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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1986)
nr* "-rr- rr— ü Postcard cam paign successful To the Editor: Radical Women would like to extend a public thank you to all those abortion rights supporters who participated in our postcard campaign to the (J.S. Supreme Court urging them to uphold In their ruling of June 11, 1986 on the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, the Justices rejected the Reagan Administration's bid to overturn legalized abortion in this country. Over 10,000 postcards calling for reaffir mation of were distributed na tionally to be sent to the Supreme Court. This certainly forced the Court to sit up and take notice of the strong public sentiment for legal abortion, despite the continued escalation of anti-abortion attacks at the clinics and in the legislative and legal arenas. Of course the fight to protect and extend reproductive rights is far from over. Abortion, childcare, contraception and restrictions against forced sterilization are part of a long list of civil rights gains for women, people of color, lesbians and gays, and working people which the rightwing seeks to overturn. The recent Supreme Court ruling sanctioning laws which criminalize homosexual activity and continued assaults on abortion clinics are only two examples. The tremendous response to the abortion postcard campaign shows the power of mass public protest We can defeat the right-wing — the terorrists of the ’80s — if we organize in mutual self-defense to protect all our hard-won gains. Roe u. Wade. Roe o. Wade real Contance Scott National Organizers Radical Women Support Plaid Pantry pickets To the Editor: Plaid Pantry is in the news again. In case you forgot, they carry Alpenrose milk, the makers of which objected to an advertise ment placed in by Food Front featuring their product. The gay community was asked to boycott Alpenrose. But, how much milk do we drink anyway? We may not be big milk drinkers, but I know lots of us are beer drinkers, cigarette smokers, and Haagen-Dasz eaters (for the health minded, substitute apple juice and Just Out granola bars). Many of us indulge courtesy of our nearby Plaid Pantry. The purchasing power of lesbian and gay customers is significant. Plaid Pantry employees are attempting to organize themselves as part of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555. The grievances include low wages, lack of benefits, and inadequate security. Two hundred employees attended a meeting and overwhelmingly (98%) voted to join the union and call a strike. John Piacentini has responded by hiring replacements for the striking workers and refusing to meet with the negotiators. To counter Piacentini's union busting at tempts, strikers are calling on Portland citi zens to boycott all Plaid Pantry stores. You can let Piacentini know you're supporting the strike by calling 288-9216. As a former Plaid Pantry employee, I can attest to the low pay, the lack of benefits, and inadequate security. I strongly support the workers in their attempts to fight for a decent wage, health coverage, and safe working conditions. I hope you will, too. Support the Boycott! Cathy Siemens Lesbian Community Project Selling out? To the Editor, Last month a local TV news program aired an interview with some young Black men who had been hired to fight forest fires. The reporter announced that the pay was very good and challenged the men about their feelings about the high pay. Each one stam mered and shuffled. Clearly, they were em barrassed to be making so much money helping people who were desperate. I was shocked and appalled. When was the last time you heard a TV reporter ask a white man to justify his right to a high-paying job? Now you’ve committed the same blunder. In your September issue, your interviewer suggests Rita Mae Brown has “ sold out," since she enjoys antiques, a mansion and expensive cars. How can she have sold out? She made a lot of money on her popular book. Moreover, her work brought lesbian issues once again into the mainstream. Just what does a person have to do to earn their money for it to be all right to spend it as they please? In my years of operating a business, I have worked with a lot of women volunteers and HYPNOTHERAPY . - Black volunteers on non-profit projects. I've noticed a lot of similarities between these two groups. These people feel it is wrong to make a profit. If you suggest something they can do to make some easy money, or to brazenly further their cause, they are apt to dismiss it as, "too commercial." Until women and Blacks get busy on ac cepting that financial success must, of neces sity, be "commercial," and accept that as a change they must make, nothing will improve for them in our present socio-political structure. We must get help for these two groups so they can build their negotiating skills on the individual level. They must be able to wholeheartedly negotiate for pay in creases and job promotions, in a system which is stacked against them. Equality in the job market is taking longer to attain than it should, as it is largely being fought one transaction at a time, by persons not expecting success, who may be reviled by their peers if they get it Until we, as massive sub-groups, can wholeheartedly condone a seemingly tacky grubbing for money, nothing will happen. And last but not least, as long as the media can make us feel guilty about our success, fewer individuals will work for it. White males are not going to give up their supremacy. We, the disadvantaged, must fight to achieve equality, one battle at a time. Sincerely, Eleanor Malin Quick eye sees the germ To the Editor: Did anyone else, glancing too quickly over the August issue, turn the two cinema head lines on page 18 into a single line that asserts a deeper truth than either? “Your government loves you, and wishes you well" plus “You take the high road, and I’ll take you r wallet” makes "Your government loves you, and wishes your wallet" Sincerely, Gordon Chamberlain Temple Madness debacle: two views To the Editor: I was sorry to hear that the City Nights group lost money on their recent Temple Madness/Claudja Barry AIDS benefit There was speculation as to why the concert didn't succeed: people were out of town for Labor Day; replacing Eartha Kitt with Claudja Barry, etc. _____ i---------- The bottom line, however, is that gay men didn't support City Nights in their fight against AIDS. I feel that since AIDS is not a "gay disease," why should gay men ghettoize themselves by presenting gay entertainment for gay men (I can safely assume few lesbians and straights showed up)? How about presenting enter tainment for a (gasp!) general audience. By drawing upon a potentially larger crowd of people, more money could be raised, and isn’t money the main reason these events are thrown? I raise these issues simply because City Nights' benefits have been generating less and less money with each concert Perhaps getting away from obscure disco divas (who sing to taped background music) could be a step in the right direction, both politically and financially. Howie Baggadonutz Queersville, OR To the Editor: The Temple Madness fundraiser for the Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) was a wonderful idea. But it could have been even more effective. While the promotional materials for the event were well-packaged and distributed throughout the gay community, apparently Portland’s lesbian population chose to ignore the benefits of supporting and participating in the fundraiser. Our guess is that 300 people attended and probably 10 were women. Tragically, this symbolizes the huge gap between gay men’s and gay women’s com munities. When will we realize that every issue (i.e. AIDS or a gay female physical education teacher losing her job because she’s gay) affects each of us — male or female? It’s time not apart we accept this and We urge the lesbian com m unity to support CAP, if not through volunteering time to the organization then at least through supporting one fundraiser per year. Similarly, the gay men of Portland must solicit the support of the gay women’s com munity who make an effort to support them. For example, no signs were made at the Masonic Temple indicating a path to the wo men's restroom, as was true for the men’s room. We ended up using the men's room because no one seemed to really care after being asked for directions. Let’s quit segregating ourselves and unite. We need each other’s support in these dif ficult times. We have no other choice. pull together, Names Withheld (Two professional gay women) FILMA: PORTLAND WOMEN'S FILM FORUM & THE IRVINGTON THEATER PRESENT 50% off with this coupon 50% off first session Stop Smoking Stress Control Memory Improvement Alcohol Control Weight Control Motivation Study Habits Fears & Phobias The Winning Edge Self Improvement Center 1326 N.W. 23rd 228-8411 offer expires N ovem ber 1, 1986 4 AND ABOUT WOMEN October 30-November 25 Tuesday & Thursday evening, starting at 7 p.m. D iscount series tickets available at: A W om an s Place Bookstore, C atbird Seat Books, and A rtich oke M usic. To receive a complete festival schedule, write P.O. Box 15143, Portland, OR 97215. The Irvington Theatre 133 NE Broadway _ _ ^ _ _____ 282*0682 Just Out October