HerlandVoice-1999-07-v17-no07_ocr.pdf
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Jul
1999
CELEBRATING PRIDE IN
OKLAHOMA
by MOC
Tulsa's first-ever Pride Parade, July 11, was a rousing
success. There were, according to the official police estimate,
several thousand people in or watching the parade, and
gatheredatthepicnicfollowing. The temperature was maybe
130 degrees in the shade, butl wouldn'tknowfor sure, I never
found any; and the humidity hovered around the Ivory soap
puritylevel, 99.4%ataminimum.BeingTulsa'sfirstparade,
there were very few people who knew they should pass out
water to the marchers - and not one water bazooka to shoot
us withand cool us down. (The fabulous Susan from Norman took
care of that for us in Oklahoma City)
The onlookers were otherwise quite wonderful and appreciative - thanking us so often for marching that our mantra became
"well, thank you, too, yes, well thankyou". My attempt to get the
group I was marching with, (Cimarron Alliance Group) chanting
was feeble and ineffective- I wanted to go with the great chant the
Oklahoma contingent came up with in Washington in 1993, "Ten
percentisnotenough,Recruit Recruit,Recruit!" Butno. Cimarron
can be a little stodgy sometimes, despite the good work they do.
According to his despicable website, Rev. Phelps and his gang
of homophobic picketoids planned to give the parade a "bye"; it
was probably the presence of Congressman Barney Frank, (DMass) as Parade Marshall that brought them down from Kansas.
They and their ugly signs served a useful purpose for anyone who
forgot why we were marching.
AttheparkfollowingtheparadetheCouncilOakMensChorus
sang two songs, one a rousing and beautiful arrangement of"We
Shall Overcome". Following the music, Congressman Frank addressed the gathering. Widely recognized as one ofthe brightest
and wittiest members of Congress, he amused, entertained and
inspired the crowd His primary message was the needforus all to
register and vote.
He pointed out l!l!l!!!!!\ll'l!~'.'.Jll_..
that AARP and
the NRA never
march, but are
enormously effective in their
lobbying efforts: old folks
and gunlovers
vote!
Volume 17 Number 7
Later that evening TOHR (fulsans Organized for Human
Rights) and Cimarron sponsored a reception and dinner for Rep.
Frank at the Greenwood Cultural Center, which commemorates the
worst race riots in our history. The wonderfully appropriate site
ledintohisremarksaboutthedistancethegayrightsmovementhas
come; when he first began addressing parades and dinners such
as this, he said, he could be sure he was within thirty miles of an
ocean Dnowthe movement is vigorous and open in the heart ofthe
country.
Sunday June27wasthe0klahoma City Parade. KarenParsons
of EQUAL! and of Cimarron did a fine job as keynote speaker at
Memorial Park preceding the march. There were manyfloats and
marching contingents, however Herland was on foot this year
except for Paton her bicycle and I .aura as one ofthe Dykes on Bikes.
Ms. Liberty marched for the second year in tennis shoes instead
ofhighheels (thank you Victor! It hurt watchingyou walk in those
killer shoes) but another marcher walked in heels and a tasteful
summer frock that went well with his mustache, carrying a sign
which said "Beaten but Not Bowed", in tnbute to the Stonewall
Rebellion drag queens. I hope that ifs/he marches next years/he
will be invited to lead the parade.
a
HENSLEY Cou.ECTION OPENING
A reception will beheld atHerlandonJuly 18th at 2:00
pm to formally accept the Charlotta Hensley Special
Collection to the Herland Lending Library. As a memorial, Hensley's family and friends donated hundreds of
fiction titles that she had collected to the library.
Please come by on Sunday and hear more about this
great gift of books. Light refreshments will be served.
Herland Sister Resources
2312 N.W. 39, OKC, OK 73ll2
SAINT SYBIL
Dear St Sybil,
Interesting times. I used to joke that City Councilman Jack
Cornett wouldn't know a hate crime unless it bit him on the buttwell, it bit him, and he's seen the light - a glimmer of it, anyway.
lsraelBird'smotherdoesn'tthinkthatitwasahatecrimewhen
her son was beaten half to death by a bunch ofblack kids. The
police don't think thatit was either. But to Jack Cornett and many
otherofhismentality, theassailantswereblack,Israeliswhite,and
ergo, it's a hate crime - no further evidence needed. Gone are the
lengthy rationalizations about not being able to judge what's in a
person's heart, the stem lectures about a crime being a crime no
matter what the motivation, about the law's ability-and willingness
-to punish all crimes equally. No, Mr. Cornett's butt has been bit,
and suddenly he realizes that with the greater publicity given a
<!Wgnatedhatecrimetheremigbtbelargerrewardsforinformation,
speedier arrests, a public moral stance ofcondemnation that might
· deter such crimes in the future....
But ofcourse, much as he would like to come out for hate crime
ordinances covering black against white crime, he's not about to
do anything that might possibly lead to protective coverage for
gays and lesbians.
Somythougbtis,andlguessmyquestiontoyou,Sybil,iswhat
do yon think of this brainstorm of mine: if a gang of gays, maybe
me and some friends, went around beating up straights, would our
elected leaders have their eyes opened enough to finally pass some
hate crime legislation?
Yours,
ImaWtllin
Dcarlma;
Well my dear, that certainlywasa storminyour brain; and such
an unpleasant one too. I suggest you take a nice cold shower and
come to your senses.
First and most importantly, who are these anonymous
"straights" who yon plan to sacrifice to the cause? Odds are that
your random choice would be the president of PFlag or a lesbian
in straight/working-world drag.. And secondly, Ima, look to your
ownsoul. Youcan'tbeheldaccountableforthoughtsthatpopinto
yourmind,butyoumustn'tinvitethemtocomeinandsitdownand
have a cup oftea. Violence hurts the soul ofthe perpetrator to the
extent it hurts the body and mind of the victim.
And thirdly, it wouldn't work anyway. It would just result in
overt retaliation against the gay community by the much larger
hetero w~rld. It is certainly possible for blacks to commit crimes
of hate against whites; women against men, Jews against nazis,
gays against straights; but it is not possible for blacks, Jews,
women, or gays to use hate crimes as a means to an end. "Hate
crimes" are a tool of oppression, not of revolution. A real "hate
crime" can only be committed by a member ofan empowered group
against a minority or disenfranchised group. They are used to
intimidate an entire class of people, and they are very effective..
What kind of act is a hate crime? Of course the dreadful
murders of Matthew Shepard, Chuck Mears, James Byrdwere all
hate crimes. These are the highly visible and well- publicized
showpiecesofbigotry at its ugliest extreme; and what Jack Cornett
says is true about this kind of heinous murder - murder is murder
and will be tried and punished as such. I would however suggest
to him thatit is still important to recognize abate murder for what
it is so that he and our other "leaders" migbtlead us all in a spirited
denunciation ofhate and intolerance. Oh, wouldn't it be welcome
and refreshing!
Far more numerous and yet in the long run equally oppressing
are the racist graffiti, the swastikas painted on synagogue walls, the
overturning of Jewish headstones, the crossburnings, the vandalismaimedatthehomesofAfrican-Americans in "white" neighborhoods, the beatings not-quite-unto-death of interracial couples
and homosexuals, and on and on. It is for this latter group that the
enhanced punishment accorded by hate crimes statutes is intended. Vandalism intended to intimidate an entire groupofpeople
should carry a higher penalty than overturning trash cans on
Halloween. Violenceintendedtosparkfearintheheartsofanentire
group of people, intended to dampen a group's feeling ofbeing at
home in their own country and safe being themselves, is a great
crime and should be acknowledged and treated as such.
Now, nothing is going to persuade Mr. Cornett, Governor
Keating, and the usual sordid suspects at the legislature - Bill
Graves, Tim Pope, Leonard Sullivan, etc., unless they have a huge
transformation in their hearts. They are totally lacking in that
generosity of soul that it takes to recognize when one is a member
of an oppressive class or group; and to take the next step and want
to end that oppression. The whites who marchedin Selma, the white
Freedom Riders, the heteros active in the gay rights movement, the
men active in anti-rape and domestic violence work - these are
people with soul, heart, imagination, integrity and conscience. Do
you detect any of those qualities in the people I named above?
So remember, Ima, no violence from our side. Remember also
that when you try to teach a pig to sing, itjust wastes your time and
annoys the pig. Get busy electing decent people to the City
Council, the Legislature, the Governor's office. Then everything
else will follow.
And keep the faith,
Fondly,
Sybil
HSR Supper Club
5:30 PM Saturday, July 12
Meet at Her/and and we'll pick a dinner location.
The Voice Is publ/shed by: Hertand Sister Resources, Inc. 2312
N.W. 39th, Oklahoma City, OK 73112.
The Voice is offered as an open forum for community discourse.
Articles reflect the opinions of the author and not necessan1y those
of Hertand Sister Resources. Unsolicited articles and letters to the
editor are welcomed and must be signed by the writer with ful name
and address. Upon request. letters or articles may be printed under
a pseudonym or anonymously.
Subscriptions to The Voice are tree upon request although a
donation is requested to meet publication and distribution costs.
3RD ANNUAL HERLAND PRIDE M+EK
COOKOUT AND CONCERT
Thank you, thank you, thank
you to all those who attended and
assisted with the 3rdAnnual Herland Pride Week Cookout and
Concert held on June 26. More
than200 folks enjoyed the evening
and helped raise money for Herland.
We especially want to thank the performers and those donating auction items.
Performers
Nathaniel Batchelder
Darenda
Dee Britt & Marilyn Moore
Donna D. & Nancy Nesser
Jeri James Comedy Troupe B.J., Boo, Laura, Pam & Preston,
Peggy Johnson
Rich Klessig
Oklahoma City Metro Men's Chorus
Deb Mills
Two thumbs up to our friends donating auction items:
4th Dimension Landscapes, Inc.
Darenda
Kathryn
Jay
Jane
Jill
Julie
Laura
Macy
Rita
Ginger
Special thanks to our wonderful emcees -Kathi McCallie & J.B. Schuelein. And a BIG THANK
YOU to our excellent auctioneer, Mary Ann.
Herland Sister Resources
2312 N.W. 39
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
NonProfit Org.
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Peggy C. Johnson
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Associated with
Parr, Friend and Johnson
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Norman, Okla. 73070
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