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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1985)
Potter nam ed liaison b y W. C. M cRae Recently, Deputy Chief Tom Potter of the Portland Police Bureau volunteered to be police liaison to the gay community. The pos ition was created after concerned individuals contacted the police after a scheduling mis take within the department left the Lesbian and Gay Pride parade without a police escort The liaison was announced at a meeting between Deputy Chief Tobbin and Deputy Chief Potter, and members of the Lesbian and Gay Pride Steering Committee, Cathy Schmitz, Jerry Deas, Gail Schm idt and Grace Schaefer. As a volunteer to the liaison position, Potter stresses that he has taken the position “not in name only." A "strong believer in rights,” Pot ter is a 19-year veteran of the Portland Police D epartm ent and has lived in Portland most of his life. Although he has no written "job descrip tion” as liaison, Potter is in the process of writing to other cities whose police depart ments have already instituted gay liaisons to discover how they are utilized. Potter believes that the police determining in advance what th e y want from the liaison is “like the tail wagging the dog." Potter wants input from the community, to find out what gays and lesbians want from him, to find out how the police liaison can best be structured in order to meet these needs. Potter sees himself mostly as a facilitator. His long term goals are to increase sensitivity within the department, to reduce tension between gays and the police bureau, and in general, to put into motion the means for continued and improved relations between gays and lesbians and the police. Although he is a liaison, Potter wants les bians and gays to use the conventional chan nels as much as possible in their dealings with the police, since increased interchange between individuals will help to put an end to stereotypes and prejudice. Potter has claimed he is available — “on call” — 24 hours a day, but it is incumbent on the police bureau to give equal protection and service to all. When it is felt by lesbians or gays that their treat m ent is not fair, Potter will facilitate the review procedure. Potter reminds that if the ultimate goal of lesbian and gay integration in our society is to be “treated just like anyone else," then gays should share procedures with everyone else. Potter does not want to change existing structures just to accommo date gays, but rather to make sure that exist ing structure treats everyone — and in this case, gays — equally. He doesn't mind being used as a liaison for "special cases” — for instance when individuals feel threatened by direct involvement with the police — but be lieves gays can trust that with his involve m en t fair treatment will be extended to all. Equally, Potter does not see the advantage of the gay community appointing a "police liaison" to him. Individuals come and go. He wants instead to institutionalize acceptance of gays by the bureau at large, and not simply inaugurate representation. His role as a liaison is to assure gays that they can get fair The State of Your Health is Your Choice W hen you need to make important decisions about your personal and family health matters, make sure you consult the health care professionals at the Portland Naturopathic Clinic. Portland Naturopathic understands the health care needs of the conscientious person. We provide a com fortable and completely equipped medical facility where we use the latest diagnostic and treatment techniques. Portland Naturopathic Clinic provides effective and comprehensive health care, using natural therapeutics. So whether it’s wellness care, an urgent medical problem or chronic illness, make sure you consider the alternative — Portland Naturopathic Clinic. Fresh ideas in alternative health care programs from people you know and trust treatment, and to ensure that the police will give fair treatment Increased familiarity will help end the repressive stereotypes that can determine behavior, he says. According to Potter, the police department has instituted a “value driven" organization: "We want to change the way we do business.” Values are driving the organization — "doing things the right way” isfnow the criteria for promotion and mobility within the force, and everyone is involved, from the top down. Pot ter admits that certain officers have "jaun diced views" and "macho attitudes. But ag gression must be balanced with considera tion of people’s rights. If values can’t be in stituted into structure, they can be built into the individual. “And if the worst one can’t change attitudes, one can at least change behavior by making values and doing things right the organizational expedient," Potter ncted. Potter hopes that at the meet mgs in August (see Out About Town) the gay community can come together on the issue of what it wants from a police liaison. Potter reiterates that he is “really open to input" and that he will himself be attending the meetings. He wants to get to know individuals as people, and, as much as possible, develop shared values with the community in general. Potter stresses, though, that there are "more avenues of exchange" open for gays than just the liaison. He hopes that openly gay people will volunteer to serve on civilian pre cinct councils, especially in the central pre cinct (to do so, contact Captain Aichele). Also, anyone can go on "ride rounds" with patrol officers — if representatives of the gay community would “ride around" with offi cers, increased understanding — at the beat level — would result To change the way gays are treated by the police is Potter’s long term goal as liaison. I ie does not see his office as the sole conduit through which gay issues are to be addres sed by the police force. Rather, he wants to facilitate the functioning of the force so that fair teatment of gays is assured. To ensure this, cooperation, input and interaction with the gay community is essential. The politics of lesbian and gay resistance b y W.C. McRae The "failure of mainstream solutions to right wing tactics has contributed to recent F O R WARD = G EAR electoral losses for the gay community, ac cording to Sandy Nelson, a lesbian activist from the Seattle area. Nelson, speaking in June at a forum sponsored by Radical Wo men on gay and lesbian rights, reminded the audience that “it is important every year (dur ing Gay Pride week) to take inventory," to see what went wrong, and what could have been done differently. Lesbian and Gay Pride Day ought to be a “celebration of gay lifestyles, and a rally against right wing tactics.” According to Nelson, moderates and con servatives in the gay and lesbian movement have allowed themselves “to be deceived about the nature of the beast that oppresses us." The tactics currently used by conserva tive gay and lesbian leaders are not appro priate or effective in dealing with the new right wing," says Nelson. In Houston, for instance, a gay rights bill was lost last year due to the failure of established leadership. According to Nelson, organized gay and lesbian groups took a deliberate low-key approach to the referendum initiated by the right wing to overturn the existing ordinance. No attempt was made to address the right wing directly on the issues of rights for gays and lesbians, but rather Houston gay leaders centered their efforts on non-confrontation and on mobiliz ing those voters who were already sympa thetic. No organized attempt was made to counter the misrepresentations and lies made by the right about gays and the gay community, and even when the KKK marched through a gay area of Houston, gay leaders counselled nonconfrontation. Houston’s gay leadership allowed itself to be lulled into a “false sense of security” by failing to correctly appraise the mobilization of the right An analogous situation occurred in Seat tle, Nelson said. Sympathetic straight politi cians and mainstream gay leaders “secretly” put a rights bill through the county council. By not announcing its intentions, gay leaders hoped, by their secrecy, to avoid any right wing reaction. If no one knew about it— gays included — then it could pass quietly. But Nelson c laims that it was in fact a "set up" for the gay and lesbian community at large. While the right wing is organized and ready to mobilize, the lesbian and gay community is not By not notifying the gay community — “keeping it secret" as a political strategy — the advantage is instantly given to the right wing. When indeed the right wing did attack, the mainstream gay leadership pursued their rights by appealing to “an individual’s rights to privacy,” not directly to the issue of rights for gays and lesbians. B ut says Nelson, a coalition of socialist feminists did begin to fight back “openly and aggressively,” and in the process won the support respect and friendship of other minorities. In the discussion that followed, parallels were drawn between the situations in Houston PORTLAND MWUROWmC amc 255-7355 • 11231 SJL Maricet Street Portland, Oregon COUNSELING :. v - W A Summer Sale 20-40% Savings July 15 - August 17 1 0 2 3 S W Y A M H I L L ST P O R T L A N D . 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