HEARING VOICES
Frank De Blase writes: “It’s Tilbrook’s voice you hear
on pop classics like ‘Tempted'” (Short Takes, April 13). It should be
noted that although Glenn Tilbrook may have contributed backing vocals, the
lead vocals on “Tempted” are, to borrow a phrase, “the fruit of
another”— namely, Paul Carrack. He was with Squeeze for a brief period
and was also a member of blue-eyed soul group Ace, best known for “How
Long (Has This Been Going On).”
Not that
anyone cares, or ought to. I just felt like being a smarty-pants music nerd.
Tom Clifford, South Avenue, Rochester
ANSWERS, PLEASE
“New Battleground for Human Rights: The Bathroom” (March 23)
raised three questions for me:
1) This
seems like a lot of fuss and bother over a very small component of the population. What percentage of the population are we
talking about?
2) Why are
transgendered folks lumped in with gay people? It seems to me that most
transgendered people are not homosexual.
3) What,
exactly, needs to happen to convert a men’s or women’s bathroom into a unisex
bathroom?
Donald S. Hall, Vick Park B, Rochester
Jennifer Loviglio’s response: Although
some researchers have tried to estimate the size of the transgender population,
it’s still unknown. If you count the number of people who’ve undergone
sex-change operations, you miss a majority of transgender people who cannot or
will not have surgery. If you track people who’ve sought counseling for
transgender issues, you miss those who don’t seek therapy. And as Pam Barres of
the Rochester Transgender Group says: “It’s not a census question. It’s
not a question most people would answer truthfully.”
Barres says
that despite their differences, transgendered and gay people band together in
GLBT groups because they have common enemies. And although sexual orientation
and gender identity are not the same, transgendered people have always been
part of gay community. Barres points to the involvement of drag queens and
butch lesbians in the Stonewall Riots in NY in 1969.
Regarding
your final question, Barres suggests putting a sign on the door that says
“restroom,” and not “men” or “women.”
“In
almost all bathrooms they have toilets, not just urinals,” Barres says.
“You can leave the urinal and change the sign. And put a lock on the
door.”
MONEY MATTERS
This is the news: Xerox announces additional compensation
for its millionaire executives. What’s the significance for the rest of us?
This has
not suddenly become a world in which being laid off by a major corporation is a
thing of the past. Nor are people of our community free of the burdens that
assault the victims of unemployment, those who lack adequate health care,
public schools struggling to survive, social services constantly understaffed.
Some
observers predict that our society is on the road to disaster. We note the
grand smiles on the faces of capitalism’s champions, preening as responsible
citizens, featuring gems of inspirational rhetoric in speeches addressed to
their peers. The setting typically is a banquet where the honoree will modestly
accept a leadership award. Our nightmares have a sustained foundation in reality.
Are we
being poor sports? Should we stop meditating on the nature of greed, and cheer
wildly for those who are living proof that anybody willing to work hard enough
can join the special folks on Cloud Nine?
At least
one more bad dream for hastening Rochester’s downfall: gambling. The people
playing away the grocery money can safely bet that Xerox’s millionaires will
never be among them.
Martin Fass, Linden Street, Rochester
REVISING REN SQUARE
It looks like Renaissance Square is a done deal, other than
getting the rest of its funding and doing the demolitions and construction.
This project, however, should be done differently.
A new
performing arts center and new Monroe Community College campus should be
constructed as two separate buildings on the Renaissance Square site, with the
former resembling the much-missed Palace Theater, though on a larger scale. The
new MCC center should resemble the also-missed Claude Bragdon train station.
The bus
station should be located on the first floor of the Sibley Building. This would
eliminate the health and traffic problems of an underground station and would
eliminate the need for more state and federal funding. Aid from both
governments could instead be used for the following: to build a new Amtrak station
at the site of the current one, resembling the Bragdon station; to restore the
EZ Rider downtown shuttle service; and to create a light rail or trolley
system.
The public
should be assured that the Performing Arts Center will not detract from the
Geva and Auditorium theaters and smaller ones. The new Renaissance Center
should be a focal point for all of downtown, spurring revitalization and a link
between the East End and High Falls, improving both. It is also critical that
any businesses in the buildings slated for demolition be guaranteed new space
in Sibley and Midtown.
Kevin F. Yost, Middle Road, Henrietta
URBAN ED
What a wonderful article on the Jump Off Campus Store
located in Madison High School of Excellence (Metro Ink, March 23).
This
SouthWest Area Neighborhood Association program under the leadership of
executive director Pat Jackson and in partnership with Madison, Dr. Andrew Ray,
principal, is truly a tribute to all of the wonderful programs and activities
at SWAN.
The Austin
Steward Young Entrepreneur Program has been made possible by two key
individuals: State Senator Joseph Robach and Monroe County Legislator Calvin
Lee. They have shown a true commitment to the southwest area and its residents.
In addition
to their eight weeks of classroom training and a buying trip to New York City,
the student-owners are truly learning valuable hands-on experience in running a
business. They are learning management skills, marketing and advertising
skills, math and accounting skills.
Thank you
for your interest in the southwest area of the city and in particular the
SouthWest Area Neighborhood Association.
Linda Terrell, program manager, Austin
Steward Young Entrepreneur Program
WRITING TO CITY
We welcome and encourage readers’ letters for publication.
Send them to: themail@rochester-citynews.com or The Mail, City Newspaper, 250
North Goodman Street, Rochester 14607.
Our
guidelines: We don’t publish anonymous letters — and we ask that you include
your street name and city/town/village. We don’t publish letters that have been
sent to other media — and we don’t
publish form letters generated by activist groups. While we don’t restrict
length, letters of under 350 words have a greater chance of being published. We
do edit letters for clarity and brevity. And in general we don’t publish
letters (or longer “op-ed” pieces) from the same writer more often than about
once every two months.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2005.
