"Only Father Mychal could get a room like this together. I mean, I see firemen, policemen, recovering alcoholics, and people who are...uh, here's a word I don't use very often...gay." ... Joe Hartnett, an electrician and father of five from New Jersey, speaking at a tribute to Father Mychal Judge, the NYC fire chaplain who died in the World Trade Center attack. New York Magazine reported Nov. 12 that "priests, nuns, lawyers, cops, firefighters, homeless people, rock-and-rollers, recovering alcoholics, local politicians, and middle-aged couples from the suburbs all streamed into the Good Shepherd Chapel."
"And yet this was precisely who Mychal Judge was: a devout, gay, recovering-alcoholic Catholic priest, a fabled New York figure who had a knack for telling great stories and would burst into old Irish standards at the drop of a hat. ... Judge had a Clintonian talent for making people feel as though they were the only ones in the room and a bartender's gift for bringing strangers together. Like this crowd." ... New York Magazine.
"I WAS married for 3-1/2 years to Ellen under the traditions of how I was allowed to marry Ellen. I believe I went through a divorce. My relationship with Ellen is no less significant as a marriage than my relationship to Coley." ... Anne Heche to The Advocate.
"ONE VISIT to your local Star Trek convention is proof that, while the future that such TV shows present is apparently free of gays, the present fan base is filled with them." ... The Advocate.
"I HAVE A LOT of gay friends in the industry that do science fiction, and they're really just into it. I don't know why; maybe it's the perfection. Maybe they're just hoping for a future that's different and where there's acceptance of everybody." ... Out gay producer Chris Lee remarking to The Advocate about the DVD release of Final Fantasy.
"I RECALL hearing and reading about the emergence of AIDS in the early to mid-1980s, back when they called it 'Slim Disease' and it came primarily out of Haiti. Then, gradually, I began to hear about people who were family members of friends who had been diagnosed with AIDS. Then there were a few people I knew who had tested HIV-positive, until finally it infected some members of my extended family." ... Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther, to Arts & Understanding magazine, November edition.
"AIDS IS ... a human crisis, no matter where you live. And I think anyone who sincerely cares about the future of Black America had better be speaking out about AIDS, calling for preventive measures, [ and for ] increasing funding for research and treatment." ... Coretta Scott King to a gathering of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, as reported in A&U.
"I FEEL that I have a special responsibility as a human rights activist to speak out against homophobia, which I am convinced contributes mightily to the spread of AIDS. By spreading shame, homophobia contributes to low self-esteem, particularly [ for ] those who have not yet 'come out' and affirmed their pride in their identity. ... Homophobia encourages discrimination, which undermines the effort to improve research, prevention, and treatment for people with AIDS. ... I'm concerned that homophobia also contributes to the failure of elected officials to adequately fund needed AIDS programs." ... Coretta Scott King to A&U.
"IF YOU wanted to keep Liberace as a friend, the last thing you'd discuss would be AIDS. To his dying day he never admitted he had AIDS." ... Comic Phyllis Diller to Arts & Understanding magazine.
"I WAS ONE of the first who jumped right away and started doing AIDS benefits. So early that it was thought to be something ... . In Texas, I was invited to a very high-level luncheon and when they heard that I was coming to town to do an AIDS benefit, they withdrew my invitation. That was the Texas attitude...at least at that time." ... Phyllis Diller.
"My ex, John, visited from Paris this past weekend. He made fun of the American flags everywhere and talked of how he and his French friends are embarrassed for President Bush and his oratory difficulties. I realize that here in Manhattan, I look for flags. They're one of the few things that re-assure me consistently. Whereas John talks of flags as a stand-in for mindless nationalism, I think of flags as an antidote to mindless fear. I realize that I don't feel the need to criticize the President right now; it seems like an irrelevant exercise." ... Openly gay stock trader Ralph B. who witnessed the WTC attacks up close, in an Oct. 17 interview with this column.
"I'm back at work downtown. I walk past the site every day at dawn. I have trouble knowing how many bodies are there, even if they're mostly pulverized. The smell has diminished considerably. I rarely have bad dreams about the day itself. I count myself lucky that I was a block farther away from the carnage that morning than some of my friends from work. And I'm still capable of happiness, sadness, and all the range of human emotions. But I do know I'm altered, and I know that the extent of that change is still billowing outwards." ... Ralph B.
"JUST AS We did 20 years ago [ at the start of AIDS ] , we suddenly feel engulfed by a previously unimaginable form of terror. Only this time no one feels invulnerable because of a particular sexual orientation." ... Charles Kaiser writing in The Advocate.
