pnout Auto, Home, Life & Business “Your Independent Insurance Agency” 3UEB3 Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker, Inc. Marc Baker • Mary Miller Downtown Portland c A - . 5 A r t r - , C O (503) 227-1771 www.epbb.com i I IT'S A HAPPENIN' THING! I | COOL GARDEN * ART * GIFTS FOR THE FAMILY OPEN MON - SAT IO TIL 7 SON IO 'TIL S 1305 NE FREMONT (JOSI DOWN PROM NATURE'S) D ignified P et S ervices Cremation A Memorials For Your Companion QnecU Qiji Odea Som eone y o u jßooe l i t Ito «Mai J lo it A P et On-line Companion Memorial @ www.DignifiedPetServices.com (check'us out) 8976 SW Tualatin Sherwood Road Tualatin OR 97062 Phone (503) 885-2211 www.DignifiedPetServices.com W here is the outrage? To the E ditor : A special thanks to Just Out and its publish­ er, Marty Davis, for coordinating the forum with Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker and mem­ bers of the sexual minorities community Dec. 11. That there is not enough public outrage to force his resignation underscores the marginal­ ization of sexual minorities in our society. The truth is, we do not yet enjoy the same status of other oppressed groups, such as ethnic and reli­ gious minorities. Had Kroeker made equally disparaging remarks about Jews or blacks, his termination likely would have preceded any thought of res­ ignation. It is not yet politically incorrect to defame, discriminate against or even bash gays. That is why the general public allows Kroek­ er to stand behind the cloak of religious freedom when we ask him to retract his comments of years ago. That is why he will remain our chief. W hat disturbs me even more than this bla­ tant reminder of our second-class status from the heterosexual majority is the complacency among many in the sexual minority. Before, dur­ ing and after the Dec. 11 chat with Kroeker, I heard support for the chief from some of my gay brethren based on his right to hold personal reli­ gious beliefs. You are degrading yourself and the rest of the gay community if this is what you believe. The chief of police is a leader and role model; there­ fore, any visible display of prejudice or intoler­ ance on his part gives license to his officers to exploit their own prejudices on the job when dealing with gay citizens. As a civic leader, Kroeker also validates homo- phobic sentiments in the community at large. By failing to retract his comments of a decade ago, he unwittingly has declared himself an unjust leader, and it is our duty to point that out to the world if we value our rights and our dignity. It is also unfortunate that Mayor Vera Katz did not have the courage to stand by us in our time of need. Despite lingering calls for his res­ ignation, Kroeker, with her full support, will remain on the job. Our community must base further action on an acceptance of that reality if we expect to make constructive progress. The best tactic is to maintain an active dialogue with Kroeker, con­ tinually demonstrating the negative impact of his beliefs on our community. This dialogue should be consistent, positive and remain focused on how he can assure the population that he is fit for the job. M ic h a e l Portland MASSAGE For anyone having an auto or work injury during the past 12 months. RTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE: C H IR O P R A C T IC • P H Y S IC A L T H E R A P Y S P O R T S M E D IC IN E • R E H A B IL IT A T IO N , f ) 4 p o p u a / vp SP/MP & PAPAS J ohn ’ s L anding & T ualatin 503 - 226-0950 the risk of earning the enmity of the self-appointed Thought Police— be their “judgment from on high” from one self-appointed siren or the group— I would suggest two things. Look up and write down 100 times the definition of the word “democracy,” and— assuming the howling crowd can read more than TV Guide — read or reread George Orwell’s Animal Farm. J o h n B o y n to n Portland Forefront or back burner? To the E ditor : In the interests of correcting the record, in my Dec. 13 testimony to the Portland-City Council, I condemned the gender identity ordi­ nance as “a vile attack,” not “a violent attack”— a perfectly understandable mistake given the acoustics of the council chambers [“Trans Action,” Dec. 15]. As for the assertion made by It’s Time, Ore­ gon! in a letter to the editor that employers’ “legal right to gender-specific dress codes.. .have been upheld by the courts,” remember that courts also routinely upheld the obscene doc­ trine of “separate but equal,” most notably in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 19th century decision Plessey v. Ferguson. E. B a r r e t t Progress takes To been, relatively speaking, pretty damn fast. Compare the legal rights of the nonstraight world to just women, who spent centuries liter­ ally under the control of men and in many Third World countries still are just chattel. Portland has taken steps to enhance the polit­ ical, economic, social and physical safety of pre- and post-op transsexuals and the politically cor­ rect “transpeople”— whatever that means. We are living in a state that damn near passed Mea­ sure 9. We are living in a state where two lesbians were murdered a few years ago because they were lesbians. We are living in a state where, outside Portland, the vast majority of the citizens are very conservative. Instead of whining, carping, pout­ ing and having another snit fit, we should be glad at what progress has been made. The other issue is our new police chief. The Political Correctness Police— as expected of any knee-jerk liberals— are screaming for his head. Which is worse: a politician such as President Clinton, who said all the right things and then ignored the nonstraight world once in office, or a police chief who regardless of his personal views—and voicing his views is his constitution­ al right—shows by his actions he will treat all members of society with protection and respect? There is not much difference between the screaming hyenas of the far left and the blood­ thirsty roars of the jackals of the far right. At the tiR ite E ditor : In the interest of rationality, I have two counterpoints on two separate issues. First of all, I have been a member of both Transport (now seeming defunct) and North- West Gender Alliance for about six years. Sec­ ondly, 1 have been studying the field and the people of the entire nonstraight world including pre- and post-op transsexuals since the early ’60s. Despite the radicals with their “our way or nothing” approach and despite certain individu­ als’ fits or tantrums, in real life things can take time, and difficult compromises are more often the rule than the exception. If people actually know the history of various minorities— the Irish in the 1840s, the Jews, the Hispanics, the Orientals, natural-bom women in general, the various Slavic ethnic groups and the many other minority groups— the advance­ ment of protection of the nonstraight world has Joe Pennington, 1961 -2000 mest Jo “Joe” Pennington died of HIV com- plications Dec. 26. He was 39. He was bom Nov. 30, 1961, in Cottage Grove. He served in the U.S. Navy and worked as a self-employed computer technician. He moved to Portland about 1990. He raised birds and miniature pinschers. His friends say he will he remembered for his caring and helpful soul and his way of seeing and feeling things not everyone saw or felt. They hope his passing will serve as a reminder that AIDS is not dead; it’s just hiding around the cor­ ner waiting to surprise and scare us all again. May we all take notice and fight this deadly dis­ ease and let the gay community start living again. He is survived by his mother, Joan Pierce; brother, Barry; and sisters, Debbie Gaudette and Sherri Cotant. A memorial circle was held Dec. 28 at Our House of Portland. Final disposition was by cre­ mation. Omega Funeral & Cremation Service handled the arrangements. Remembrances may be made to Our House of Portland.