Letters to the Editor

SELECTIVE
I refer to your recent article Harbour Tradition [SSO 959].  It is perplexing and selective in its account of the facts.
Despite the allegations in your article, to my knowledge, no one on the Azure payroll ever had prohibited substances on their person.
I know the Azure crew is rightly proud of the remarkable event they created each year.  They deserve our respect for creating a truly positive legacy.  Some of them have been there over the last two years working with Mardi Gras and Fuzzy to keep the magic alive.
-” Azure Executive Producer
HAVANA RAID
When is something going to be done about Havana?
Working on the strip every Friday and Saturday night I regularly walk past this venue. I find the patrons aggressive, intimidating and abusive.
Walking past the  venue is like walking through a minefield of sneers, homophobic abuse and, due to the density of the crowd, fear of possible physical assault with no easy option for escape.
The proximity of this venue and its undesirable clientele to Stonewall hotel is not only a great concern to me but to the patrons of GLTBQ venues on the entire strip.
In the latest incident on Saturday, Havana was raided by uniformed and riot police.
As a result of the raid there was a brawl between patrons of this venue and police on the street and several ambulances were called.
Due to the events unfolding outside, for the safety of staff and patrons inside, Stonewall went into lockdown early.
It is not good enough that staff, patrons and security of other venues have to be subjected to or confronted with violence and incidents as frightening as those of last Saturday night simply due to the poor planning and lack of clear logic of whoever approved the opening of this venue in its current location in the first place or due to the crowd Havana is marketing towards.
It is not good enough that friendly, responsible patrons who want to migrate from one club to another are confronted by this aggressive, intimidating crowd.
What’s even more ridiculous is that venues like Stonewall and Arq have been hit with ridiculous 2am lockouts while clearly irresponsible venues like Havana have managed to avoid these restrictions.
The removal of Havana from Oxford St would greatly improve the atmosphere, feeling of safety, image and ambience of Oxford St and would go a long way in preserving Oxford St as a GLTBQ district, something Clover Moore and Sydney Council apparently hold in high regard.
Until something can be done about these unwanted venues and the undesirable crowds they attract we might as well give up on Oxford St now as no amount of pot plants, water features or rainbow flags will cover the stains they create.
-” Tora Hymen
BIGOTED IDEAS
John states that the gay community has spent nearly three decades mocking… heterosexuality (SSO 962).
Actually the GLBTQI community has always striven for equality of treatment including freedom for self-expression.  Therefore having children is the ultimate expression of both equality and freedom for both gays and lesbians.
I have never read so many generalisations, bigoted ideas and misplaced science as John paraded before us.
As a sperm donor to the lesbian community (nine babies and five on the way), I have observed the profound happiness that motherhood has brought so many wonderful wimmin [sic] and their extended families.
Parenthood is, I agree, not for everyone, whether straight or gay.
However, for those who desperately want children to complete their family, children are the ultimate expression of their love for each other and their commitment to their relationship. Especially where they share a donor and the children are of the both of them.
-” John
GANG VIOLENCE
The reported gang violence in Hyde Park after the Mardi Gras parade for the second year running should be of great concern to our community.

While the police are reported as saying that this is not hate-related violence one can speculate how long this will be the case.
I am sure there are already gay-bashing incidents associated with these violent antisocial gangs. They have no place around Mardi Gras and no place in our Sydney.
In response to this problem the police are proposing to close Hyde Park to the public next year.
Locking down a park with police in overalls, with dogs and horses and huge fences is conceding we have lost control and confronting violence with more violence.
This issue is not simplistically about alcohol laws as the Police Commissioner and Clover Moore like us to believe. There are complex cultural and societal issues involved here.
The police approach to lock things down and deploy dogs and horses will just displace these groups at the same time denying the general law-abiding community free access to our Hyde Park.
I have asked Council to discuss with police other strategies to discourage this antisocial activity.  One suggestion has been a giant noodle market in conjunction with Mardi Gras or perhaps free entertainment in Hyde Park South.
It would seem if we had the good crowds come to Hyde Park during and after the parade that this antisocial behaviour would be drowned out by goodwill and responsible community behaviour.
Over to you Mardi Gras, police and Council to find a more positive response.
-” Shayne Mallard, Councillor, City of Sydney

ROLL OVER, CLOVER
Clover Moore is past her use-by date after 21 years in office and is right not to commit to further terms (SSO 962).
Her deputy, Marcelle Hoff, is grooming herself to be next on the throne.
Clover’s heritage credibility is zilch, having bulldozed Baron’s Bar, Kings Cross, demolished the heritage-listed Ashton dry-stone wall, Elizabeth Bay and the last remaining WWII air-raid shelter, Rushcutters Bay.
She has still not listed the famous cottage of Juanita Nielsen, murdered Potts Point ’70s heritage crusader, after three years of agitation, while her council’s heritage development control plan has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese and is often completely ignored.
Her latest decision to demolish the heritage-listed gardens of Jenner, Potts Point, is a betrayal of public trust, overruling her own December ’07 decision to implement six clearly enunciated design principles.
The Rees planning report on which her decision was based is now the subject of a referral to the NSW Ombudsman.
It’s time -” time for Clover to roll over.
-” Andrew

MALE ROLE MODEL
While the position of the gay community is one of wide acceptance and indeed encouragement for us all to somehow -” miraculously -” procreate, I agree with the argument put forward by John (SSO 962).
I grew up without a father as a result of a divorce when I was young. I find it quite disturbing to think there are families that start out with neither mother nor father. I think it is unfair on the child in that same family to not have had experience with a father figure or mother figure.
I had to work out my way in the world without the guidance of a male role model and I missed this enormously.
I am not casting aspersions on the parenting abilities of same-sex families. I am simply arguing for the child who is raised in such a family who doesn’t -” in some cases, not in all -” get the benefit of a relationship with both parents.
In my situation a male role model may have helped me toughen up and deal with many situations differently by offering a male interpretation of the situation. I could have perhaps enjoyed more male-oriented excursions and pastimes.
I am certain I still would have grown up gay, but I would have grown up knowing the love of a mother and a father. As that is something I never had, as an adult I miss it and I can never reclaim it.
I was teased mercilessly at school for being a fag. What can we expect of schoolchildren when the children of gay and lesbian parents enrol? Kids are cruel, and there is nothing the parent can do to stop these same kids from teasing a child who is seen to have a different family.
John rightly mentions that many children today are abused and neglected, and should not be used to prolong or give substance to your relationships. I couldn’t agree more.
-” Eric