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Letters to the Editor

Published Thursday, 19-Mar-2009 in issue 1108

“I’ve been in the gay scene 40 years and can remember when camp was in full-flower.”

Dear Editor

I agree with Timo Eliot (www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=14184) that CAMP (when did it become all-caps?) is ready to be put to rest but not on the “scrap-piles of history” because, like so many features of gay culture, i.e. the hanky code and the Imperial Court, Camp grew out of factual history and necessity.

I’ve been in the gay scene 40 years and can remember when camp was in full-flower. It’s generally traceable to the Algonquin Roundtable started by Dorothy Parker (a New York columnist) who held forth in the bar at the hotel of the same name during the 1930s. She attracted authors and composers such as Noel Coward, Ogden Nash and Cole Porter.

Clever conversation, glittering bons mots and verbal zingers were encouraged as they talked about whatever came up. In those days coded phrases were invented by the dozens (I once saw a Glossary in paperback) to cover the fact that some people weren’t heterosexual. No one was better at this than Cole Porter for his lyrics full of double entendres and sexual innuendo and they always rhymed!

Camp reached its apex in the 70s and was the hallmark of cocktail chatter; and almost everyone had at least one Camp Name. Even landmarks had them too.

Sadly, Camp is disappearing because the generation that used it is also; and, be- cause coded phrases are becoming passe the more we assimilate into the main stream.

Flagging, the Court, even gay square-dancing are also based in factual history.

Tom Giles

“I was informed by Lee Swanson at the fire department that the department does not take complaints against firemen who are open bigots or racists, even when they advertise this in the press and courts.”

Dear Editor:

I was disappointed to see the four male bigots on the San Diego Fire and Rescue Department (John Ghiotto, Jason Hewitt, Alex Kane and Chad Allison) from the Hillcrest station win their obvious attack on the Gay and Lesbian community. Had they made the same complaints about being exposed to Blacks in the King parade or Hispanics in the Chavez parade, they would have been fired. However, because the target of their hate was the Gay and Lesbian community, they got an apology from the fire chief and money from a jury.

However, I was more appalled by what I found out after. I was informed by Lee Swanson at the fire department that the department does not take complaints against firemen who are open bigots or racists, even when they advertise this in the press and courts. They said complaints had to be made to the city council or mayor. Apparently, being a bigot or racist is ok at the fire department.

Council member Gloria’s office told me that they were disappointed by the firemen’s’ behavior, but did not say they would look into it further.

I understand the difficulty in questioning a court’s decision, but the behavior of the firemen in publicly advertising their hatred for a minority group in the community is dangerous. As they become more embolden, it is only a step away from not providing emergency services to minorities in San Diego.

I encourage all good people to complain to the fire department and city council about the fire department allowing open bigots to serve as public servants. With Prop 8, it is obvious that hate is growing and becoming more emboldened in California. We need to stand up to this hate and if enough people complain, maybe something will be done.

I would also encourage the Pride parade organizers to not invite the fire department to participate this year.

Peter Brown

Letters Policy

The Gay & Lesbian Times welcomes comments from all readers. Letters to the editor longer than 500 words will not be accepted. Send e-mail to editor@uptownpub.com; fax (619) 299-3430; or mail to PO Box 34624, San Diego, CA 92163. To be printed, letters must include the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

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