I
Open hearts and closed minds
From new receptiveness and freedom of the press to censorship most foul
here’s been a lot of publicity about the
Honest! The following is a real letter.
new Division of Community Policing
“Hi there!
within the Portland Police Departm ent It seems “I have read this four times and still can’t
to be a positive step in healing the breach
believe it!”
between minorities and local law enforcement.
Halt homosexuality by
As you peruse this issue, you will see one of
banning facial hair
the results of this new policy . . . an ad for
In the June 10 issue o f Northwest magazine,
minority recruitm ent In Just O ut! Dare we
the article on AIDS pictured nine homosexuals
hope that this is a solid beginning to rid our
who were recovering from AIDS. Eight o f these
area of homophobia?
nine unfortunate people had fa cia l hair.
Reaching o u t communicating and educat
In my homeland (Indonesia), homosexuality
ing, are ways to create a stronger, united front
is almost unknown, and almost no one grows
against bigotry, racism, prejudice, hatred and
fa cia l hair. Could the same mental aberration
.fear. In line with this concept starting this
(emphasis: Mike Green) that prom otes sexual
month, Just Out will list the violent crime/gay-
perversion also create an inner desire to grow
bashing hotlines (PPD: 248-4106 and the
fa cia l hair?
Metropolitan Human Relations Commission,
Perhaps your society could discourage the
MHRC: 796-5136), if or when you need it.
growth o f perverse practices and the spread o f
T
T
nother positive step taken was a Summit
Meeting to find ways to combat the
violence perpetrated against all minorities,
including gays. Sponsored by the Metropolitan
Human Relations Commission (M HRC),.
people from all areas o f society were invited to
attend and actively participate. I went as a
media representative and (of course), to put in
my two cents. I also learned much.
We have a resurgence of hatred, bigotry,
racism, intolerance, increases in random bias
violence and in acts of violence by organized
groups. Last year, in this area alone, there were
149 acts of violence, 79 (over half) were done
by groups and 46 of that half were done by
“boneheads.”
These acts of violence, happening across the
whole country, are usually treated as “isolated
incidents.” However, the disturbing patterns of
hate crimes and violence are finally being
noticed. We cannot bury out heads in the sand.
The July 16/23 issue of The Nation has an
article called “The American Neo-Nazi
Movement Today” by Elinor Langer (author of
Josephine Herbst), a Portland native. It focuses
on nazis, skinheads, M etzger’s WAR, Ku Klux
Klan, Posse Comitatus (rumored to be
headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon) and
Christian Identity. Most o f the downtown
magazine sellers keep out-of-date issues of The
Nation on the shelf. (Thanks for the tip,
Richard.)
Because of Portland’s small town attitude
and propensity for "whitewashing” (within our
own lesbian and gay community as well), this
area provides cover for terrorists. People don’t
want to get involved.
The MHRC “believes in the dignity and
worth of all human beings. M HRC’s mission is
to foster mutual understanding and respect, and
to protect the human right of all economic,
religious, ethnic, racial, national origin,
disability, age, sex and sexual orientation
groups in Multnomah County.”
^ Appears to me, they could use our help.
What say, we start with ourselves first: Can we
accept and support all the diversity (sex, race,
way o f life), amongst our own? Can we heal the
wounds we’ve inflicted on one another? If we
can, then perhaps we will be strong enough to
offer our help to others.
A
this vile disease by banning the employment by
all state and federal agencies o f those males
who have fa cia l hair.
—Amir Morloya, Newberg (June 26,1990,
Salem Statesman Journal)
"I contemplated shaving o ff my moustache
to see i f I craved [a woman], but decided 1
didn’t want to know!
"Please assist me in enlightening our
community on what causes our 'm ental
aberation'!
"Thanks, M ike Green (Salem )”
After I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness
of Mortoya’s letter, I checked with good old
Webster. Under mental, the first definition was
“of or for the mind.” However, Mortoya
probably meant the third one, “diseased in
mind.”
With aberation, the first and fourth
definitions seemed to be what he was after: “a
departure from what is right, true, correct,” or
“mental derangement or lapse.”
The synonyms are even more fun: “insanity,
delusion, divergence, mania, alienation,
illusion, deviation.” Take your pick.
After reading “Idiocies in general,” come
back to this and read it again. Then let’s hear
from those “experts in mental aberrations.”
Richard Francis our cinima and video reviewer
and our new half-time staff reporter and copy
editor, Rosanne King.
▼
Idiocies in general
ratt and Whitney, the company which
charged the Air Force $999.20 for a pair of
pliers, sent a refund check for $330.20. $669
still seems just a bit steep for pliers, but, hey,
what do I know? Maybe the Air Force can cut
its budget a little more now. (Sure— and maybe
politicians won’t be avaricious and won’t lie.)
P
The House rejected an amendment which
would cut a whole $19.90 from the fiscal 1991
agriculture spending bill. Then— it rejected a 2
percent across-the-board cut in the bill’s
discretionary accounts and passed said bill to
the tune of $50.35 billion!
Who said this country is bad in math? Who
said we were smart— we voted them into office
The wonderful Polish hero and presidential
candidate, Lech Walesa, has promised to
“eliminate homosexuals and drug users” from
Polish society, if elected. (And this man is a
hero?!)
“. . . I’m afraid he could be a kind of Polish
Hitler,” said Ryszard Kisiel, editor of F1LO,
Poland’s gay journal.
He added, “They could change the laws. It
is as possible as it was in Germany before the
war. We are happy they arc not talking about
camps yet, but it happened in Germany. And
the word he has used is ‘eliminate’.” (Some in
formation from Bay Windows, July 12)
We don’t have a monopoly on idiots—it’s a
world-wide disease. However, it does pop up
close to home— a little more often than we’d
wish.
Here’s a stunning example: “Sister”hood
(my quotes, but remember that name) Book
▼
store, in the “trendy” area of Los Angeles, has
banned On Our Backs, a lesbian sex magazine
Where are we?
and anything written by Pat Califia, an author
of S/M fiction and a columnist for The
enators Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio)
Advocate.
and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) have added
According to Karen Dale Wolman, a
their names to the 10 cosponsors of the gay and
Frontiers writer, “Sister”hood employees state
lesbian civil rights bill, Tlie House Bill HR 655
that they are banning the magazine “because
has 79 cosponsors, as well, including two
they don’t approve of some of the sex it
representatives from Cleveland,. Where are our
depicts” and Califia’s writings because “her
representatives? Where are we?
work has absolutely no redeeming value.”
This comes from the store that has (or had,
the last time I was there), a proud picture of a
woman with one breast removed, over the
office door.
ust Out is proud to announce the formation
Last time I looked, we were fighting
of a new board of directors. At a meeting on
narrow-minded bigots to keep good literature in
July 11, three officers were elected: Yvonne
Mammarelli (president), Reneé LaChance (vice the libraries. Now, I know a bookstore isn’t a
library, but “Sister”hood purports itself to be
president) and Chris Maier (secretary-
lesbian- and feminist-oriented. S/M dykes and
treasurer). Anndce Hochman, Littlejohn Keogh
lesbians not afraid of acknowledging their
and Carla Jean Looney are the other members.
sexuality, still come under the term, lesbian,
The board is considering three other individu
don’t they? So how can “Sister”hood claim its
als, which will bring the total to nine.
title? I guess we have our own “Moral Minor
We would also like to introduce Cyd
ity.” Pity.
Athens, who will be writing the “Just be aware”
column, a “Just Years” column by Rod Barrow,
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54 SW 2nd ■ 228-1693 ■ Mon.-Thur 10-7 ■ Frl.10-9 ■ Sat. Sun. 10-6
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1990
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A u g u st 1990