Billie Stanton hits a bullseye in Montrose, Colorado

by David Safier

One of the many losses Tucson suffered when the Citizen closed was the silencing of Billie Stanton's voice on a local editorial page, not to mention the emails she sent to those of us who communicated with her from time to time — always passionate and committed, always warm and embracing.

I'm happy to report, her voice has not been silenced. Billie is alive and well as the Managing Editor of the Montrose Daily Press in Colorado, and as outspoken as ever.

She wrote the kind of column we desperately need in Arizona right now. Here are some excerpts.

We at the Montrose Daily Press, like journalists at any respectable newspaper, want the words we publish to be accurate, direct and meaningful. Words and phrases that are “loaded” with inappropriate implications won’t be tolerated…

Let’s turn first to the hot-button phrase “illegal alien,” a detestable moniker despite its official usage by our federal government. An “alien” comes from outer space; the migrants who hike across our southern border in hope of work are not only our fellow human beings, but also our next-door neighbors.

Granted, our badly broken immigration system is an outrage and desperately needs comprehensive reform. But that isn’t the fault of the poor people who risk their lives migrating because U.S. employers promise them low-paying jobs. Rather, blame the cowardly members of Congress who routinely have failed to tackle this controversial issue.

[snip]

Another misnomer that pops up in print is “sexual preference.” Last time I checked, no one “preferred” to be a persecuted minority facing discrimination in housing, employment and general society. Sexual orientation isn’t a choice, and it isn’t a lifestyle. It’s largely a birthright, as science has shown. So we’ll stick to the accurate term, thank you.

Sexism also persists in our language, despite the great strides made by feminists over the past four decades. On real estate documents, two gay men who sell their house each is referred to as “a single man.” The woman who buys the place is “an unmarried woman.” The latter conveys a lack of something, as if the woman were incapable of fulfilling her destiny. The men? They’re simply “single.”

But the most egregious terminology commonly used in our society is the unfortunate reference to the “illegitimate child.” Every child is legitimate — be he an orphan, the offspring of a single parent or the product of a sperm bank. These are children. How anyone can reduce the miracle of childbirth to “illegitimacy,” whatever the circumstances, is inconceivable.

Give 'em hell, Billie.