From: exukev@exu.ericsson.se (Kevin Autrey)
Newsgroups: soc.motss
Subject: Dallas (was Re: Austin, TX joins Colo. Boycott)
Date: 30 Dec 92 16:32:06 GMT
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems
X-Disclaimer: This article was posted by a user at Ericsson.
              Any opinions expressed are strictly those of the
              user and not necessarily those of Ericsson.

In article <1992Dec30.140427.2820@convex.com> cgraham@convex.com (Chip Graham) writes:
>>It's very simple.  Dallas is Dallas, and Austin is not.
>>

>By the way, Dallas is the only major city in Texas to actively persecute gays. 

Are you talking about the police questionnaire regarding sexual
orientation or citizen oppression of gays or just what?  While what
you said about Dallas being a buckle in the Bible Belt is very true,
and while the Dallas police do question potential members about their
sexual orientation, I'm not sure I have seen the widespread official
oppression which you imply.

Police, at the gay community's request, have increased their patrols
of the gay club district in an effort to reduce crime: gay-bashings,
drugs, public sex, etc.

Two of our 15 members of the city council are gay - one (Chris Luna)
so open about it as to actually be seen in the Homo Heights district
pretty frequently.  Councilwoman Lori Palmer is, from everything I can
tell, gay-friendly.  During the last mayor's race, they stopped the
music at The Village Station one Friday night so that a mayoral
candidate could make a pitch to the Gay Community (Dance Club
Division) - unfortunately she lost.

Our newspaper (The Dallas Morning News) has been featuring a *lot* of
positive gay coverage lately.  The city hall beat reporter (Dave
Evans) on TV Channel 8 news is a homo (with *lots* of attitude, even).
Channel 8 (and Dave Evans, no less) did a story about the Turtle Creek
Chorale last year that was not only relatively long (about 5 minutes -
an eternity for broadcast news), but was brilliantly written and
produced.  It'd be hard to imagine a dry eye in Dallas after that
story was shown.

Pink Triangle stickers and Rainbow Flag stickers are becoming almost
even slightly prevalent (well, I see at least one a week in such
conservative places as Richardson and Plano).

Most bookstores (Bookstop, Taylors) around town carry a pretty good
selection of Gay Studies books.  Even the Plano Bookstop has one of
the more impressive arrays of gay books I've seen outside of the gay
bookstores in Oak Lawn (official name for Dallas' Boy's Town).

I mean, a gay mecca Dallas ain't (Austin comes close) - but it's
getting better - you've got to give some credit there.  We're getting
attention - some good attention even.

What are you doing to enhance the situation?  I trust that you aren't
just sitting back criticizing without taking an active role in some
aspect of community involvement in an effort to improve things, right?

By the way Chip - this post isn't meant as a flame directed towards
you - I just think Dallas has a lot to offer - and I think that with
some work, Dallas could become another Austin.

>-- 
>Chip Graham      cgraham@convex.com         +1 214 497 4642
>Convex Computer Corporation 
>3000 Waterview Parkway     
>Box 833851, Richardson,Tx,75083


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\      / Kevin Autrey                     I can't even *think* straight
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