To the editors:
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Many of us who live in this neighborhood are proud of the diversity we offer. People of different sexual and ethnic orientations live together here in a model of tolerance. Clubs like the Wild Hare represent the heart of this community, a place where all types of people can go and feel comfortable in relating to one another. The importance of this should not be understated in light of the Los Angeles riots and the racial problems of this city. The alderman’s lack of vision in seeing the importance of a club like this for the ward and the city is not that surprising. What is surprising, and horrifying, is that other establishments on the block and some of our elected officials don’t even see the need to cover up the double standard.
Anybody who has walked Clark Street with any regularity will tell you that the employees of the Wild Hare and most of their patrons are friendly, polite, and dignified. In stark contrast, the patrons of the sports bars that occupy the very next block between Eddy and Wrigley Field are often loud, boisterous, rude to the neighbors, and much more likely to be inebriated. Mr. Gapinski uses the catchphrases of racism; they talk to the woman, they defecate on the lawns, but the reality is that many kids come from the surrounding suburbs to partake of beer specials at the sports bars, and in their disrespect for the neighborhood create the bulk of the problems. Just ask the policemen on the Clark Street beat which bars give them the most trouble.
W. Aldine
