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M ilitant D emocracy
Insurgent newspaper The Oregon Observer arms its readers with a voting tool
created by the human rights activists of Rural Organizing Project
arcy Westerling calls it a “nasty
little scene.”
Margaret Deirdre O ’Harti-
by i n ga S o ren sen
Text immediately underneath the grid read,
in part: “The Rural Organizing Project asks
human dignity activists to take out their democ­
racy grids, take a look at the issues and get out
% /
f?an Paints fr ns “poison.”
*
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Both activists are referring
and vote against these measures.”
to The Oregon Observer, a Grants Pass-based
O ’Hartigan says she was appalled to spot
monthly newspaper that promotes the concept
RO P’s name, because of what the nonprofit
of a citizens’ militia and attracts a gun-totin’ group claims to stand for: democracy and diver­
readership with a hefty skepticism toward gov­
sity.
ernment.
ROP was spawned from the 1992 campaign
Scanning the October issue, O ’Hartigan
over Ballot Measure 9, an anti-gay initiative
came upon a half-page grid highlighting a num-
that voters ultimately rejected. The organiza­
tion is comprised of an
Tw acr
estimated 60 autono­
mous human dignity
i
f—
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groups
throughout
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small-town and rural
Oregon.
According to ROP
materials, the emphasis
is on rural areas because
such spots have “been a
target of anti-democrat-
W3 t e S ^ œ
^ ï S s : — — /
ic organizations that
seek to divide commu­
< 74 ^
----- * »
nities by fanning flames
of fear and bigotry.
Scapegoating
immi­
grants, gays and les­
bians, and other mar­
ginalized communities,
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these anti-democratic
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m I — ,„
.
groups are attacking our
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communities seeking to
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limit choices, shut
down
discussion,
and
narrow
the vision of an
ber of crime-related measures on the Nov. 2 bal­
inclusive Oregon.”
lot.
Given all that, O ’Hartigan thought, what
The seven initiatives (which were backed by
Republican state Rep. Kevin Mannix) sought to
the heck is ROP doing in the likes of The O re-
gon Observer l
amend the Oregon Constitution to grant vic­
After all, the publication describes itself as
tims rights in criminal prosecutions, for exam­
a
guard
“for the future security of America’s
ple, and prohibit people who have been con­
citizens,” and its October issue includes ads
victed of certain crimes from serving on grand
from the Militia of Montana that promote
juries and criminal trial juries.
materials instructing folks how to survive mar­
According to the grid, each measure would
tial law and Y2K. (Want to buy a gas mask?)
erode the Oregon Bill of Rights and would not,
O ’Hartigan also wondered whether the
as proponents claimed, bolster victims’ rights.
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grid was a paid advertisement from ROP, a group
that relies on donations from the public, as well
grants from organizations like McKenzie River
Gathering Foundation, which promotes Oregon
organizations that work for progressive social
change.
“I thought, what’s ROP doing giving money
to a right-wing extremist group.7” O ’Hartigan
tells Just Out.
As it turns out, ROP didn’t run an ad.
“I hadn’t even known about it,” says Wester-
ling, who is RO P’s executive director.
Still, she notes, the grid that appeared in the
newspaper matched one that ran in an ROP
newsletter.
“It was entirely accurate," she says. “[The
O bserver] took something we did and they repro­
duced it.”
Westerling says someone, though she doesn’t
know who, may have given the Observer a copy
of the newsletter.
“But they gave no info on who brought it in,”
she says, adding, “We have about 100 activists
we work with throughout Josephine County.”
And though she calls the Observer a “nasty
little scene” that is “totally pro-militia and pro-
guas,” Westerling says she’s more intrigued than
appalled by the unfolding of events.
“Let’s say one of our leaders did bring [the
newsletter] in. I don’t know what we would have
done,” she says. “It’s not a clear-cut issue.”
Westerling concludes: “I don’t think it would
have meant that ROP endorsed what the paper
stands for— we simply promoted critical think­
ing during an election.”
O ’Hartigan disagrees. “Common decency
requires ROP come out [and state! strongly and
publicly that [the Observer] is an abhorrent pub­
lication,” she insists.
She adds that she was “shocked at the appar­
ent lack of concern expressed by [ROP].”
G irls L ike I t M oist
M
aybe it’s all that wet, earthy, mossy stuff.
W hatever it is, seems the Northwest is the place to be if you’re
a chick who digs chicks.
So says the November issue of Girlfriends, a national magazine for les-
bians, queer girls, et. al. The region snagged the No. 1 and 2 spots in the
publication’s 1999 list of “Best Lesbian Places to Live.”
Ever the lesbian bridesmaid, Portland came in second behind Seattle
as the greatest girl-loves-girl spot in the nation.
This is the fifth year Girlfriends has presented its top 10 picks, and this
recent analysis, claims the mag, is the most comprehensive to date.
According to assistant editor Jessi Hempel, the article’s author, 15
factors were pondered, including rates of unemployment, job growth and
violent crime; the average cost of a three-bedroom home; the average
cost of a two-bedroom apartment; the number o f gay and lesbian busi­
nesses and organizations; and whether a city and state have gay-friendly
laws on the books.
According to Girlfriends: “T h e nation’s first four openly gay elected
officials all hail from Oregon, the land of granola munching, ’zine pub­
lishing, down-home dykes.
“T he notoriously anti-gay Oregon Citizens Alliance has kept a low
profile lately, as the city of Portland continues to create a better envi­
ronment for its lesbian inhabitants: It has comprehensive anti-discrimi-
nation laws, bene­
fits for domestic
partners, and rents
that won’t dent
the wallet."
To find the
“pulse of lesbian
life,” the maga­
zine suggests one
check out the
Lesbian Commu­
nity Project, In
O ther
Words
feminist bookstore, It’s My Pleasure, SisterSpirit and
Kokopeli’s Choice.
Seems Portland was neck-in-neck with Atlanta— but the Rose C ity’s
air quality was deemed better, thus propelling Portland to No. 2.
The list rounds out with Columbus, Ohio, in at No. 4, followed by
Portland, Maine; Denver; Washington, D .C ; Burlington, V t.; New
Orleans; and Phoenix.
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