Kraft, Calhoun reminiscent of religious right
Upon reading Paul Kraft’s and Roy Calhoun’s letters to the editor (Dallas Voice, July 18), their vitriolic tone and irrational language forced me to do a double take and make sure I wasn’t reading the editorial section of The Dallas Morning News.

It’s in The DMN that I’m used to reading letters like theirs — written by right-wing, religious types who condemn that newspaper for printing articles that portray the gay and lesbian community in any sort of positive light, and conclude their correspondence with either identical threats like Kraft’s or hapless bemoaning like Calhoun’s.

For the record, I am an independent voter so I am not advocating a red or blue point of view. That being said, I agree on principle with Kraft and Calhoun that the LCR organization is generally misguided and operates on a philosophy that is farcical at best. I also believe the Voice has always done an adequate job of presenting balanced coverage.

Where Kraft and Calhoun come undone is through their desire to stifle LCR by bullying and coercing the Voice into denying them a forum for their views to be expressed. By attacking the messenger, both men are treading down a very dangerous slope that has been paved by every right-wing religious zealot who’s fought against the gay and lesbian community using similar tactics.

I can empathize, to a degree, with how Kraft and Calhoun feel they can wrap themselves in a flag of moral superiority to justify their intent; but it in the end, it does not mask the ugly, permeating stench of the resulting byproduct: plain-old, despicable censorship!


The Voice is a community newspaper, not an engineered mouthpiece for a particular political viewpoint a la Fox News.

The gay and lesbian community is as diverse as the general American population with just as many contrasting opinions and everyone in said community has the right to be represented regardless of popularity.

To quote Voltaire: “I may disagree with what you have to say, but I shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.”


Drag queen ban shows Crews Inn hasn’t changed
With any news story there are usually two sides. The article that appeared in the July 18 edition of Dallas Voice (“Gay bar bans drag queens on ‘Trashy Tuesday’”) clearly showed that Crews Inn co-owner David Moore hasn't changed.

Many years ago, before I lived in Dallas, my African-American partner and I were visiting and went to Crews Inn for the evening.

The door man, apparently as a policy put in place by Moore, was going to require my partner to show two forms of ID. I, on the other hand, was never asked for any ID.


Certainly, neither of us could have been mistaken for underage. This happened on more than one occasion.

I protested and advised the door man that if my partner had to show ID, then I must be required to show ID as well. Although he said it was “policy,” he backed off.

After moving to Dallas in 1999 I was advised that Moore refused to hire any Latino or African-American dancers, unless he was just absolutely “forced to.” I witnessed this on many occasions when it was nearly impossible to find either at Crews Inn. This is one of many reasons that I haven't been to Crews Inn for more than five years. Now he wants to bar transgenders and drag queens. Does he have the right? Yes. But is he right? Hell no.

Can you see the pattern? The leopard has not changed his stripes and probably won’t. It is therefore everyone’s duty not to visit Crews Inn on any night and to take their business elsewhere.

I’m sure that Zippers, The Hideaway, The Hidden Door or any club on Cedar Springs, would love your business and would love the business of law-abiding African-Americans, Latinos, trasngenders and drag queens.

The times I went to Crews Inn I witnessed worse things than out-of-control drag queens and transgenders.

I'm talking about the homeless, hustlers, drug addicts, alcoholics, etc.

I don't know how many times I was approached by these people asking for money or drinks or cigarettes or whatever while inside the bar.

How about policing them first and doing everyone a favor and getting rid of the true riff-raff before singling out others that by most accounts are not causing the majority of, if any, trouble?


Moore has no choice but to ban drag queens
There are many things in the July 18 Dallas Voice article, “Gay Bar Bans Drag Queens on ‘Trashy Tuesday,’” that need clarification.

First, the right to turn people away is allowed under the law to business owners. It is not discrimination but the right to refuse service, especially when some people are interfering with the enjoyment of others.

Second, under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission rules, patrons’ appearances must match their picture IDs to be served liquor.

Remember when you were in high school and it was a bonus to have an older sibling who looked identical to you so you could use their ID to buy alcohol?

In a bar, that is usually enforced even more so. Gay bars have always been very lenient on this law in support of the community, but you wouldn’t get that at any other bar.

These are just two reasons David Moore has for banning drag queens on “Trashy Tuesday.”

From a patron’s point of view, drag queens are often a drag. No pun intended. I don’t like being pushed aside when waiting for a drink because their “inner diva” has kicked in and they feel they are a little more important than the rest of us.

There’s nothing like going to a gay bar for acceptance and being “read” by a drag queen all night who thinks it is alright to put down others for entertainment. Part of this problem is they do it on and off the stage and anyone is fair game.

Ivana Tramp was quoted as saying, “It’s kind of like I’m a positive role model in the community.”

You are? News flash: No, you are not, and I have been out since I was 17 years old. This has nothing to do with bias or discrimination or anything else.

Role models are those people we aspire to be and who are an influence on the community and make a difference every day. Well, at least they were when I last looked.

Moore is willing to sit down with you all and work it out, so do it. From the day I came out, going to gay bars and seeing drag queens has changed very little. They are demanding, rude, self-absorbed and out of control.

Most of the community still says that if you are looking to score drugs, find a drag queen in the bar and ask her. Now why is that? Reputations suck, and when they are untrue, that makes them even worse, but as a community, drag queens have done very little to improve their reputation.

My partner used to run a restaurant in the Oak Lawn neighborhood that had weekend drag shows all the time. Every drag queen he ever hired proved why their reputations are the way they are and how little has changed: 1) Late for their stage time; 2) Even after being asked not to, they put down customers over and over again; 3) Demanding service at the bar over other guests because they are in drag and on numerous occasions; 4) being asked to leave for dealing drugs and/or using drugs before arrival or in between performances.

That is not “role model” behavior.

Yes, a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch, but on a Tuesday night when it is busy and crowded and with so much going on, many, many in the drag community have made Crews Inn less enjoyable because of their behavior. If it is “just a few,” then talk to them and get them in line.

Moore had no choice but to ban drag because of the bad publicity it has created for his bar on Tuesdays.



Misbehaving is the whole point of drag
Sometimes an inadvertency is the funniest line of the week.

In the July 18 edition of Dallas Voice, the funniest line leapt from the front page, adjacent to a photo of Crews Inn owner David Moore: “I don't want drag queens in here that are going to misbehave.”

But isn't the point of drag to misbehave — to defy expectations and deny proprieties? Otherwise, what?


High heels will prevail over cowboy boots
David Moore, the co-owner of Crews Inn, claims failure at controlling drag queens who steal, hassle and lock customers in the bathroom of his Dallas bar on Trashy Tuesday.

Of course he can't control them — they're drag queens. You feed them; you don't control them.

Moore says he wants to keep drag queens out of his gay bar. But no better premise exists for re-enactment of the Alamo, Stonewall and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Poor guy!

He can never win a battle against a collection of Texas drag queens led by someone named Ivana Tramp.

High heels, he will soon learn, always prevail over cowboy boots, even in Dallas.

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TO SEND A LETTER
We welcome letters from readers. Shorter letters are more likely to be printed, as are those that address only a single topic. On some weeks we receive more letters than we can print. In that case, we print a representative sample. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity, but we attempt to maintain the writer’s substance and tone. Include your home address and a daytime phone number for verification. Send letters to the senior editor, preferably by e-mail (editor@dallasvoice.com). Letters also may be faxed (214-969-7271) or mailed (Dallas Voice, 4145 Travis St., Third Floor, Dallas, TX 72504).

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This letters appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 1, 2008.