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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1987)
E Fingering Priscilla To the Editor: Last Tuesday as I was coming out of the YWCA downtown I noticed a car parked in front of the building that had two stickers on the back: one said “ I V B abies Bom & U nborn” and the other “ Abortion: the cruelest form of child abuse.” Sort of struck me as being odd that someone with those stickers would be hanging out at the “ Y I kind of got a I ittle jolt of memory of seeing that car around before. Anyway, as I’m fixing to head on down the road, a woman started walking toward the car. I thought I'd get a good look at the kind of person who would be having those stickers, and I noticed she was the same woman that had been going in as I was going out. In other words she hadn’t been “ hanging out” at all, but was being brisk about her business. She was kind of middle aged with kind of long bleached out looking blonde hair and blood red lipstick. She was wearing a blue kind of denim looking skirt and a frilly blouse buttoned up to her neck. She’s maybe 5 feet 2 or 3 inches tall, slight of build, and wears round glasses. Under one arm as she fumbled with her keys was a whole stack of Just Out newspapers. Now. being able to put 2 + 2 together fairly quickly (1 didn’t goto junior high for five years for nuthin’), I said, “ Hey, where you goin’ with all those papers?” She pretended to ignore me, but 1 could tell by the way her back tightened up that she heard me. So I walked over to her and said, “ Hey, 1 said where do you think you’re going with those papers?” She looked up with an expression of concealed guilt and said. “ I’m taking them to a meeting.” “ No doubt,” I thought, w ith visions of Naziesque book burnings (in lieu of witches and faggots) immedi ately jumping up “ Don’t give me that,” I said “ You’re stealing those ” “ They ’re free and I can take as many as I want,” she kind of croaked “ You know what I mean.” I said. “ Somebody with those stickers on their car isn’t into reading gay periodicals You’re npping them off ” By this point she had got the dtxir open and threw the papers into the back seat, which I noticed was completely full of more Just Outs and some other papers which I couldn’t make out “ Well. I’m getting your license number,” l said “ You don’t scare me.” she squeaked “ Okay,” I said, “ I’m not trying to scare you. I’m |ust letting you know that I’m on to your little scam and I’ve got your number ” “ Besides.’’ she said as she started up and drove away, “ it’s not even my car ” Well. I got the plate number — CDL 273 — and went on down to the motor vehicles division where for two dol lars they ran a printout on it. It’s a ’75 Plymouth registered to Norman R Prickett (No kidding!), 3823 NE 24th Ave.. Port land. OR 97212 (288-2821) I told the receptionist at the YWCA what was going on and also told the woman who works back where the news papers, etc., are She said she had noticed Just Out, 4 . July. 1987 R S fellow lesbian sisters in an outing. Thanks with advertisements. We supported them to Just Out, they are listed in abundance. (and put our money where our mouth was) Keep up the thoughtful writing; you are because we believed so strongly in indi appreciated. Thanks [from] a normal closet vidual freedoms and liberties for all people; homosexual learning to fly in the night. gays, blacks, lesbians, hispanics, etc. My partner, Jim, died in late 1985 and it was shortly thereafter that it became SWCH necessary for me to sell Jonah’s Restau rant. I was concerned that whoever pur chased Jonah’s would carry on the same positive traditions of non-discrimination. And, I feel very comfortable that this has been accomplished with the new owner ship. Many of the present staff and man agement are the same individuals who be gan with Jonah’s in 1977. Although I am To the editor: no longer the President of the Corporation, The 1987 Lesbian and Gay Pride I have an interest in making certain that Program includes a memorial from the Jonah’s continues with its positive human Cascade AIDS Project. The memorial rights policies. reads as follows: Ms. Hart’s letter is full of inaccuracies. ‘ ‘To the 107 men who have died since First, she states that upon transfer of own J983 of AIDS. To some of us, they are ership, she was fired without warning or perfect strangers; to others, they are dear explanation. This is totally untrue. PRIOR friends, loved and missed. We hold their to the transfer of ownership, while I was memory in trust and can use the circum still the owner, I personally discharged stances of their loss to fuel our own de Kerry Hart. I explained to her why I was termination to survive. We are learning to terminating her employment. It had no treat each other with new levels of com thing, whatsoever, to do with her sexuality passion, and opening new and safer doors or sexual preference. She may or may not to sexual expression. We are recognizing, have been the only lesbian on the staff at as young men. our own vulnerabilities, that time. I made it a point of not delving making it easier for us to offer a caring into a person’s sexual preference. But I do hand to our brothers in need. By demon know that over the years we have had strating our affection for each other, we lesbians (other than Kerry Hart) blacks, honor the memory of our lost gay brothers. gays, women, hispanics, transsexuals, Let us coninue to honor them by showing etc., employed with our organization. For our unique and personal abilities to give.’ ’ Kerry Hart to indicate otherwise, is an In the year that I have become acquainted insult! with CAP, I have learned that CAP focuses It is also not true, as she states in her its services on gay men — a focus necesary letter, that a gay/black on the staff was in light of the rampant homophobia in the forced to quit under duress. It is also not world. A focus CAP manages well. I have true that at least one gay waiter quit before also learned that many women are involved he could be fired. Nor is it true that two with CAP— women on staff, on the Board others were refused jobs because of their of Directors, and in large numbers, as sexual preference. volunteers. Jonah’s Restaurant has had a very strong When I read CAP’s memorial for Les history of support for minorities and has bian and Gay Pride, I was surpsied to find had a non-discrimination policy towards that it is the same as was used last year (and customers and employees since they the year before?). Only the numbers have opened their doors for business in 1977 | been changed. While it is full of meaning Our past record speaks for itself. Along and heart, couldn’t we honor those who with other minorities. Jonah's has strongly have suffered with a new memorial? What supported the lesbian and gay community really disturbs me is that CAP (in this for many years, and I believe it deserves i memorial) represents itself as an agency ot the continued support of the lesbian and young men ’' What about the older men gay community now Thank you. who give C AP part of its success? And, Jack Strejc more so for me, what about all of the Founder and Past President women who work so hard for CAP° Jonah's Restaurant, Inc The memorial focuses only on men who Portland have died, and specifically, gay men who have died Don t get me wrong, I know that the majority of people who have died from AIDS in Oregon were gay men. But ¡ust for the sake of inclusiveness, let’s add here that three of the four women with AIDS in our state have already died. There are, absolutely, many women Just Out received the following in response who are working extraordinarily hard in to ' Pride in the Process b \ Suda Seame the fight against this disease — some of (Just Out June 1987): them work for CAP. And some of them get harrassed by other women for doing the work they do 1 Hi GF-Suda, Could the memorial be rewritten next Few ever get a sincere Thank you!'” I year so that it would reflect the entire want to say “ thanks” for your definition spectrum represented by CAP? of a closet homosexual (CH). I, too, am struggling with the self, the homosexual Mimi Luther self. Women & AIDS Coalition Your article encouraged me to join my Portland Outdated AIDS memorial needs overhaul that a new stack brought in earlier was all gone. 1 noticed, too, that a flyer for the Lesbian Art Movement had been tom off the wall and left lying on the floor. I guess the logic of denying the public access to your publication (and others) is that of trying to make everyone else as ignorant as they are. Whether this is a systematic campaign or the crusade of one lone, warped individual bears some further investigation. I just thought I’d share this experience with you. A sporadic reader. Ed. note: The person described has been identified as Priscilla Martin. Priscilla is one of the ringleaders of the terrorist group Concerned Citizens of Portland. Concerned Women of America; she has been active in anti-gay and anti-choice terrorism for several years. "Jonah's continues active support for minority rights," says founder To The Editor: I would like to respond to Kerry Hart’s letter to the editor as printed in the June. 1987 issue of Just Out. Since Jonah’s Restaurant was estab lished in 1977. we have been very active supporters of minority rights We have supported many organizations, giving literally thousands of dollars to various groups and organizations. We began with our support of the old Portland Town Council We have donated goods, services and money to Metropolitan Community Church of Portland, the Portland Gay Men’s Choir, the Civil Liberties Union. Radical Women, Cascade AIDS Project and Phoenix Rising, to name a few. We have also financially supported local, state and federal politicians who have been strong supporters of individual liberties and human rights. We have supported all of the new publications that have appeared in the Portland area, such as the old Cas cade Voice. Just Out and City Open Press, Reaching out of the closet really works
