Let GLBTs wed, for better or worse
As a feminist, I question whether we should sanctify heterosexual marriage, much less force gays and lesbians to measure up to some obligatory standard set by an abusive church system which is unwilling to grant the same treatment to this community of people. Until such a time as this utopian fanatsy is achieved, let the GLBT (gay/lesbian/bi-sexual/transgender) community make their own marital mistakes like the 50% of heterosexuals who end up married and divorced over and again.
Why must the right wing and the fundamentalists push their way into the private lives of others? What other people do in their own homes with their own sex lives is none of anyone else’s business. The institution of marriage is broken and the whole thing needs to be fixed and GLBTs should be allowed to play in our reindeer games.
Kristy Olin
Houston, TX
Bush’s drug past no laughing matter
I agree with the Washington Post editorial (And Confessing Everything But. . .) that Governor Bush must “come clean” about illegal drug use. The Drug War has claimed millions of victims, consumed billions of dollars, distorts our foreign policy, and now promotes offensive actions by our military. For what? The War Against Drugs creates conditions for violent organized crime, sustains uncontrolled availability to children, produces economic dislocation among minorities, encourages the spread of disease, and disenfranchises millions as drug criminals. If elected, will Governor Bush meekly continue to parrot the exaggerations and lies, supporting a failed and crippling policy on consensual acts?
Indeed, does Governor Bush think “There but for the grace of God (and my father’s political connections) go I?” Does he ever feel a twinge, knowing that thousands lose jobs, homes and families in his own state over small quantities of marijuana? Does he ever search his soul because punishments for murder, child abuse, and rape are less severe than for marijuana farming or cocaine sales? Does he bat an eye at the money and property confiscated without due process and fought over among law enforcement groups?
Can Governor Bush summon the personal courage to do what no other candidate will do: Tell the truth about drug use? It is an unwelcome truth for some: People who use legal and/or illegal drugs are not demons, not perverse, but normal human beings who work, play, raise families, tend their lawns, and sometimes become politicians if simply given the opportunity to live through their “mistakes” or “youthful indiscretions.” Why cower behind guilty confessions of making “mistakes?” Why not tell the truth and help to free the American people, indeed the world, from this wasteful and tragic War Against Drugs?
Sincerely,
Mrs. Olive Longworth Nickels
Berwyn IL
Middle ground possible in Daly debate?
“Mustread: Can you be too feminist?”
As a man who took Rice University’s course in feminist social thought a few years ago, I have to stand up for Mary Daly a little bit. My course had perhaps 25 women in it and three or four men. The guys (enlightened though we were trying to be) managed to monopolize more than half the discussion time. It was something I noted in the course evaluation.
Having men in the room does make a difference. I’ve seen lesbian acquantainces get real shy and clam up in mixed groups, only to blossom and come to life around other women. The need for women-only spaces is quite real.
That said, I agree that it’s reasonable for the administration of Boston College to insist that all tuition-paying students have access to courses on the catalog. Is there no middle ground here? Perhaps a women-only discussion group?
John McCoy
Dallas, Texas
Readers still pissed about Shell ads
Editor:
I’m shocked and dumbfounded. The organization I have looked to for over twenty-five years for information not totally dominated by multi-national corporations has now sold its soul to Shell and its misleading greenwash ads. I will never read your magazine again without remembering this sellout, or questioning whether what I’m reading is the same kind of propaganda I am showered with daily by the other corporate shill media. This is a sad day for me and a tragic one for Mother Jones.
Mark Messing
Traverse City, MI
Alternative news magazines such as Mother Jones should not be posting ads from multinational corporations. Shell today, Exxon tomorrow, Pepsi next month. Eventually, the risk for Mother Jones to become co-opted increases. To date, how many of your current advertisers have forced changes in editorial content or asked you to avoid publishing news articles that might cast them in a bad light? Realistically, do you expect to be able to continue providing unbiased coverage if you continue to accept advertising revenue from corporations like Shell?
The Mojo Wire needs to support its readership in looking for the real answers behind the public relations dog and pony show. Posting links to previously-published articles criticizing Shell in order to justify running these ads is not enough. Posting an editorial defending free speech to justify running these ads is not enough. If you truly believe what you have written, and support the actions you have taken, you must go further. You should encourage your readership to directly and repeatedly question by fax, letter or e-mail those organizations and corporations at hand and not just passively accept what they have read. Eventually the glib and easy answers disappear and the reality of the situation appears.
Why don’t you suggest your readership skip the forum and contact Shell directly by mail, or by e-mail through their web page at www.shell.com?
Carla Graebner
