4 J/mat omt ' august 7. 199 a
T
HIV D flY C E N T E R
Ecumenical Ministries o f Oregon
Merger worth exploring,
top slot needs pondering
New Lo ca tio n : 8610 S W 17th Ave., Portland
New P h o n e #: (503) 244-9930
Food/Servic«s...
----------------------- ------ - — - r - — ,'—
: t ----------------- ----------------
the E ditor :
I am greatly encouraged to hear that Right to
Pride and Basic Rights Oregon are seriously con
sidering a joint merger of their organizations
(“Political Potpourri,” Just Out, June 5]. There is
wisdom in combining the groups’ areas of exper
tise and talents, especially for fund-raising pur
poses.
However, 1 am stunned beyond belief and
appalled that Jean Harris, the executive director
of Basic Rights Oregon, has the audacity to bla
tantly state she expects to be the person to head
up the merged organizations. Choosing an exec
utive director is the responsibility of a board of
directors and, in this case, probably the com
bined boards of both groups.
This is no easy task. Searching for candidates
and carefully weighing their qualifications is an
arduous process. This decision often takes
months and is accomplished only after a long
process of reflective consideration and delibera
tion of many applicants. Knowing this, where
does Jean Harris get the egoistic attitude that
she is already going to be the chosen one to
ascend to this position? The joint task force of
both groups has only recently been formed to
begin considering the possibility of a merger,
which may or may not happen, and yet this
executive director already proclaims she expects
to be its head.
Harris also states, “We’re all being tight-
lipped about {the possible merger] because we
want it to be a positive process.”
1 cannot even begin to understand the logic
of such a statement. Is she implying that the
process will be positive only if everyone is tight-
lipped? Or are we to conclude that it is going to
be a negative process if everyone is not tight-
lipped?
On the contrary, this is the time to be very
open-lipped with the gay and lesbian communi
ty by letting them know precisely what process
is going to be used in making a decision to merge
and in choosing a new executive director.
Harris’ statement of ascendancy to the exec
utive director’s position, meanwhile, sounds like
the decision has possibly already been made or
verbally agreed upon, unbeknown to the com
munity. Such a statement seriously brings into
question the credibility of both RTP and BRO.
Since both groups consistently tap gays and
lesbians for donations throughout the year, the
community has a justified right in expressing
what they would like to see in a new executive
director. I encourage RTP and BRO to reach out
to the community to solicit this type of input.
& Groups
• Hot and Cold Breakfast and Lunch
• Showers, Laundry, Nutritional
Assessm ents
• Chiropractor, M assage Therapist, Body
Compositions
• YMCA, Food Bank, Emergency Clothing
( ' I
To
• HIV Support
• One Year to UVE
• Recovery/Self-Cure
• Bill M oyer's Addiction Videos
• Spiritual Issues
• Art Group
----------------------------------
he right to be let alone is the most comprehensive of
rights and the right most valued by civilized people.”
— Ju stice L ouis Br&ndeis
Rogers
& Rodz
Attorneys at Law
Crim inal defense by a form er judge,
state and federal prosecutor,
and state and federal public defenders
Call for brochure
506 S.W. Sixth Avenue, Suite 900, Portland, O R 97204 (503)294-9998
» PATHOLOGY
» SPORTS MASSAGE
SW EDISH M ASSAGE
•
PO LARITY
• SPORTS MASSAGE
East-West College of the Healing Arts
A Professional School of Massage & Bodywork
Training for Excellence
O regon’s O nly American
Massage Therapy
Association/COMTA-
Approved Massage Curriculum
AtSLI
« KIN ESIO LO G Y
* SW EDISH MASSAGE
A
• Day or Night Classes
• Convenient Financing
• Bookstore and Cafe
• Student Clinic Massage
J oseph L. G ardner
Astoria, Ore.
A Referral Brochure is available
for Licensed M assage Therapists
in the Portland area
Editor’s note: As we went to press, Right to Pride
announced it would remain an independent organi
zation.
folks who have not considered suicide at one
time or another in their lives.
It’s too easy to say, “Oh, trans people who kill
themselves are driven to it by an unaccepting
society,” or to blame it on losing various rela
tionships after coming out to loved ones. Those
kinds of problems can be sources of severe
heartache, but to blame them for suicide is not
appropriate. Suicide is not caused by external
events, but by a persons reaction to those
events.
There’s a pop psychology saying that suicide
is a long-term solution to a short-term problem.
This is an oversimplification. Suicide is the
result of perceiving a short-term problem as an
insoluble, permanent problem, or of perceiving
a problem of any duration as intolerably life-
encompassing.
And this is precisely why trans folks are at
such high risk for suicide: Being trans is life-
encompassing. Sometimes it doesn’t take much
to throw us off-center, disturbing the balance of
our minds sufficiently that we no longer per
ceive life’s problems with sufficient perspective
to take them in stride.
Identity formation is a tricky thing for the
trans person. A s a trans man, I grew up with
female pronouns and a very improbable femi
nine name. Society gave me a prescribed identi
ty based on my perceived gender. It never fit me
very well.
A t 40, I began the process of changing that
identity at its source, through changing my per
ceived gender identity. While I am much more
comfortable as Reid, and with being called “sir”
in the grocery store, the fact of growing up with
an inappropriate identity took its toll on me. I
can never take my identity for granted.
This heightened degree of consciousness
about something that should be unconscious is
not natural. It requires a greater degree of
strength than many people have, to be able to
live with this heightened consciousness on a
daily basis. It’s tiring, at times.
On the other hand, this awareness is also the
key to feeling grateful for life itself. A s I can’t
take my hard-won identity for granted, neither
can I take life for granted. The trans person who
has faced too many disappointments, however,
may find this consciousness of life turning nega
tive over time. Rather than being grateful for
life, life itself comes to feel like the source of
one’s burdens. This change in perspective is
gradual, a sneaky thing, difficult to guard
against.
The suicide of a fellow trans person always
brings the challenge to the fore again, hitting
home like nothing else can. 1 cannot take my
life for granted. 1 cannot take my love of life for
granted.
R eid V a n d erbu rg h
Portland
OPB cool with me
To
0
She’ll be missed
To
Enrolling now for program s that
begin October 5, 1998 & January 4, 1999
4531 SE Belmont Street • Portland, Oregon 97215-1635
503-231-1500* 1-800-635-9141
503-232-4087 fax • www.ewcha.com
DEEP TISSUE M A SSA G E
• ANATOM Y AND PH YSIO LO G Y
E ditor :
I don’t know exactly why JoAnna M c
Namara committed suicide (“Trans Activist
Dies,” Just Out, July 17]. Often there is no one
reason but multiple factors involved, with one
representing the last straw. JoAnna was in pain
from Crohn’s disease. She was also increasingly
lonely. When I first heard of her death, my gut
reaction was that her loneliness in the face of
bodily dysfunction was the primary cause of her
decision. Whatever the reason, I will miss her a
lot.
Since her death, I have thought a lot about
what brings people to kill themselves, particu
larly trans folks. I doubt there are many trans
the
the E ditor :
Lest Just Out readers think that Oregon
Public Broadcasting is a place where diversity
and First Amendment rights are not honored or
supported [“Media Moments," Just Out, June
19], I would like to respond.
While one person chose to trash copies of
Just Out from our lunchroom, scores more spoke
out against the actions of this self-appointed
censor, including Debbie Rotich and Maynard
Orme. E-mails spoke to this “mad trasher” as
directly as possible, saying, in effect, “Knock it
off.” It was encouraging, thrilling even, to read
these messages and to realize the level of support
my colleagues give to freedom of speech and
diversity.
I know Debbie Rotich to be an open-mind
ed, intelligent, sympathetic individual who