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Thursday, 19 October 06 ::
yeah, i know her, aren't i lucky?
in reference to a show hosted by Eugene's WOW Hall - A group that spews hate about the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community.
published in the Eugene Weekly.
APOLOGY NEEDED
No, Katye McDonald (10/12), you say you get it, but you don't get it at all. We protested outside the WOW Hall the night of the Buju Banton concert not to make a statement to Banton or the media, but to make a statement to you, to the CCPA leadership. Almost 200 of us, gay and straight, were there to say we were deeply offended that the WOW Hall failed to cancel an artist known for spewing hatred and promoting violence against gays.
Lots of venues in other cities managed to cancel, and we think you could have done so, too. Some of us with long memories remember a concert the WOW Hall did cancel, back in 1991. That's when you canceled an anti-racist band, Fugazi, because WOW Hall leadership panicked over rumors that Nazi skinheads might be coming down from Portland to disrupt the show. Your fearful decision then was to cancel, not to provide adequate security.
But apparently you weren't very fearful at the prospect of wounding community sensibilities. And please don't belittle those of us who were there. For all Sally Sheklow's wonderful leadership qualities, she didn't manipulate anyone into being there because "she didn't get her way," as you so snidely said. No, each of us individually felt angry and offended.
You were grateful that you could "provide a safe, open forum." What? Do you mean the public sidewalk where we gathered?
It's nice to learn of the WOW Hall's newfound concern for Jamaican gays. I wonder what specifics you had in mind as you "worked to prepare to stand in solidarity with the people of Jamaica and our local community." I wonder if you realize that right here in River City, LGBTQ folks face physical violence and death threats? Often.
I'm not sure what the WOW Hall can do to improve the lot of gays in Jamaica. There are some things you could do here and now to begin repairing the relationship between the WOW Hall and the community — the whole community of people who cherish human rights — though the tone of your letter, Kayte, makes that repair more difficult. The first, maybe the most important step, would be simply acknowledging the damage you have done to the community by allowing the WOW Hall to be a venue for someone who promotes hate. You could say you were sorry. Then you could review your policies and guidelines, and you could humbly ask for help with that. You could arrange for your board, staff and volunteers to participate in workshops on homophobia, heterosexism and on cultural competence in general. Then the Community Center for the Performing Arts would once again be in a position to contribute to the building of a safe, respectful, inclusive community.
Marion Malcolm, Eugene
posted by brooke at October 19, 2006 06:01 PM
