3
GUEST COMMENTARY
publication for the OUT population
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown and R enée L a C hance
Vol. 18 No. 9
March 2, 2001
FEATURE
CDUriNC KWH M EUTI: Gardens as places
of healing, magic and spiritual inspiration
P 22
NEWS
NORTHWEST • Tree hugger starts life anew
PP «15
NATIONAL • Mad about Madison; rich white
guys schmooze with the attorney general
Pp17-1D
WORLD • Same-sex marriages, eh?
Mi 20-21
ENTERTAINMENT
DANCE • No Thumper in this Bambi
p 33
MT • Lesbian artists commiserate
P 34
BOOKS • Love and hate
P 37
THEATER • Revenge can be so sweet
p 30
TELEVISION • Oh, Danny boy!
P 30
CULTURE • Transition transmission
P 41
DIVERSIONS • Film, fire and fun
P 42
COLUMNS
MS. BEHAVIOR. Corneas you are
P 31
SPECIAL
EATING OUT • Let someone else cook tonight
Mi 32-33
NIGHTSPOTS • Gay -friendly hangouts
p 40
JUST FRIENDS • Free voice personal ads
p 43
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Moment of truth
•
•
Is it possible for a hateful person to grow and learn?
n my capacity as Portland Mayor Vera Katz’s volunteer liaison to some personal thoughts. Implicit in the question of whether the chief is
the sexual minorities community, many of you have expressed making an honest effort to rebuild trust with the sexual minorities com
your concerns regarding Portland Police Chief Mark Kroeker’s munity and uphold policy and law relevant to us is the question of
homophobic remarks. You also have asked if he is making an hon whether a person can grow and leam.
est effort to repair the betrayal of trust created by his remarks or if
Consider U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, who voted yes on Measure 9 in
is he a slick communicator in public who behind doors only upholds
1992. During the past eight years he has grown beyond religion and pol
diversity policies with “a wink and a nod.”
itics to respect for all life and human dignity.
To answer your collective question, I am only able to speak for myself.
Through the Human Rights Campaign, our community has given
I would like to share with you the process I have gone through so far.
Smith a much-deserved award, and he has committed himself to lobby
When we all became aware of the tapes, the mayor asked for my
ing congressional colleagues and President Bush to include sexual
inclusion and my opinion during her initial meetings with advisers, crit minorities under federal hate crimes law. This is enormous growth, and
ics, religious leaders, ethicists, sexual minorities, etc. Her process had I admire him for it.
integrity, and I supported her difficult decision to give Kroeker a chance
I am not sure I would understand how a Gordon Smith and a Mark
to rebuild trust.
Kroeker could grow beyond personal beliefs that I do not share and
Also, for about 2 1/2 months, I met with a cross section of about 100 sometimes frighten me if I had not recently seen it in my own family.
nonconstituent-based sexual minorities who I respect and who usually
In the mid-1980s, I went home for Thanksgiving with the intention of
do not agree with me. After listening to their concerns in confidence, I coming out to my sister, who I was quite close to. At the dinner table, out
found a common thread appeared.
of nowhere, homophobic and hateful remarks were
Consistently, they made two points: First,
made about gays and lesbians. (Bisexual and trans
Kroeker is a member of our community, and
gendered people weren’t on their radar screens yet!)
because hate only creates more hate, they did not
I was heartsick. I sat stunned and speechless
wish to match his hateful speech with more hate
from the ugliness and hate coming out of my sis
ful speech targeting fundamentalists. Secondly,
ter’s and cousins’ mouths.
they were confused by his record in Los Angeles,
At the table was a young naval cadet who even
which I verified with a member of the Anti
tually would become my brother-in-law, a Top
Defamation League, of working to help pass legis
Gun pilot and a commander in the U.S. Navy.
lation to protect sexual minorities and the enor
This cadet, who I never had met, spoke up.
mous disconnect and aggression of the tapes.
He focused his eyes on my sister and said, “You
From these thoughts the common question I
sure have a lot of issues about gay and lesbians—
was asked was: “Is he making an honest effort?
what’s your problem?” As they mounted their
Can we expect him to change?”
defenses, he calmly held his ground, educating
Most of the people I met with said they wished
them on diversity—and I got a lesson in prejudg
to express how Kroeker’s remarks affected them, listen to his response ing someone in a traditional package.
and then watch what he does—and get back to the real work of attain
I lost many relationships in my family at that time. Last year at a large
ing our full civil rights.
family event while my lesbian cousin was on the dance floor with her girl
I met with him Jan. 26. As with the other meetings involving sexu friend, her dad came up to me and said in a heartfelt gesture: “You know,
al minorities, mine was also given priority and arranged quickly.
we’ve all grown in the past 10 years. Your being gay is not an issue any
We discussed the type of personnel issues the chief is encountering more. You are a part of this family, and we are so glad you are here.”
without reference to specific individuals and how he is handling them.
Again, I was stunned and speechless—this time happily so.
I found him to be direct in his responses and receptive to criticism.
If it had not been for my traditional brother-in-law’s interventions on
We talked in depth for almost two hours. I left our meeting with a my behalf through the years, I am not sure I would have had any con
sense that the chief is upholding the intent of diversity policies with tact with my immediate family. He has played an important role in my
commitment, not just because he has to. I also was impressed with a cre life. I am grateful for their growth and mine. JH
ative idea he is working on to deal with bias issues.
I wanted to share with you my perceptions in an effort to answer the
K im R oth is Portland Mayor Vera Katz’s volunteer liaison to the sexual
collective question you have asked me; however, I also wanted to share minorities community.
I
Implicit in the question of
whether the chief is making an
honest effort to rebuild trust
with the sexual minorities
community and uphold policy
and law relevant to us is the
question of whether a person
can grow and learn.
REFLECTIONS
15 years ago m
a
T~~~
• The courage and understanding of a Portland family
was covered in Newsweek. The story of Paul and
Joan Chronister's acceptance of their son Kelly made
the cover of the magazine Jan. 13.
• In December 1985, Multnomah County
Commissioner Gordon Shadbume wrote a letter to
“Christian Leaders" on government stationery char
acterizing the Portland gay and lesbian community as
a "stronghold of Satan.” However, the Feb. 13 issue
of Willamette Week accused him of being a member
of that same stronghold. In a strongly worded editor
ial, Mark Zusman condemned Shadbume’s
hypocrisy and pointed out that his wife alleged that
i he had affairs with other men.
• Queersville. KBOO-FM’s frisky gay and lesbian
show, aired at 10 p.m. every Sunday starting
March 2.
• Storefront Theatre presented The Normal Heart
PUBLISHER AND MANAGING EDITOR • Marty Davis
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR • Oriana Green
COPY EDITOR • Jim Radosta
SWF REPORI ER • Jonathan Kipp
CONTRIBUTORS • Meryl Cohn, Mubarak Dahir,
Heron, Michael Wayne Keck, Kim Roth,
Andy Simon, Tom Stevenson, Lynn Thomas,
V ol . 3 No. 5, M arch 1986
^■■MMMHH^MMMBHNHHHHHHMHHHÌ
..... HIT
by Larry Kramer. Robert Nielsen directed this story of
anger, courage and the AIDS health crisis.
• Feminist gay men had the chance to meet similar men
and discuss Issues relating to the gay male experience
from a feminist perspective during a potluck every third
Friday.
• Ample Opportunity, committed to the health, happiness
and self-acceptance of fat women, sponsored physical activ
ities for fat women only, from belly dancing to volleyball.
• Phoenix Rising Foundation announced plans to open a
thrift store to benefit the gay and lesbian community. All
profits would subsidize service agencies, AIDS projects
and other gay organizations.
• President Ronald Reagan requested Feb. 5 the sur
geon general prepare a "major" report to U.S. citizens
on AIDS. On the same day, he went on to propose citing
the federal budget for AIDS research and care programs.
Glenn Williams, Rex Wockner
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Meg Grace
ADVERTISING REPRESENWIVES • Markie Acevedo,
Larry Lewis
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Rivendell
Marketing Company Inc., 212-242-6863
ART DIRECTOR • Rupert Kinnard
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR • Kevin Moore
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT • Melissa Sayler
OFFICE
T I 1. I I M
31 • Melissa Sayler
DISTRIBUTION • Jerilyn Adams, Kathy Bethel,
Katy Davidson, Ian Drake, Bonita Martinson,
K.D. Parman, Plum, Merid Schwartz,
Hadley Scott, Ruth Traut