jiistnrn
tebruary 2. 2001
GUEST COMMENTARY
by
M
ark
K
roeker
The IN publication for the OUT population
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown and R enée L a C hance
V ol. 18 N o. 7
F e b ru a ry 2 , 2 0 0 1
FEATURE
THE SECOND CLOSET: Domestic violence hides
in the dark
»20
NEWS
NORTHW EST. Equity Foundation presents
grants; Cadillac Cafe plans expansion
pp 6-15
NATIONAL • John Ashcroft confirmed;
Barney Frank makes Dick Cheney eat his words
pp 16-17
WORLD • Park prohibits public pecking;
penises pull plane
pp 18-19
EN TERTAIN M EN T
& CU LTU RE
DIVERSIONS* Looking for lesbian artists
and gay vegetarians
p 31
THEATER • It’d be sinful to miss this play;
Jon Kretzu crosses the pond
pp 33-35
COLTORE • Meet the royals
p 36
F I L M * Time traveling to the really dark ages
P 37
CULTRRE • A salute to queers in uniform
p 38
COLUMNS
M S. BEHAVIOR • Ms. B gets wet
P 29
SPECIAL
EATIN6 O U T . Let someone else cook tonight
Some reflections from Mark Kroeker
Portland’s police chief sends a message of peace
o me, becoming Portland’s police chief was both the real
ization o f a dream and a singular honor that brought along
with it a profound load of responsibility. In this mix is a rich
fulfillment that is difficult to explain.
Despite the controversy of the past few months, I want
Just Out readers to know I remain content in my work and pleased to be
your chief. My wife, Diane, and 1 both love the city and its people, and
we are glad to have made Portland our home.
W hen the interviews, negotiations and all the inauguration moments
passed and the work o f leading a city’s police force began, I became more
and more convinced I made the right choice. As I reflected on the
changes, the implementations, the adaptations, the steady growth on a
strategic pathway, I became invigorated, encouraged, excited.
As to the gay and lesbian community, I sensed across the initial
months a growing level of mutual respect and an enthusiasm to build
peaceful solutions in Portland’s intergroup mix. My overtures were
accepted as sincerely as they were offered.
I made it my objective to ensure that people in every community
could expect fair and just police service. I set out to model an exemplary
level of respect inside and outside the organization.
I made it clear that opportunities for joining the Portland Police
Bureau were there for all people, including gays and lesbians. 1 also want
ed everyone to know that I am highly sensitive to crimes of bias, preju
dice or hatred against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people
and that I expect thorough investigations, careful reporting and restora
tive community policing efforts.
W hen the flurry of concerns arose around remarks 1 made many years
ago in a religious setting, the forward momentum we all had worked so
hard to create was interrupted. W ith the support of Mayor Vera Katz, I
resolved to dig in, to meet, to listen, to respond to every question as best
I could, to face any detractor, to attend any forum, to be present at count
less roll calls, to produce a roll call videotape, to give numerous news
interviews and to reach out to any who would respond inside and outside
the police bureau.
I met with gay, lesbian and transgendered officers in my home, in my
office and during impromptu meetings. I listened to their fears and con
cerns and addressed them in groups and individual meetings.
Among others, I attended a forum sponsored by Just Out. I spoke with
leadership figures of the Portland Area Business Association, Oregon
Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association, Cascade A ID S Project, Sexual
Minorities Roundtable and Metropolitan Community Church. Still
ahead is a meeting scheduled with Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays.
. I explained that the foundations
of my faith remain unalterable but
that the experiences of the past decade
greatly affected my psyche and my
approach to the world and its people. 1
reflected that experiences in close contact with
the world’s most tragic intergroup settings, such as in the Balkans, the
Middle East, Haiti and Africa, profoundly changed my outlook.
I have fully integrated the role of “peace officer” into my “police offi
cer” identity. Across the years, gay and lesbian friends and their life sto
ries created in me a deeper awareness of their world and their perspectives.
I stated that I did not and do not equate gayness with criminality and
that A ID S is not a “gay disease.” T h e overarching philosophical energiz
er in my life, to all people, has become the pursuit of peace— always har
boring within me the most profound respect for the flame of life that
bums in every living soul.
As the new year has arrived with its continuing challenges, I remain
convinced that there is much to do in making Portland the country’s
safest city and in making the Portland Police Bureau the country’s finest
police force. We have community policing issues to pursue. We wish to
reduce crime and the fear of it, improve the quality of life in all neigh
borhoods and improve the community and police partnership.
This partnership, of course, includes that which is between the gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and Portland’s police force.
To do this, we must adopt common goals and share a common vision.
We arc in the process of building a wide network of neighborhood Block
Captains and openly invite your involvement.
Before the recent turbulence, I was invited to serve as a board mem
ber for the Portland chapter o f the National Conference for Community
and Justice, a group dedicated to eradicating bias and bigotry. I readily
accepted and, along with it, the offer to become government chair of the
“Walk as O n e” march April 7 at the Rose Garden. I invite all Portlanders
to join me.
Although I do want to move ahead as your ch ief of police, I do not
wish to close the door on this matter or on the pain, anger and frustra
tion that might remain. Rather, 1 wish to keep a door open to continu
ing dialogue in order to build better and stronger relationships and more
effectively enhance public safety initiatives for all communities, includ
ing Portland’s gay community.
Here is my hand, offered in peace.
in
M ark K roeker is the Portland Police Bureau chief. H e can be reached at
chicfkroekerQpolice. ci. Portland .or. us.
» 30-31
NISHTOPOTS • Gay -friendly hangouts
p 36
REFLECTIONS
JHST FRIENDS • Free voice personal ads
• Activists hammered out an A ID S contract with
America. The 1996 A ID S Emergency Plan
focused on voter education, registration and
mobilization. It set the ambitious goal of turning
out 1 million people to vote on A ID S issues
Nov. 5.
p 39
Ju st out it published on the Arse and third
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C ontact Just O ut at P.O. Box 14400, Portland, O R
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*
5 years ago m
• The Los Angeles City Council agreed to
investigate allegations that the city violated the
civil rights of a lesbian police officer by demand
ing that she name her past sexual partners.
Virginia Acevedo w as on disability for stress
she claimed w as caused by harassment she
suffered because of her sexual orientation.
• Right to Privacy executive director Barry
Pack and fellow performer Erin Boberg pre
sented a body of new and repertory work
exploring travel abroad through dance, theater
and music.
designed to give viewers an opportunity to
share a slice of their lives minus the filter of a
mainstream media lens.
• Adrian Kalil of Team Portland Aquatic Club
realized the completion of a dream Oct. 7,
1995. He w as one of 1,441 men and women
who began the Hawaiian Ironman World
Championship Triathlon in the warm waters of
Kailua-Kona.
• M aria's Show, featuring the only lesbian
em press in the United States, w as Feb. 3 at
City Nightclub.
• The East Vancouver United Methodist Church
exhibited a portion of the Nam es Project Quilt
through Feb. 18 and presented a special benefit
concert by the Vancouver M e n 's Chorus and a
dramatic presentation by the R E A L Kids on
Feb. 9.
• Portland lesbian mom Debbie Caselton
filmed a segment for M T V 's Unfiltered, a show
PUBLISHED AND MANA6IN6 EDITOR • Marty Davis
ENTER1A1NMENT EDITOR • Oriana Green
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CRNTRHNfTORI • Meryl Cohn, Timothy Krause,
Jon Kretzu, Mark Kroeker, Andy Mangels,
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