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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2001)
4 • January 19.2001 ^1101111 o u t * Celebrating a strong foundation The Care & * Turning conflict into an intimacy tool * Keeping the magic alive Feeding of * Relationship communication skills * Exploring the dance o f intimacy a Healthy J| February 16 & 17 F ri 6-10pm V S at 9am - 7pm Relationsh V eelfcompaeeion&aol.CQm Com paeeionate Solutions Institute V 503-2P® . r f ramed^/f/studios ‘for the of your business” wholesale custom picture framing and framed * \ t I Julia M. Hcinzmann and Brooke E. Lindgrcn phone 503.493.2880 K im T r i P tfiw np I am there for you through every step of the home-buying process. 2% of proceeds are donated to local non-profit organizations. 503 - 416-2017 They'll tune your engine. They'll fix your car. And as an added bonus, they'll save the planet. T r u st N orth Portland We are committed to providing loving, com passionate medical care for your pet. (5 0 3 ) 282-3315 We are proud to be building a new, state-of-the-art veterinary hospital to serve you. It is scheduled for completion in early 2001. You can watch our progress at 3000 N. Lombard. In the meantime, w e are A U T O M O T I V E Mechanics WHh A Conscience (and x-ray vision) N dsl D€0 repair M b À SE cmufm Gerard Lillie *5934 N.E. Halsey To the E ditor : The Jan. 15 Oregonian included the follow ing account of Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker celebrating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church: “The meeting was sponsored by We’re Here, We Care, a nonprofit, faith-based agency in North Portland that aims to reduce juvenile violence.... Kroeker stressed Kings role as a peacemaker and talked about the ethnic hatred he witnessed in Bosnia three years ago. Kroeker brought pockets of the congregation to its feet and applause from many as he quoted Scripture verses related to peacemaking.” Now, let me get this...er...straight? First, Kroeker, as a high-ranking official in one of the most brutal and corrupt police bureaus in the nation (Los Angeles), appears before a heavily armed, far-right gathering of Christian police men and exhorts them to regard gays as a terri ble scourge on the United States, to demand wives submit to husbands in a society plagued with spousal abuse and to discipline teen-agers with a boat oar in a way that skirts the statutes on child abuse. When his taped remarks are criticized in Portland, he refuses to discuss them, not to men tion repudiate them, saying his religious beliefs are his personal business and not for public con sumption. (This, despite the fact the tapes are available to every skinhead enclave on the globe, thanks to the magic of Internet com merce.) The Oregonian, meanwhile, goes absolutely ballistic over the idea that anyone would challenge whether his hate rhetoric is jus tified in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Then, suddenly, Kroeker holds forth on his religious beliefs again in a highly public setting. He pounds the pulpit for biblical peace and love without ever having repudiated his message of hate and repression. He also has refused to advocate for the expansion of hate crimes legislation, as promot ed by Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith on the previ ous page of the same issue of the Oregonian. And the crowd goes wild over this new heir apparent to the King legacy. Kroeker is the new spiritual son of Dr. King? But I’m so confused. His religious beliefs are highly private and not to be discussed in public—yes or no? I’m so confused. It’s me, isn’t it? I’m the crazy one...? M itc h G o u l d Veterinary Hospital PDX Automotive Is a certified Eco-Loflkai Business. King for a day pleased to serve you at... our current location. (503) 285-0462 2009 N.Killingsworth* Forest Grove Family ties To the E ditor : After attending the sexual minorities commu nity forum Dec. 11, in which about 200 were present, 1 was expecting almost an equal showing from the sexual minorities community at the multi-issue fonim Jan. 9 organized by Love Makes a Family. Imagine what a statement we could have made to Portland Police Chief Mark Kroek er if he were forced to confront such an immense crowd from the sexual minorities community, compounded with the activist community, com pounded with the African American community, compounded with the dynamic youth communi ty. My expectation was not fulfilled. When the meeting began, each person in the audience had the opportunity to state his or her name and organization, if any. I was surprised no one from Just Out was present at this time. Hopefully, someone from Just Out made a later appearance. It is not enough that we as a larger community play host to and attend our own forums. It is imperative that we are visible and active in the larger Portland community. # Even if Kroeker repudiates statements made concerning gays and lesbians, we still are left with an unregulated police bureau that will con tinue to violate our rights. In a recent letter to the editor under the heading “Where is the out rage?” Michael E. Barrett wrote, “The truth is, we do not yet enjoy the same status of other oppressed groups, such as ethnic and religious minorities” [Jan. 5]. Let me tell you where the outrage is! If you had been at the Jan. 9 meeting, you would have heard stories of racial profiling in our fair city that would have made you outraged. You would have heard about the civil rights violations that threaten our city’s most active citizens. The truth is, we all still are struggling to enjoy the status of human beings who are treat ed with respect and dignity. We all still are fight ing to protect our basic human rights whether they have been denied because of ethnicity, age, belief system or sexual orientation. Please, do not dare extol the status of ethnic minorities as if their oppression is a thing of the past or is not deeply connected to the oppression of sexual minorities. This is not a time for division. Kroeker’s words and direction of the Portland Police Bureau contribute directly to a climate of big otry and violence. An active dialogue is impos sible with a man who refuses to answer any ques tions in clear, meaningful language. This is a time when we all must rally togeth er, although it might seem we have distinct issues. Let us remember we are all part of a larg er family of concerned citizens here in Portland. J a n in e H . O sh ir o Portland Unfair shake To the E ditor : No matter what Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker says, he will not please everyone in the LGBT community. I have a difficult time standing up for an offi cer, but 1 think he is being unfairly judged for 10-year-old words and not today’s actions. The Portland Police Bureau has a long way to go in learning to deal with the LGBT and other minority communities. I feel your article on Kroeker is fair hut still leaves a lot to be said [“Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” Dec. 15). What I have a prob lem with is how people, my fellow brothers and sisters, can condemn a man for something he said 10 years ago. 1 believe his actions today speak for his beliefs, not something that was said 10 years ago. I know 1 wouldn’t want to be judged about all of my remarks 10 years ago. Who are we to judge in the first place? Are we so righteous and do we lead such perfect lives that we can tear a man apart for what he said a decade ago and use it to ruin his professional life, along the way tearing at his family life? Would we want this done to us? People’s attitudes have changed dramatically during the past 10 years about homosexuality, and in the next 10 years we will make even more strides toward basic human rights (once we get the right wing out of the White House, anyway). Look around you and see the families that now accept their gay sons and daughters that 10 years ago wouldn’t have thought about it. I don’t believe Kroeker is any differeni from most people, in that his views will change, and have changed, with more education and first hand dealings with level-headed people within the LGBT community. Look at your own fami lies and see how their views on homosexuality have changed during the past 10 years— or are they exempt? I believe Kroeker is showing compassion
