_______________ A DIMINISHED VIEW OF MANHOOD BY EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON (04/06/98)
	I must be part of a very small group of conservative, white, male ordained evangelical ministers who love Salon. I also deplore Reggie White's recent arrogant, insensitive and inappropriate statements before the Wisconsin Legislature. I understand that it is unreasonable to expect journalists to understand the nuances of North American Christianity. But we represent a very large minority of the population of the United States and increasingly we are encountered and need to be reported on. So maybe it's time to get it right, and to view one-dimensional and factually incorrect misrepresentations of us as being as unacceptable as when applied to other groups. I refer to Earl Ofari Hutchinson's article on White's comments. He just doesn't get it. What mainstream evangelicals actually believe may be offensive to Mr. Hutchinson, but try confronting what we actually do believe. Evangelicals believe that sex between people of the same gender is morally wrong. Evangelicals believe that adultery is wrong and premarital sex is wrong. Evangelicals like, enjoy and are very good friends with many people who know that Evangelicals view an aspect of their sexual behavior as wrong. They can talk honestly with homosexual friends about the implications of their beliefs for their friends. It is rarely easy, but homosexuals that sense that we really want to understand them and to hear from homosexuals about why we may be wrong know that moral judgment of behavior is not hatred or rejection of that person as a person. Lastly, all mainstream evangelicals now distinguish between homosexual orientation, which we do not believe is entirely chosen, and homosexual sex, which clearly is (if not it is homosexual rape). All evangelicals know what it is like to be tempted to or attracted to actions or thoughts that we should not do. It is not wrong or sinful to have those thoughts. It is wrong to cultivate them or to act on them. Mr. Hutchinson, do unto evangelicals what you would have evangelicals do unto homosexuals. Understand us and represent us fairly. -- Rev. Curt Byers As a black, gay American I've always been struck by the situation evoked in Hutchinson's piece. It's no new phenomenon. The "Harlem Renaissance" was a gay and lesbian cultural movement. Period. End of story. Now try discovering this simple fact in the written histories. The March on Washington was planned by a gay black man, Bayard Rustin. His name had to be taken off his masterwork for fear of reprisals from a deeply closeted gay man named J. Edgar something. Most of the key texts on black social justice were written by gay men. Among the more important was James Baldwin. He was, needless to say, attacked for his sexuality by Eldridge Cleaver, the world-famous ex-con, neo-conservative pants designer. And then there's the late, great Marlon Riggs. Oh I could go on, and on, and on and on. Thanks again Salon. -- David Ehrenstein I just read the commentary about White's speech. While I don't disagree with anything in the article, I find it interesting that the commentary failed to mention that White, apparently feeling he was just being brutally honest, reinforced stereotypes of a great many different segments of the population, including blacks as a whole, whites, Asians and Jews. I'm always wary of anyone who speaks too loudly in defense of just one aspect of human rights, when all are under attack. It would seem that before we can stop hating, or even just holding stereotypes against any one group, we should learn to stop stereotyping of ALL groups. -- Glenn Peters Reggie White cannot be dismissed as homophobic simply because he disapproves of homosexuality; and what Earl Ofari Hutchinson calls "the John Wayne version of manhood" is hardly the only alternative to a gay lifestyle. Of course it's a lot easier to poke fun at benighted brothers who worship swaggering machismo than to ask honest questions about whether heterosexual claims to normalcy are valid. Tough-talking morons of all colors abound, but they don't by themselves qualify Mr. Hutchinson for a teaching post at Tolerance University. -- Patrick O'Hannigan
_______________ WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN BY KATIE ROIPHE (04/03/98)
	I enjoyed Katie Roiphe's article, but she failed to mention what is probably the single most important reason why Clinton's repeated and serious sexual misconduct is tolerated by feminists and why the accusations by Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas were championed by feminists: politics. Thomas is a conservative and Clinton is a liberal. Let's admit, finally, that the feminist leadership is not so much interested in women's issues as it is about liberal or even left-wing politics. Imagine a similar situation in which the same set of allegations is made against a Republican president. The feminist position would, I believe, be one of outrage. Where is the outrage now? -- Doug Mawbey Katie Roiphe, ordinarily an intelligent writer, has chosen in Shakespeare's "Othello" the worst possible example of female "closeness and betrayal." Contrary to her assertion, the plot of the play revolves around Iago's fanatical jealousy and vindictiveness: In other words, men betraying men. Amelia, the handmaid, is guilty only of naiveté (stupidity might be a better word). Under constant badgering from her unpleasant husband, Iago, she agrees to steal what she considers a trifle in order to placate him. Confronted with the horrible consequences of her action, however, she denounces him publicly and is murdered for her pains. She dies defending her mistress's good name. What kind of a cat fight does Roiphe see here? This seems to me a clear instance of the devil quoting scripture for her -- I mean his -- purposes. -- Rae Nadler Things have changed during these past 30 years, and I am certain we all agree that, unfortunately, this is not always for the better. In viewing the cartoon for "Catfight," I was saddened to see a reflection of the mind-set we endure in the '90s. Since when did a catfight have its participants with clenched fists and hammerlocks? Seems like hair pulling and ripped clothing were more the norm when life was simpler. What manner of crowd would form to see women such as these? Anyway, just a lament for days gone by. I hope we all look forward to less violent times ahead. -- Ray T. Moe SALON | April 8, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| THE SADDHU FROM TEXAS BY ANNE CUSHMAN (04/02/98)

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