I am shocked by
Choire Sicha's article "Ding-Dong, Jesse Helms Is
Dead." And I am disappointed that the Advocate
editors would include such an article under the
heading of "news." A news article would never describe
Alan Keyes as a "harmless wingnut." While I never
agreed with the politics of Jesse Helms or the religious
views of Jerry Fawell, it is just mean-spirited and callous
for Sicha to say "the famous bigots of America are
contributing their best (and last) service to this
nation's progress--they're dying." Yes, although Jesse
Helms frequently and viciously attacked our community, he
dedicated most of his adult life to the service of his
country as a United States senator, and, as such, he
deserves at least a little respect. His venom-laced
rants created many opportunities for positive
dialogue. Mr. Sicha, in my opinion, the most influential
leaders of our community understand the importance of
opposition.