Blatant Homophobia in the Daily Comics

from a friend...

Hello friends,Have you seen the L.A. Times comics the past few days? They're publishing a week of homophobic "Mallard Fillmore" strips by Bruce Tinsley. In it, a character proudly announces he realized he's homophobic, after being really grossed out by Brokeback Mountain. As is the strip's norm, this is presented without a shred of irony, humor or commentary, but rather plainly as the strip's own point of view. The third person narrator of the strip remains neutrally uncritical. (If you know the strip, you know Tinsley uses it not to create characters or situations, but to nakedly voice his personal opinions.) The emphasis is on his "coming out" as homophobic.

I sure doubt they'd publish a strip about proudly claiming one's racism and being disgusted by black folks. But today in Los Angeles, still a double standard.A friend at the Times assures me they do listen to criticism, especially when more people write to them. So PLEASE take a second now to jot a note saying what you think about their choice to publish this week's homophobic "Mallard Fillmore" strips.

Personally, I find it inexcusably offensive and disgusting.You can do any or all of the following:

1. Email a note to the LA Times Readers' Representative Office at: readers.rep@latimes.com (or call 877-554-4000; it can be as simple as one sentence)

2. Use the online form to drop a note to the LA Times Calendar Section Comments, at this link: http://www.latimes.com/services/site/la-comment-calendar,0,262413.htmlstory (click the top choice: "Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times newspaper")

3. Email a short letter to the Editor, at: letters@latimes.com (include your full name, address and phone number so they can contact you to verify you wrote it; of course it's kept confidential)