Posted by WCityMike at 166.93.229.116 on August 01, 2001 at 17:42:58:
In Reply to: Some bad, bad news concerning me and GLAAD posted by Kevin on July 31, 2001 at 17:52:15:
To whom it may concern:
I am writing regarding a conversation that Mr. Seomin has had with director Kevin Smith regarding his latest movie, "Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back." You may have noticed that the overwhelming tone of those who have written you via e-mail has been courteous; you hopefully do not have hordes of threatening and abusive e-mail messages being sent to you. Please know that you have Mr. Smith to thank for that; he specifically requested that any messages sent to GLAAD in his defense be extremely courteous.
I am an 27-year-old actor and legal secretary in the Windy City, and throughout my life, I have been friends with many gay men and women. I believe in tolerance and I very much believe in the work that you perform at GLAAD; I usually have nothing but respect for what you accomplish. However, if Mr. Smith has relayed the story of his handling of GLAAD's concerns accurately (you may read his statement at http://www.viewaskew.com/newboard/messages287/521.html), then I believe that there is a very real possibility that GLAAD may have unethically handled this situation. Mr. Smith did his very best to address Mr. Seomin's concerns, which were expressed at a very late stage in the game. If Mr. Seomin then proceeded to continue promoting negative press coverage of Mr. Smith, I respectfully suggest that Mr. Seomin's actions may have been in bad faith.
As I said before, I have nothing but respect for the work that GLAAD performs, but I do feel that the behavior of Mr. Seomin in this instance may be condemnable. (If Mr. Seomin wishes to relate his view of the events, I'm sure many equitably-minded fans of Mr. Smith would appreciate hearing it. Let us not try this through the media!)
I cannot specifically defend Mr. Smith's film without having seen it, but I suggest that your attack of same may alienate not only a film director strongly supportive of gay rights, but the (quite literally) thousands of people who feel a strong respect for that director. I could not defend Mr. Smith's film better than he has himself in the aforementioned statement, and I strongly recommend you read the same if you have not already.
I once again strongly urge GLAAD to not attempt to try Kevin Smith and his film through the media. With the fickle finger of media, you do not know precisely how GLAAD will look in the resulting barrage of stories, and Mr. Smith's film "Chasing Amy" gives him quite visible credentials against the argument of him being homophobic.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Harris