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