVIDENCE, EACH PARTNER CITED A "CLOSE FRIENDSHIP" BY THE OTHER WITH A MEMBER OF THE SAME GENDER, AND THE WOMAN SAID HER HUSBAND SOMETIMES PREFERRED MASTURBATION TO INTERCOURSE. IRELAND'S SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO ANNUL THE 16-YEAR-OLD MARRIAGE, CALLING THE COUPLE'S PROBLEM "AN INADEQUACY OF THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE". THE COURT ALSO SAID, "THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A FAIR AMOUNT OF FULL SEXUAL INTERCOURSE", CITING AS EVIDENCE THE COUPLE'S THREE CHILDREN. [11-06-95, per a bylined story by KEITH CLARK in the NEWS-TELEGRAPH/St. Louis, MO.] * BRAZIL HAS LATIN AMERICA'S HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF AIDS, SO IN MID-SEPTEMBER THE GOVERNMENT'S MINISTRY OF HEALTH BEGAN AN AMBITIOUS 5-MILLION-DOLLAR PREVENTION CAMPAIGN. IT GIVES A RADIO VOICE TO A PENIS, WHO'S FIRST HEARD IN DIALOG WITH HIS MORE CAREFUL OWNER, BUT WILL LATER HAVE A TITLE ROLE IN A QUESTION-AND-ANSWER FEATURE. YOU CAN'T HAVE A TITLE ROLE WITHOUT HAVING A NAME, THOUGH, SO THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH CAREFULLY RESEARCHED EXACTLY WHAT NAMES BRAZILIAN MEN MOST OFTEN GIVE THEIR PENISES. BEATING OUT ANASTACIO, MAURO, OSCAR, AND TONHAO, THE NEW MEDIA STAR IS CALLED BRAULIO. THE CAMPAIGN IMMEDIATELY DREW A FLOOD OF COMPLAINTS FROM THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF BRAZILIAN BISHOPS, THE LISTENING PUBLIC ... AND ESPECIALLY FROM MEN NAMED BRAULIO. [09-25-95, per THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER] * AND FINALLY ... THE HOST OF AN AUSTRALIAN RADIO CALL-IN SHOW ON SEX PROBLEMS SIGNED OFF IN EARLY NOVEMBER BY REMARKING THE SHOW COULD BE HEARD EACH WEEK AT THE SAME TIME, AND THE SAME FREQUENCY ... "IN THE TRANSMISSIONARY POSITION". [11-27-95, per THE SYDNEY (Australia) TELEGRAPH-MIRROR] ======================================================== "READER'S DIGEST REDUX" a personal commentary by Patricia Nell Warren [as broadcast on THIS WAY OUT program #405, distributed 01-01-96] Recently, when I saw a columnist invoking the mighty powers of the Reader's Digest and the Bible against homosexuals, I couldn't help smiling. >From 1964 to 1981 I worked for the Reader's Digest as a book editor, at the corporate headquarters in Chappaqua, New York. In 1973 I came out to the staff -- and lived to tell the tale. Yes, the Reader's Digest has published articles disapproving of homosexuality. And yes, like many conservative media companies, the Digest has employed gay people. "The solid-gold salt mine," we called the company. Those were different days. The word "media" was just coming into being, and a handful of giants like the Digest were in control of the scene. There, in that bucolic suburban landscape, on my lunch hours, on the brink of coming out, I labored over a novel about gay love in the sports world. I called it "The Front Runner" and kept it in a locked bottom drawer. The following spring, when it was published by William Morrow, I outed myself, in effect. The outing ceremony was completed by my statement to the "New York Post" about relationships with women. Since all my colleagues read the Manhattan press, the big secret was all over the company next day. Shortly "The Front Runner" leaped onto the bestseller list, and a year later it was still selling briskly in Bantam paperback. Some Digest eyebrows were raised, for sure. But surprisingly, nobody tried to burn me at the stake in the company parking lot. In fact, the company magazine "Pegasus" actually did a profile of me and my bestseller. I went on working there for another six years. Finally I left in 1981, having landed a book contract with Random House that led me to greener pastures. My colleagues gave me a send-off party and many blessings. Whether some Americans can accept it or not, we homosexuals are everywhere. We belong to everybody's families, and everybody's companies, and everybody's organizations. Many of us still stay hidden because of the terrible penalties for getting caught. Our society has chosen to live by the rules in a book called the Bible compiled 2,000 years ago. For centuries, the enforcers of those rules have tried to make us go away, with shame, prison, torture, public execution, humiliation, extortion, institutionalizing, unemployment .... all things considered, I was treated well by the Digest. But the enforcers always fail. We always come back, like the geese in spring. Oh yes, some of us do choose -- yes, choose -- to try and stop being gay. I tried for sixteen years there in the "solid-gold salt mine" -- young career woman, coming and going in that 70's maxi-coat, with the heavy briefcase chained to my wrist. After I came out, I often lunched with another woman staffer, who was a newly out 24-carat rebel like me. The two of us sat in the RD cafeteria, and talked of giving heterosexual marriage our best shot for many years. We even reached the point where we could laugh about it. Today I have to smile at all the Bible sermonizing about "evil homosexuals". The thunderings in that ancient book don't mean anything to me. You see, working at the Digest taught me about the power of an editor's pencil. Countless thousands of writers, translators and editors labored over the Bible through many centuries. Yet some people talk about the Bible as if it was never touched by human hands, or jimmied by a whole train of church councils, who put things in and took things out. I took things in and out of books for sixteen years, and it taught me something about the vast power that I had -- just one person at a solid-gold desk -- to change one single word in a text. Through changing that word, I could skew a whole paragraph or chapter. I could skew 28 million minds (the number of Digest subscribers at that time). After all, didn't those people believe everything they read? In my opinion, any Deity -- Goddess and God -- who is smart enough to create the Universe is also smart enough not to lock Truth in a book where people can mess with it. Of all the things I learned in the "solid-gold salt mine", that illumination was the biggest nugget that I carried away. ------------*-------------- Copyright 1995-1996 by Patricia Nell Warren. Permission granted by the author for radio airing via THIS WAY OUT and internet posting on PLANET OUT. 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