EDITORIAL
Legislature must
respect voters’ will
In November, thousands of Oregon voters <.ast their vote* on
moot than a dozen ballot measures, ranging from child
pornography to public employees' pension*
It was unusual for state resident* to vote on so many mea
sures, Hut people were given the opportunity to decide what
they want, anil they did It's not their fault the last legislative
session was so unproductive that it was nwessarv to file a
record number of ballot measures
In the Nov«ml>f*r elections, voters d« tded to ban the use of
dogs and bait by cougar and boar huntvnt end to limit cam
paign contributions Voters aiso refused couttuvefsia! mea*
sure* like Measure 15, which would require the legislature to
maintain funding for schools and community col logos and
Measure 5, which barred new or increased taxes without voter
approval
Unfortunately, the
I.ogislaturo is work
ing lo change some of the
key measures <li*« idtxl by
voters. In some oases, the
legislator wants to over
turn measures that
passed by comfortable
margins Legislators are
bravely pitting them
selves against voters,
refusing to pay attention
to elections results
What goenl is an
election if polin
clans aren't true to the
results? Although law
makers may disagree
with the outcome of
elections, they need to
pay attention to what
their constituents want
About a dozen bills
before the Legislature
now attempt to change the outcome of November elections
For example, several measures before the Legislature would
suspend or go around Measure 18, the cougar and bear initia
tive passed bv voters The Senate also re< erttly pmmhI a reso
lution asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment
eliminating free speech protections lor obscenity and child
pornography, similar to Measure I'l. which failed by 54 per
cent
And although Measure ft. whir h plat <>d limits on (campaign
contributions, passed by 73 perr ont. the legislature is looking
at amendments that include tenfold increases in the new lim
its.
What good is an election if politicians aren't true to the
results? Although lawmakers may disagree with the outcome
of elections, they need to pay attention to what their con
stituents want. People appreciate their right to vote and the
results of elections should lie taken seriously by elected offi
cials.
If a measure is found unconstitutional, the Legislature
should enjoy the right to interfere. However, as long as mea
sures passed by citizens are lawful, legislators should stick
with what the voters want.
If legislators adopt a pattern where they override or alter
election results, people will believe they are powerless and
may stop voting Many voters already believe the Legislature
has betrayed them Politic ians are losing the trust of people.
To ensure democracy, the legislature should forms on what
the people want, which is reflected through election results.
Oregon Daily
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THE TEN
Suggestions??
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THIS IS
Politics, Mo S£S,
TRUST ME.
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■ OPINION
Empowerment key to ending abuse
(iayi> Forman
have Ixien in an abusive rela
tionship 1 am a powerless
JLwaif who needs lo be prote< I
®d by a man No one appns tales
me lor w hat 1 do. which is cook
ing. cleaning oml taking care of
the babies I have little authority
in the world around me 1 am
hated by all men who envy me
for my reproductive powers. I
am in denial.
Are you confused yet ' Don't
he I'm still the same friendly
neighborhood i olumnist: I have
not been lobotoriuzed 1 gamed
all of the above insights about
myself a! a seminar I took a few
weeks ago on domestic violence
The goal of this class was to
enlighten the masses about the
widespread problem of domes
tic violence And indeed it is a
huge problem, with 4,000
women murdered in domestic
disputes each year and millions
ol women suffering from all
sorts ol abuse. (And yes. men are
also abused, but they are a
minority and they rarely suffer
physical beatings, so boys, don't
go getting yourselves into a
tizzy.)
The seminar had good inten
tions — to tench people how to
recognize and get out of abusive
relationships but the tactics
used to attain this goal seemed
Itoth i ounterprodui live and dis
empowering to all the men and
women present
The seminar, for the most
part, was fine — educational
anil provocative — that is, until
a male speaker who works with
recovering batterers started lay
ing a heavy blame session on the
men. which is fine by me. If
these in-the-know folks think
Hi.it it In*;(is to tcii .i roomful of
twentysnmething men that they
are all potential batterers
because they all hate women, 1
won't argue. But while these
generalizations are meant to (re
ate an aw areness among men, I
suspect that the only thing such
blanket statements actually
achieve is to make men defen
sive. And defensive people are
not exactly open to new ideas
Still. I had no problem with
this guilt trip/consciousriess
raising session. Difficulties
arose, however, when said lec
turer, in try ing to educate the
men on the gender inequity of
society, began lamenting about
the sorry state of women in this
country Judging from his com
ments, we are all housewives,
completely dependent on men.
We re not appreciated by the
men-folk who don't take our
work seriously, our work being
cooking, cleaning and raising
the kids We women all expei •
to Iw protected by men, but men
renege on that obligation when
they beat us up.
It went on for hours Women
don't enjoy sex; they only do it
for the men's sake, he implied.
Men occupy all of the power
positions while women iron
their shirts Men hate and disre
spect women. They talk about
us, deride us, and compare our
bodies to animals.
After a few hours of this I was
getting really pissed off, and not
at the evils of the patriarchy but
at this guy's dribble What cen
tury was be in? Yes, women still
have a long way to go House
wives do deserve credit and
respect for their unpaid labors.
And yes, there still is the "old
boys'" network that needs to he
infiltrated. But 70 percent of all
women in this country work. In
medical si boots, it is the XX
chromosome people sitting at
over half of the desks In law
schools, universities and other
professional programs, we
account for over half of new
admissions. Not exactly what I'd
call powerless.
But from what this guv said,
we are lowly slime in the eyes of
American men. We deserve pity
and need understanding. Not
only am 1 offended by his
assumption, 1 am disgusted
You can look at any issue and
see it in a variety of different
perspectives ! choose to see
women as powerful, decisive
and strong That doesn't mean
our society has reached the ide
al egalitarian state. Women are
still raped, abused, underpaid
and underestimated and we are
working to change that
My lecturer friend chose to
see us as powerless and weak,
and that is certainly his preroga
tive. But is that perspective
appropriate for a domestic vio
lent e seminar?
When lack of self-esteem is
one of the key reasons why
women get involved in abusive
relationships, how productive is
it to lecture J00 of them on how
worthless and weak they are'
When 16-yeor-old girls women
are having babies because they
feel empty, when women of all
ages are starving themselves to
death to attain some beauty ide
al, when women are tolerating
abusive mates Inicause they feel
that is their place, why disem
power them by telling them how
powerless they are?
The single most powerful tool
in battling domestic abuse is to
empower girls and women, give
them a sense of sell worth, bol
ster their self-esteem Sure, men
need to be educated, hut the
focus should remain on women
because it is in their vested
interest to stop domestic vio
lence. they are the ones getting
their asses kicked. And they are
ultimately the ones who can
stop domestic violence bv hav
ing the strength to get out and
stay out of abusive relation
ships
Gayle Forman is a columnist for
the Emerald