The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 17

THE BOSTON CLOBE MONDAY. MA 27. 1985 17 LGuuGDO iT0 uCOG GB0uQ A normal home setting' and DSS decision to remove foster children from gay couple challenged, condemned gally honored through this bill, we cannot counter these brutal at- -tacks upon us. Preoccupation with our sexual preference by society has blocked access to the rights others openly enjoy like the right to share love and joy with those more vulner- able than ourselves. Gay men and lesbians have the right to be foster parents and should not be discriminated against.

Any policy that is formulated by the Department.of Human Ser- vices must guarantee that gays and lesbians will not be discriminated against. Indeed, it is more than humiliating for many of us who have borne and reared healthy children to be continually regarded as misfits. ROSEMARY DUNN DALTON Chairperson Boston Lesbian Gay Political Alliance Boston The last few weeks have rendered tremendous heartbreak and sadness as well as political and social setback, not only for our gay and lesbian but for everyone who ascribes to the principles of equality and Justice. When the very agencies we have created to protect people strike out against our right to love, everyone loses. Yanking two small boys from the arms of two loving gay men in exchange for what a Globe editor characterizes as a "normal" household, reinforces a mythology that the proper home is one where a mother stays home and father goes to work.

It denies the reality that families are composed of many variations of that old theme. Men are nurturers: more than 50 percent of the working force is composed of women: many households of same-sex partners succeed In rearing healthy children, as have single-parent families. The subsequent statements by Judge Poitrast concluding that gay men are molesters of young children are ludicrous in light of the fact that all data points to heterosexual men as the predominant offenders. One in four girls is molested or assaulted by the time she Is 18 Battered Wives. Del Martin.

Glide Publications. 1976): 97 percent of boy molesters are heterosexual: 15-25 percent of boy molesters are married at the time of the offenses. "The furor over child molestation as a homosexual problem is unfounded." (The Silent Children, Linda Sandord. Anchor PressDoubleday. 1980.) For 12 years the gay and lesbian community has sought protection of civil and human rights through the passage of a state gay rights bill.

Until our rights are le- ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE REBH Haith doesn't represent We. seven of the nine duly elected officers and board members of the Roxbury Highlands Neighborhood Association. meeting in special session May 18. regret the need to refute the continued assertions of our neighbor, Ben Haith, to represent this association or claim our support for his single-minded, divisive crusade against the gay foster parents who are also our neighbors. While we acknowledge the diversity of opinion on this, as all other Issues, it Is nevertheless our unanimous, reasoned view that Haith has misrepresented, and continues to misrepresent, the overall attitude of our neighbors in the Roxbury HighlandFort HillHighland Park community toward the character and morals of the homosexual members of our community.

Secondly, we must charge elements of the media, particularly the Globe and its reporter Ken Cooper, with creating the very controversy It purports to report. In the process, it has used our wonderful neighorhood as a foil to unleash more safely the complex emotions of the larger society. As residents dedicated to the rebuilding of this community, we are both angered and disheartened by any actions, conscious or The Boston Chapter of the National Organization for Women finds the May 13 editorial "A nor- mal home setting" to be extremely disturbing. We are distressed both by the Globe's limited definition of normalcy and by its outdated perception of women's role in the family. As the editorial stated, households composed of male wage-earners and full-time "female caretakers" are not statistically prevalent, and as such should hardly be considered the "norm." It is antiquated and absurd to suggest that women who work outside the home, single heads of households, or dual career couples cannot be capable parents.

The editorial expresses ignorance by Implying that the only environment in which to raise well-adjusted children is male-dominated and heterosexual. Just as with many heterosexual relationships, there are stable lesbian and gay couples who make loving and capable parents. Quality care for children is what we all want and, unfortunately, Is all too infrequently found. We cannot afford to exclude from parenthood a potentially large group of women and men willing to share their lives and their love with children so desperately In need of it. Warm and loving parents should be the first concern when placing children In foster homes.

It would seem that this criterion had been met when the Department of Social Services initially placed the children with the two men. Boston NOW finds the removal of the foster children from the home of this couple to be utterly unacceptable and unjust. This action sets a dangerous precedent by focusing on the issue of sexual preference rather than on the needs of the children. We urge Governor Dukakis, Secretary of Human Services Philip Johnston, and the Department of Social Services to reconsider their action in removing the foster children from the home in which they were placed. Discrimination in any form is absolutely Intolerable.

JENNIFER JACKMAN President, Boston NOW Cambridge Shortage will increase Without commenting on the Globe's peculiar determination of the mission of the Department of Social Services (editorial, May 13). I would argue vehemently with the Globe's definition of a "normal" family. Defining normal as a non-working mom, a working dad, and the kids is not only anachronistic, it is also an Insult to the millions of healthy, loving families composed in some other fashion. Suggesting that foster children be placed only in these so-called normal families increases the already-existing shortage of foster homes, and places yet more strain on the DSS and its overworked staff. These people do a heroic and thankless task of Intervening on behalf of children in crisis.

And that is what we really should be concerned with these children, some of them at risk for their lives. Many types of families could provide a loving alternative to the abuse, neglect and violence that many children face. We should use all of our human resources, without regard for antiquated definitions or bigoted social standards, to help the children of the commonwealth. Every child deserves a safe and loving home. JUDITH A.

STEIN Cambridge The battered woman Your editorial regarding the placement of foster children with gay couples reflects an outdated and sexist view of "normal" families. Your notion of "normal" is the father-as-breadwinner, moth-er-as-homemaker family, which and Harriet nostalgia is aware that children are placed In foster care not because their families are "abnormal" in the sense of being unconventional, but because the children are being seriously abused or neglected. A foster placement is a temporary alternative to leaving children In danger. Surely a household headed by loving, mature adults who have been carefully investigated for their suitability is an adequate shelter for children whose lives are at risk. The Globe opines that rather than rescuing the children expeditiously, the state should hold out for Ozzie and Harriet! It is hard not to see homophobic prejudice behind the judgments the Globe has displayed in this case.

The present victims are the men and children involved in this episode. In the long run, the victims are the abused and neglected children who will continue to suffer, and perhaps lose their lives, while an intimidated bureaucracy searches for hard-to-find traditional homes and rejects potential care-givers who are willing and able to help. SUSAN ROSEN Brookline Time to write equitable A recent column by David J. Sargent concerning the medical malpractice crisis is misleading negligent doctors, not Medical malpractice insurance "is not readily available at reasonable prices. There are only two sources of malpractice insurance for Massachusetts physicians.

Most depend on the Joint Underwriters Association for insurance, and the fiscal future of JUA is not certain. In order to maintain sufficient cash flow, JUA recently increased premiums 68 percent and is seeking a further increase of 138 percent for 1985. National average statistics do not reflect the problem faced by Massachusetts physicians. Reimbursement rates for Massachusetts physicians are among the lowest in the United States. The malpractice premium for Massachusetts anesthesiologists is currently $13,800 and likely to be $20,000 next year.

This represents a rather significant percent- age of gross Income. Sargent would have us believe that the crisis is one of medical incompetence. How does he explain this in a country that provides the best medical training with the most advanced medical technology in the world? With Improved knowledge and technology, the medical profession Is expected to be more perfect in its diagnoses and treatments, and any devi- Children of gays are wanted, cared for, loved Globe betrays an Ozzie The Globe is playing a very unfortunate role in a sorry travesty of "child welfare" that is now in the public eye. First, it appears that an ill-considered piece of reporting by the Globe led the Department of Social Services to remove two children from a placement that had been approved after a year's investigation of the proposed foster parents. The placement with a gay male couple was ended the day after the Globe, apparently confusing bigotry with news, published a story quoting negative reactions from several residents.

The Globe dug itself in deeper with its May 13 editorial on "a normal home setting" for foster placements. While admitting that the traditional family constellation of mom at home with the kids, dad at work, and everybody living under the same roof is no longer the most common pattern, the Globe urges that this be the model against which foster homes are measured, contrasting this "normal" pattern with the "abnormal" homes from which foster children are removed. This choice of words is quite disingenuous. Certainly the Globe Shabby treatment Never have I been moved enough by a current event to take time from my busy schedule to write a letter to the Globe, but I am doing so to register my disgust and utter contempt for the' shabby treatment afforded Det. Francis Kelly of the Boston Police Department.

As a probation officer at the Boston Municipal Court for the past 15 years. I have achieved some recognition for my work, particularly with prostitutes. Under the administration of Chief Justice Theodore Glynn, the court has been sympathetic to the plight of the neighborhoods where prostitution is rampant. I.e.. Bay Village, the Fenway and the Chinese community.

In an interview in the September 26. 1984. issue of the Sampan News, I addressed the "Human side of prostitution" in an article written by Betty Liam. It would seem to me that the Chinese community wants to have its cake and eat it too: It would like to rid the streets of the prostitutes who frequent the area, yet it would effectively tie the hands of a police officer affecting an arrest In the performance of his duty. While we all deplore police brutality, equally deplorable is the systematic destruction of a fine officer's reputation and career by the media.

As an employee of the judiciary, I am deeply committed to the principal of "equal justice under the law." In my opinion, Kelly has been tried and found guilty by the media and all others who have so viciously and publicly maligned him without hearing his side. The press would have us believe Kelly, a veteran police officer, randomly and without reason attacked a helpless Chinese immigrant who was guilty of nothing more than minding his own business. How naive and how Irresponsible! Equally reprehensible is the action of Mayor Flynn who Is more interested in the attendant publicity and winning votes than Injustice for Kelly, or, indeed, for Long Kuang Huang. ANN L. FULLER Assistant Chief Probation Officer Boston Municipal Court The wrong criterion The most troubling aspect of the May 13 editorial.

"A normal home setting." is that your description of the ideal foster household, "a married man and woman with two or three children of their own." completely ignores to what extent the household is loving, caring and nurturing. The Globe of May 1 1 carried a story of a traditional household that is allegedly abusive and destructive. On the very same page was the story of a nontraditional household that is loving, caring and nurturing. Yet, in your editorial, the only criterion you propose for evaluating a potential foster household is how traditional it is. A quick glance at your own newspaper should convince you.

that this ignores one of the most important criterion of all. I agree that there should be guidelines for foster households. I sincerely hope that these guidelines consider how loving, caring and nurturing a foster household Is. Of course these guidelines should apply to all foster households, not just nontraditional ones. HOWARD KATZ Boston malpractice legislation ation from perfection is construed as malpractice.

Sargent believes medicine is good medicine. How-j ever, defensive medicine costsC money and the climate of health care cost containment policies dis- courages the extra tests, second opinions and extra hospital days for defensive medicine. Yet, mal- practice premiums and liabilities continue to increase. The bill to reduce lawyers' corh tingency fees does not prevent paJ, tients from pursuing claims. Law- yers who decide cases are "finan--' cially unappealing" shut patients from pursuing their-? claims.

Many fine lawyers do "pro bono" work, or are willing to cases at cost just as many physicians accept Medicaid pa-i tients at reimbursement rates for) cost or less. We should pay attention to the- JUA. the Massachusetts Medical Society, and review the malprac- tice situation in other states be-; fore We argue away the impending; malpractice crisis situation here in Massachusetts. The Legislature now has the-? opportunity to create manageable'. and equitable malpractice legisla-' tion before emergency measures' are necessary.

JOHN V. DONLON MD Immediate past president Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists! Boston more than homemade Molotov" cocktails. Hungarians felt betrayed, like many Nicaraguans, who, after participating in active opposition to Somoza, joined the Sandinlsta government only to realize that" Somoza's repeated trips to the US Embassy had not given way to in-; dependent governance. In 1956, there was no contest of military superiority. The US did not fail to help Hungary because of any recognition that "0111113 attack would risk war with the; Russians." The Soviets waited because they feared American retail- ation.

None came, and Hungary': was literally crushed under the; Soviet boot. Life Is better today, but let edi-', torialists and other Americans, safe in this country of freedom, live in Hungary before extolling! too loudly the few pitiful ments that finally make life there just barely tolerable to nonparty members. ANNAMARIA SELENY Somerville neighborhood group not, which serve to divide the hard-wrought coalition of residents which has emerged through our long but successful struggles against such real problems as arson, crime, drugs, lack of city services, institutional expansion and unscrupulous development. We challenge the Globe, as well as other media, to mitigate the damage already done by: 1 Covering the issue of gay foster placements, as well as the larg- er issue of the critical lack of any foster homes, with the depth and sensitivity the issue deserves. 2) Balancing this latest In a long list of purely negative and demoralizing coverage of our neighborhood by showing even the slightest Interest In the positive story of how the longest Integrated, most sociologically diverse neighborhood In the city of Boston has not only survived virtually on its own the litany of urban problems, but is coming back strongly.

BETH DEARE SIDNEY HOLLOWAY IAN JOHNSON DOROTHY LYONS OLGA J. DUMMOTT CHARLOTTE GRIDIRON LARRY LOFFREDO Roxbury children; we know that the same cannot be said of all the children of heterosexual couplings. So what are some people worried about? Are they worried that the children will be sexually molested? Research tells us that the vast majority of sexual molestai tions are committed in the home by "normal" men and boys on girls. Are they worried that these children will grow up thinking that it Is all right to be gay? Research tells us that ten percent of these children, like the 10 percent of children of heterosexuals, will grow up to be gay, and 90 percent will grow up to be heterosexual. The moral fabric of our society can be strengthened by allowing these children to live honest, open and caring lives free from bigotry.

LORAINE OBLER PR Committee Association for Women Brighton In Psychology Creating the news I don't know that talking about "normal" is going to help this case. The May 13 editorial's version of normal as a woman taking care of the children In the home is as outdated as it Is Inappropriate. It would be better to focus on what sort of environment is available to these two boys. The questions that should be asked have been asked: Is this a stable, loving environment? Are these two men committed to nurture and respect the rights of their charges? Those questions were answered in the affirmative. It is time we admitted as a society that we don't have all the answers.

That we haven't been able to label people as good or bad because they are black, Jewish, blonde, or heterosexual. Once again, the Globe is in the forefront of a controversy. Perhaps this time, it was more responsible for "making" the news than covering it. What would the story have been like if you had Interviewed the foster family in a year? What would the paper have found? Two gay men involved In the everyday world of making a living and caring for two children. Not much news there.

PAM WHITE Concord We congratulate DSS for its efforts to find healthy and nurturing homes for the children under its care; with its experience In placing children, it has realized that gay parents can provide at least the same amount of warm and caring upbringing as heterosexual parents. Because our society is prejudiced against gays, many people do not realize that some of the outstanding members of their community are themselves gay or the children of gays. Some gays bring up children by a previous marriage; when they have the courage to buck societal prejudice in order to bring up their children, we know that those children are truly wanted and cared for. Others choose to have children after they know themselves to be gay; after all, there is no logical reason that the gender of the person one relates to emotionally and perhaps sexually should Influence the desire to nurture children. To bring a child Into a gay household, by foster care, adoption, or by bearing or fathering a child, takes much courage on the part of the gay parent.

And it also takes a keen desire to have a child. The children being brought up by gays are wanted Goal of foster care I must take exception to your editorial points about foster care and "normal home settings." It Is not the purpose of foster care to place children in a family with a structure that mirrors what families used to be I.e.. with a "full-time mother." The purpose of foster care is to provide a loving, supportive, caring and structured environment for children who, for whatever reason, have not had that in their own home. Thus, the best possible placement may be with two gay men or a lesbian household or a group household. These may be much better for the children than a more "traditional" household composed of a married heterosexual couple.

IRLE M. GOLDMAN. PhD Clinical psychologist Newton Hungary was abandoned by the US in 1956 I have yet to see a more simplistic analysis than the Globe's May 14 editorial "Budapest as a Managua model." As a Hungarian and a serious student of political science and economics who has lived and worked in Hungary and Central America, I cannot help but wonder whether the Globe feels any sense of responsibility to history. The editorial states that after Soviet troops "crushed the rebellion for freedom In 1956, Hungary was an outcast nation" and points out the inefficiency of treating Nicaragua similarly. In a limited sense, this is a point well-taken.

Cold war tactics rarely produce desired results. But what of that "rebellion for freedom In Hungary is a captive nation today largely because the US abandoned it after having given Hungarians and Soviets alike the distinct Impression, via Radio Free Europe, that American help was on the way. Soviet troops withdrew from Budapest beaten back temporarily by Hungarians fighting with little you recognize as no longer statistically the most prevalent." In fact, fewer than ten percent of American households fit this model. The criterion of "normality" you suggest would severely limit the availability of foster homes, which are desperately needed. The most disturbing theme of the editorial is that a traditional family structure equals quality child care.

Yet. child abuse occurs in many "normal" families, and that abuse is actually more likely when mothers stay at home with their children full-time than when they work outside the home. Moreover, the "normal" families you describe are those in which wife-battering Is most common because the unemployed mother Is often trapped by economic dependency. KERSTI YLLO Department of Sociology Wheaton College Norton.