The Latest

To The Editor:

Hooray for Toni Pizanie, Crystal Little of GGA of N.O., Mae Dae and everyone who is outraged by the exclusion of transgender people in the HRC Mission Statement.

As a HRC Award recipient, I was very, very proud. Now it seems, they do more talking than walking, it tarnishes achievements. I have to tell you, I did not always feel this strong on the issue. When I was called to support inclusion, I said NO! I heard my words and they were shocking to me . . . at first logical sounding and then just plain ignorant. I hung up and could not believe I had just rejected any such idea.

It weighed very heavy on my mind and I was ashamed of myself. Luckily I have a wonderful transgender friend, Sarah, from Mobile. She came in the club and I asked if I could speak to her honestly and openly . . . she, of course, said yes . . . we talked forever and I got an education, she continues to send me literature and makes sure I stay current . . . Do I get it all? Of course not . . . does that matter . . . HELL NO! I was afraid to rock the boat, but I had forgotten we had all come together.

Some of my heros, Jimmy Callaway, Chicki Roche, Tempest, Miss Dean, Ms. Shelby, Bunny Day, Marco, Ms. Ginger, Penny, Toni and on and on . . . what could I have been thinking . . . Gay, Lesbian, Drag Queens, Transgenders, we were all family. How could I go forward without including the friends I've known and admired all my life . . . I was ignorant.

The first person I think of when I think of Gay Fest '78 was Ginger Snap, the first volunteer. Their are many other examples, like the way the girls got together to do fundraisers after the fire at the "Upstairs" and on and on. Our fight for Civil Rights did not just mean gay or lesbian, black or white, Hispanic, Latin, we were talking about all of the oppressed and that includes that part of our family that happens to be transgender . . . SUPPORT THE BOYCOTT!!

-Charlene Schneider

E-mail:

From: acoustic@landmarknet.net

Subject: HRC boycott

Yes, I support the HRC boycott. To neglect transgender inclusion is absurd, given the disproportionate abuses visited upon people perceived as gender variant. For something calling itself "Human Rights Campaign" to perpetuate discrimination itself is chilling and ironic.

We are all potentially "bisexual," however we may identify at any given moment. We are all transgendered, given that no complete and vibrantly transformative human being can be adequately described by either of the "gender roles" prescribed in this society. When we close our minds and our beings to these possibilities, project our fears onto others, and stand by while those we define as "other" are persecuted, we are participating in a mode of violence that is crippling the creative possibilities for the entire human race.

Furthermore, as has been observed by persons of wisdom before: "if we don't hang together, we shall certainly all hang separately." Pastor Niemoeller's remarks are also relevant.

-Beverly Woods

"They first came for the communists and I didn't speak up--because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up--because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up--because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up--because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me--and by that time no one was left to speak up."

-Martin Niemoeller

From: Kolin Frantz

Subject: Boycott HRC

Dear Ambush, Thank you for organizing this boycott notice!

Yes, I'm in favor of the boycott. I am a transgendered individual, and my name can be used on the list.

I unfortunately gave money to HRC last year, unknowing of their exclusion of bisexuals and the transgendered. I wrote a letter to them after they automatically assigned a gender marker to my name. They never responded. That's when I began to hear of the exclusion. Live and learn, I guess! Well, thanks again.

-Kolin Frantz, Madison, WI

"Transgenders Are Human Too!"

HRC Boy/Girlcott Supporters:

Businesses/Organizations
AMBUSH Mag 2000
AMBUSHonLINE
Arthur's House of Glamour [AHOG]
Footloose Cabaret
GAA [Gay Appreciation Awards]
GGA [Gulf Gender Alliance]
Hibiscus Bookstore
KCQR[King Cake Queen Royals]
Mother Bob's
Royal Tobacconist

Individuals
Nicole Adams
Lisa Beaumann
Paul Borron
Jami Buth
Stewart Butler
Edward Q. Castle
Randy Chauvin
Sonny Cleveland
Chyrle Cook
Cissy G. Conley, Biloxi, MS
Rick Cosgriff
Danae Daniels
Jimmy deBlanc
James Donovan
Reba Douglas
Joann Drusilla
D. L. Dudley, Strafford, VT
Teryl-Lynn Foxx
Kolin Frantz, Madison, WI
Bob Garofalo
Jack Gentry
Mickey Gil
Cliff Howard, Jr.
Leornard Earl Johnson
Jim Kellogg
Lori Lassiter
Crystal Little
Jay Loomis
Jossi Lowidier
Marcy Marcell
Elisabeth McCann, Athens, OH
Alyce Moore
Harold Morris
Mac Moser
Smurf Murphy
Rip & Marsha Naquin-Delain
Jon Newlin
Paul Orfila
George Patterson
Toni J.P. Pizanie
Matthew D. Rice, San Francisco, CA
Michelle Ryan
Samantha Samuels
Charlene Schneider
Karen Louise Scott
Patrick Shannon, III
Nancy Sharp
Randy Stephens
Michael Sullivan
Liz Simms
Dianne Tanner
Damon Veach
Skip Ward
Dennis Wessel
Todd Wemhoner
Stephanie Williams
Beverly Woods
Barbara Yagel

[69 HRC Tickets X -$150.00
=-$10,350
Since each of the 69 Boy/Girlcott supporters refused to buy one New Orleans HRC Dinner Weekend Ticket at $150, it translates into a minus $10,350 towards the weekend's success! Join the boycott today! Your minus $150 donation will hopefully promote change.

Get it NOW for the best view!