Dear Miss Wang,

Thank you for your letter.  I is not, and never was our 
intention to trivialize, exploit, nor cheapen the Asian 
culture.  Quite the contrary, it was our intention to 
honor it!  Please note this letter from an Asian American 
gentleman that will be attending Hotlanta for the first 
time, because he feels so honored:

Dear Mr. Neal,

This letter is to confirm our conversation on 
July 24, 2000, regarding this years theme for 
the Hotlanta celebration..."Year of the Dragon."  
As a gayman of Asian decent, I am not offended by 
the event theme or the individual party themes.  
As a matter of fact, I am somewhat honored.  

Being a gay Asian man, I have, at times, felt 
excluded in the gay community. Although the gay 
Asian community is large and diverse, the presence 
of Asian heritage in gay events is lacking.  
Therefore, I applaud you for your creativeness and 
inclusiveness.  I see events like yours as a 
celebration that bringing the gay community together, 
not one that causes separation and discrimination.  

I look forward to visiting Atlanta (for the first 
time) and look forward to the Hotlanta celebrations.  
  
Sincerely,
Tai T. Nguyen


I ask that you, put aside your years of anger and 
frustration; we are not out to strip your cultural 
symbols of their value.  Our intent was to make the 
Asian community feel more welcome to our event.

Thank you,

Stan Neal  

Dear Jennifer,

Thank you for your concerns, and the first thing I would 
like to express is that we as an all voulunteer organization 
when considering this year's theme selection, never conveyed 
or inteneded on trivializing the Asian Heritage. 
we felt that the 'Year of the Dragon' gave us a unique 
opportunity to be the first and the only event of 
our nature to celebrate the themes associated with 
The Year of The Dragon.

With those good intentions in mind and through observation 
of many of the social expositions held and 
condoned by Asian Americans involved with 
celebrating 'The Year of The Dragon', 
it is found that this is how many Asian Americans at their 
own events promoted themselves. I'm of German heritage, and 
when a large number of German-Americans get together and 
celebrate Octoberfest, we serve German Foods, Listen to 
German Heritage Music, Drink German Beer, and wear those 
silly pants called Leider-hosen. 

We have received numerous E-mails related to our theme and 
a vast,vast majority of them have been very 
favorable. Some individuals are planning to come to 
the event for the first time and are quite honored 
that we are celebrating Hotlanta 
River Expo through our 'Asian' based theme.

In reference to your concerns, I ask a simple question. 
Why is it that if someone, that is not of a particular ethnic 
group, decides to celebrate the traits of that group, it is 
called trivializing or demoralizing? The individuals 
attempting to celebrate those traits maybe following only 
what they have been taught by that ethnic group 
themselves. Unfortunately, what you suggest 
leaves us with one conclusion, each ethnic 
group can only celebrate its OWN customs and 
traits. This opens the door for isolationism 
which rapidly breeds fear and ignorance and 
we all know what evils 
come from fear and ignorance.

I'm not sure how one should celebrate one's social-ethical 
traits without exercising those traits. For example, should 
an Asian-American festival serve Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and 
Budweiser? Or should an Italian group partake in Tacos, 
Salsa, and Tequila? You'll agree, those ideas sound 
ridiculous, however, it seems that when Italians do 
celebrate Cynco De Mayo, or Gay Men Celebrate 'The Year 
of The Dragon' it is called trivializing or demoralizing. 
WHY IS THIS?  

Unfortunately, we have been advertising this theme, 
on a National Level, since April of this year and 
the first concerns regarding our theme have come 
less than 2 weeks out. All print media and 
advertising has already been 
produced and/or ordered. It is a shame we did not hear 
concerns earlier and we could have redirected our innuendos 
related to our themes in attempt to make EVERYBODY happy.

In closing, I ask for your input on how we should have 
celebrated the Year of The Dragon theme in relation to our 
events, or should we have celebrated your Asian Heritage 
at all? The saddest part about this bickering is that the 
only thing that wins is a very small virus called - HIV.

With Warmest Regards!

Keith Weinberg
VP Sponsors Hotlanta River Expo