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Club
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Leather
columnist out of touch with reality
For the last several
months my friends and I have read with some amusement “Master’s
Class,” the leather column in Out written by Colin Morgan.
We’re not amused because the column is entertaining or informative
so much as we’re discussing the vast distance between its author and
the reality of what goes on in the Pittsburgh leather community.
For example, in his
April column, Mr. Morgan’s major complaint seemed to be that he went
to a leather bar recently and there wasn’t enough sex going on for
his taste. Where does he point the blame? He takes issue with those
working to raise money for important causes in the community, both
locally and internationally. That sounds like a convenient and
somewhat callous scapegoat for his inability to get what he was
looking for.
I know a wide range of
people in the Pittsburgh leather community, including pretty much
everyone in both leather clubs and a number of local BDSM players.
No one seems to know who “Colin Morgan” is. To me, that suggests one
of two possibilities: either he’s a complete outsider who is saying
a lot of things about a community he has little to no experience
with or, more likely, it’s a pseudonym for someone who’s been around
for a long time, has grown bitter and feels the need to grind his ax
and settle some imaginary score.
Out
has nothing to gain from publishing Mr. Morgan’s column in either
case. Pittsburgh’s leather community knows he’s a sham, and
leather-curious neophytes who could actually benefit from useful
leadership will most likely be steered wrong by Mr. “Morgan.” He
speaks for no one but himself, and his views are at odds with what
the Pittsburgh leather community stands for and tries to accomplish.
He presents opinion as fact and hides behind anonymity, which is
shameful and unfortunate.
Having written for
Out myself, I know what a credible source of information it is
and what a vital role it plays in the Pittsburgh GLBT community. I
would hope in the future only legitimate writers are allowed space
to present information in Out’s pages. Let’s relegate the
anonymous columnists to the gossip pages, and let the honest,
out-of-the-closet authors present the news and the facts about our
community.
Mike Natale
Mr. Pittsburgh Eagle Leather 2004
TRLC
president cites group's positive work
I am writing
in regard to the “Colin Morgan” column [“Looking for a hook up in
bars, not a Jell-O shot,” Out, April 2007]. As the current
president of the Three Rivers Leather Club, I’m concerned as to the
misrepresentation of the leather community that self-proclaimed
leather authority Mr. Morgan is giving to the gay community in
general.
Let me address
the fund-raising that goes on at our events. When the Pittsburgh
AIDS Task Force outreach testing program in the bars ran short of
funding a few years back, it was the Three Rivers Leather Club, in
conjunction with the Eagle, that stepped up to raise the money to
carry the agency through until funding resumed.
The TRLC
proudly boasts its continuing sponsorship of Shepherd Wellness
Community dinners, two of which have been funded in the last year.
Recently TRLC
has received a citation from Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan
Onorato for collecting an estimated $5,000 worth of toys for foster
children in the county. Locally, we also have supported the Gay and
Lesbian Community Center, Persad Center and the Gay, Lesbian and
Straight Education Network.
On a national
level, we have contributed over $1,000 to the Leather Archives &
Museum in Chicago and raised money for the Cleveland Leather
Awareness Weekend and the Upper Ohio Valley Task Force in West
Virginia.
This is the
positive image that I would like to see portrayed to the gay
community. The leather community is a brotherhood/sisterhood that
fosters a non-judgmental acceptance of like-minded individuals, like
a fraternity on a local and national level.
As for Mr.
Morgan, I suggest that what he is looking for might be better found
at a bookstore, truck stop or bathhouse.
Dave Vey
President, Three
Rivers Leather Club
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