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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1998)
july 3.1998 * Ju s t oait.g Q ueers , Q uotes and Q uandaries On the small screen, on a prestigious cover and behind the scenes, queer concerns are making the news F ourth E state R ecognizes D yke M arch Corps officer based at Camp Pendelton in southern California. It is a highly detailed piece that gives the reader a peek at the fine line walked by many queer military service members. “ | t was so cool,” blurts Susan Frances, member T he article explores the inherent inequities I of the Portland Lesbian Avengers, the feisty of the military’s four-year-old “Don’t Ask, Don’t and theatrical queer girl group that produces the Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy. Rose City’s annual Dyke March. “I think we’re “During a recent interview,” Egan reports, getting so big— and more organized— that the “Kenneth H. Bacon, the Pentagon spokesman, mainstream media can’t ignore us anymore.” told me: ‘Obviously, there are many people serving in the armed forces who have gay relationships, but they’re discreet. They aren’t pur sued, and they may not even be known about.’ ” In her own words, Egan adds, “T his suggests a split between the letter and the spirit of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’: the letter says, Don’t do it; the spirit says, It’s OK to do it as long as you are dis creet. But this double mes sage leaves homosexuals on queasy middle ground: It wouldn’t be a D yke M arch without a few pairs of bare breasts Theoretically, they are allowed to serve, but their private lives are ille According to Frances, at least two local tele gal and will cost them their careers— if they get vision stations— K G W and KOIN — covered caught. But then, no one is supposed to be try the June 20 march, which she estimates attract ing to catch them.” ed up to 1,000 lesbians, queer girls, dykes and She quotes other gay and lesbian military their friends. Most were fully clothed, while a members who, like R., talk about the difficulty few elected to go top-free— which makes sense, of serving under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" given the toasty temperatures and adherence to policy. tradition. If you haven’t seen the story, pop over to “This is the first time that I’m aware of that your public library and check it out. we’ve gotten television coverage,” says Frances. “It was kind of funny because {KGW ] put those black splotches over the women’s breasts. Still, eing ougher it was great getting the media attention.” ore than a dozen internal e-mails whizzed about at Oregon Public Broadcasting dur ing the several days following word that Just Out aqazine issects has been mysteriously disappearing from O PB’s on t sk on t ell break room. In our June 19 issue, we told you that Lisa exual minority military personnel in Oregon Gonzales, a master control operator for O PB’s and nationwide likely savored the cover television section, was concerned that stacks of story of the June 28 issue of the N ew York Times fresh Just Outs were constantly being dumped in Magazine. a recycling bin by some unknown saboteur. She T he piece is entitled “Uniforms in the told us it happened many times over a period of Closet: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ has created a months, prompting her to label the action “def world of fear and deceit, alienating R. and his initely deliberate.” friends from their fellow servicemen— and from Gonzales first approached O P B ’s human the civilian gay world too.” resources director, Debbie Rotich, a few months Crafted by Jennifer Egan, the sprawling arti ago— to no avail. cle follows a man referred to as R., a gay Marine O PB NYT M ‘D S ' A , D D ' T M ' T by Inga So ren sen Then, on April 22, Gonzales sent a missive to a union representative and management, in which she outlined the problem in writing and expressed her dismay about the lack of manage rial response. "By not taking any action after being noti fied of the situation, O PB is condoning this dis criminatory homophobic behavior and con tributing to a hostile work environment for myself and others,” she wrote. “I am left with the impression that O PB is willing to allow some of its staff to be offended and intimidated to avoid confronting inappropriate behavior. 1 realize, probably more than anyone, that it is important to handle such a situation correctly. But even more, I know that it is vital to respond, and to make it clear that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.” After prodding from Gonzales, Rotich issued an April 24 memo to staff that did not specifi cally mention Just Out or the problem at hand. It essentially told folks to keep the facility tidy, and asked employees not to toss out newspapers because “they’re g placed in the lounge | for everyone’s use.” | Just Out contin- § ued disappearing, £ prompting Gonzales § to once again approach manage ment. During a June 16 conversation, Rotich told Just Out it was “time to be more specific.... We tried outlining gen eral rules, but now I think we have to mention Ju st O ut specifically.... We have to be more aggressive.” And it seems the powers that be at O PB are indeed get ting more aggressive. Lisa Gonzales Since our mid-June inquiry, management— with input from Gonzales— sent an e-mail to employees address ing the matter. The message from Rotich reads: “It appears that someone is taking the Just Out newspapers from the lobby and lunchroom. For some time now, this publication has ‘disappeared’ almost "W e'd like to get to know you" immediately upon arrival at OPB. Often, the whole stack of newspapers has been found in the trash or recycle bin. O PB views this behavior as highly inappropriate. “In April I posted some common rules of courtesy that apply to our use of the employee lounge on the main level. One of the rules included a request that we don’t toss other news papers out...they’re placed in the lounge for everyone’s use; and while you may not want to read a particular newspaper, others may. Since that time this behavior has continued. O P B ’s position regarding discrimination is clear— it will not be tolerated.... I want to make this very clear— if someone is taking the Just Out news papers and placing them in the recycle bin, stop. That sort of action is inappropriate and appro priate disciplinary action will result.” The message also reiterated O P B ’s nondis crimination statement: “It is the policy of O PB to continue its policies not to engage in unlaw ful discrimination against any employee or applicant because of race, color, marital status, religion, national origin, age, mental or physical handicap. Neither will O PB discrimi nate based on sexual orien tation. O P B ’s nondiscrimi nation policy is available for employee review in Human Resources. O PB encourages employees with a concern or complaint to come forward as outlined in the policy.” T he message spawned a flurry of e-mails from current and former O PB employees, most of whom chastised the perpetrator, heralded the nondiscrimination policy, and noted the irony o f some one working for a media out let— public broadcasting no less— censoring via a nasty trashing habit. During a late June staff meeting, meanwhile, Maynard Orme, O P B ’s pres ident and chief executive officer, told employees he found their responses “quite touching.” Gonzales says Orme never responded to her April letter, a copy of which was sent to him. As for other staffers, she says she is “extremely encouraged" by their show of support. EARN A FREE RAFT TRIP! A special introduction; Mention you sa w this ad in Just Out and CUSTOM FRAMING IS Assembly is f r e e - You pay for the materials • Complete Projects only • Uniframes excluded ^Picture This’ Best weekend trips! 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