Thursday, February 1

AN OPEN LETTER TO RAGAN FOX

Dear Ragan,

I'm not going to waste any time talking about how I'm a big fan of your show -- a simple trip to the podcast archives will find a v.m. message I left, somewhere back in the first 12 episodes or so... something about chicken'n'waffles. Nor will I spend any time praising your strong, clear stand in defense of gay/lesbian, women's and human rights - anyone who is smart enough to listen to your show is also smart enough to know the manner in which you normally champion these issues.

No, I'll just cut right to the chase: a few months back, I found a digital preview of a new magazine in my email inbox. I've working in the publishing industry before, so I know how hard it is to find feedback untainted by the evils of marketing. So, I read the darn thing (as much as one can, in this format) and submitted my feedback. Overall, the magazine offered very little in the way of new ideas. They seemed hell-bent on marketing themselves as the thinking tweakers' version of XY magazine... which pretty much says it all. But that wasn't the worst of it. No, what really left my designer briefs in a bunch was the lack of diversity in this magazine. Nearly every image was of skinny, white men. And the image most upsetting? YOURS.

Now, don't get me wrong, Ragan: I love ya. I would F- You in the -A, and give you a BJ anytime. We even get our hair did at the same place, which in some odd, faggy way makes me like you even more. (Although I've never had the crazy Russian lady. I always wait around for the big, daddy bear, but that's a story for another time.)

No, what upset me was the image of my modern-day hero, my champion of diversity, selling out to a white-washed magazine. I won't use the word, "disappointed" -- that's a heavy, nasty word, and I'm not angry enough to lash out like that... I just, I dunno... hoped, well... let's just say that after I found your podcast I had more hope for the future, found greater faith in my fellow man/woman, and felt a little less alone knowing someone out there thought/acted/spoke the way you did.

I don't know what I expect to come of this. I know this may be an unfair burden to place on you. I just though, will all your personal attempts at honesty and clarity, I owed this to you.

love,
A Fan

EXPERT OPINIONS

From the "I Know What I'm Talking About" Files: (thanks to the BRI)

I applaud (Pres) Nixon's comprehensive statement, which clarely demonstrates again that the president was not involved in the Watergate matter.
-George Bush, Sr. (1974)

We're going to make everyone forget The Beatles.
-Barry Gibb, on the Bee Gee's 1976 movie version of "Sgt. Peppers"

It will be gone by July.
Variety magazine, in 1955

No woman will in my time be prime minister.
Margaret Thatcher, 10 years before this cover of Time magazine hit newsstands