“I’m an aquaintance of one of the bar owners referenced in these letters, and it’s frightening.

Regardless of the speculation about who it may be that wrote the letters, It’s not something to be taken lightly.

The local/Seattle Media, with the acception of fringe publications/blogs has been pathetic. . .subject to infighting within the gay community and apathy.

Some have even suggested that this is a marketing ploy.

I just want some swift action regardless, and I seriously believe that if this wasn’t a threat to “gay bars” It would be looked at differently.”

For me, it is encouraging that the authorities are calling in the resources they need to thwart any such plan and attempt to apprehend real or potential perpetrators.

You can read the poem here:
http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/698.html
See lines 41-44.

I wouldn’t put it past the police to look for a family member of gay person who died from AIDS perhaps in the month of January or February, in 2008 or an earlier year. They could have found a copy of Doty’s poems among the effects of their loved one. Maybe the person who passed away was 55? Or born that year (1955). Perhaps something like that.

All I can say is the targets won’t care much that they’ll be dead and nearly frozen, just as, presumably, they didn’t care that they were living…

This doesn’t ring to me as a disgruntled gay person. This sounds more like one of those anti-gays that specialize in bogus statistics and depersonalization of gays.

There are no religious references, and he uses the phrase “gay community” rather than “homosexuals.”

I think that is strange too.

But then again, were the author a gay individual trying to conceal hard his/her identity, it would be easy to write the letter in the stereotypical fundamentalist style.

Oh…it’s not like the experience in Salt Lake City with “the letter” a couple of months ago. (I personally heard such murmuring about gay terrorist(s) who sent the letters to the LDS Church HQ.) It’s a matter of perspective isn’t it? A gay business is not as important as a church headquarters.

Okay…so there wasn’t an immediate-danger element to the Seattle letters…but still…

We’ve seen cases where acts against the LDS church has been blamed on gay activists with no evidence to substantiate that claim whatsoever. For all we know, those acts might have been perpetrated by a prop 8 supporter trying to smear the gay community.

Well, this may not be who we first assume it is as well. My personal opinion: it could just as easily be a deeply disturbed, disgruntled gay person somewhere. But as with all opinions and guesses, I could very very well be wrong.

We all know how that tit-for-tat-without-any-proof-whatsoever works, don’t we???

(But, they started it Mum…)

This, on the reminder of the murder of Sean Kennedy, makes me remember how far we still have to travel. Given all our worldly cynicism and our armour, notwithstanding, I’m still more than a little bothered by how much the BTB reminder of Sean Kennedy has upset us. Really upset us.

Signs have gone up in our local bars, yet again at this time of year, reminding patrons to beware of another plague of gay-bashing as they walk to their homes or cars. Seasons greetings, and goodwill to all mankind.

Regan DuCasse… I think we need your sholder for a moment, if you can make room.