1
4 Ju st Mat * august 17. 2001
EASTSIDE
rrmiout
M O V IN G & S T O R A G E Co.
Don’t give up the fight
S
Household Goods
International
Trade Shows
Toni. C. Morales
Director of Corporate Relocation
8 ia
E-mail toni@move-northwest.com
\d T ~
(503) 777-4181
M AYRnW UER-
TRANSIT
(»<*»547-4600
Fax (503) 775-8443
M r . M an ' s ( leaning
M ichael .
R obert
Commercial
Residential
503 - 892-8227
mrmanscleaning@aol.com
" Q u a lity ease f
cv ^oue Uou*\d
u /U e i\ ¡ApU eaiA . t
iye t U e f e . "
BOARDING • WALKING - MID-DAY BREAKS
TRANSPORTATION - VACATION VISITATION
To the E ditor :
A
commentary by Marty Davis in the Aug. 3
edition of Just Out discussed the controver
sy regarding Derry Jacksons statements and
called on Basic Rights Oregon to take a leading
role in building stronger bridges with the African
American community (“Tip o f the Iceberg?”].
As active participants in Portlanders Against
Prejudice, the coalition pushing for his recall from
the school board, we are focusing on speaking out
against what we see as a pattern of ignorant and
offensive remarks. It comes as no surprise to us that
Bruce Broussard, who is one of Jackson’s close advis
ers, was heard spouting anti-gay remarks, because
Jackson was making anti-gay references months
before he turned on the Jewish community.
BR O ’s purpose is to oppose discrimination
and prejudice on the basis of sexual orientation
and gender identity, and this work heightens our
commitment to speaking out against all forms of
bias. Rather than taking a position against Jack-
son alone, however, we chose to join with a
coalition o f other groups, including Jews, par
ents and various community organizations.
We think this is the best way to make our
position clear and avoid the problems Davis
fears of pitting the G L B T community against
the African American community. In fact, BRO
has worked in successful coalition with groups
and individuals from several communities of
color on many issues, and we will continue to do
so in the spirit of our mission.
O ne thing troubles me, though, and that is
Davis’ suggestion that we “divert some time,
energy and even money, if necessary, away from
the tedious Lon M abon." T hat is a luxury the
G L B T community and our many supporters
cannot afford.
The fact that the Oregon Citizens Alliance
has targeted our civil rights in almost 40 different
state and local legislative initiatives during the
past 13 years does nothing to make the threat of
its latest attack any less serious. N o matter how
tired or fed up we are, our kids and teachers are
too important to sacrifice to our own apathy.
They are counting on us to protect their
rights and the progress we have made, and it is
irresponsible to suggest we do otherwise. Yes,
M abon is tedious, but more importantly, he is
hateful and relentless. If we let him win, our kids
are the ones who lose.
R oey T horpe
Basic Rights Oregon Executive Director
KEMIN &BIE RIBS
Cell: 503-201-4870 Home: 503-774-3227
kevin.friends@usa.net Fax: 503-771-3733
Oregon Wines
on Broadway
S p e c ia liz e s in O reg o n 's
best p ro d u cers
50 wines available by
the taste or glass
W ine S ale s
C a se D isc o u n ts
Private Parties
#
^
Great downtown location
^ 15 SW Broadway
Tuesday— S a tu rd a y * 12-8
Let the games begin
To the E ditor :
ongratulations on being the latest contes-
✓ tant in the “Oppression Olympics.” In your
effort to look “beyond Derry Jackson’s dilemma”
you have played right into the divisive game.
Bruce Broussard’s ambiguous comment “It’s
the gays...it’s the gays” needs more explanation.
But why should his comment hold “greater signif
icance than anything said or not said by Jackson” ?
It’s a little like comparing the Holocaust with
slavery. My pain is greater than your pain.
Should it hold “greater significance” to us
because we are the “gay community” and there
fore don’t care about the achievement gap in our
public schools, gentrification or issues of racism
and class? If you are calling for all of us to get to
know each other and work together, then all
inequality is o f great significance.
How can you even say Broussard’s comment
is o f "greater significance” when we haven’t
even read the complete comment? Please pro
vide more substantial quotes in the future.
And while you’re at it, why not give Jackson
and Broussard the same courtesy you gave to
Portland Police C h ief Mark Kroeker after his
hateful comments about homosexuals, women
and children? Invite them and their supporters
to do a commentary piece in the coming issues,
unless you would rather just toss ambiguous
quotes and empty suggestions about.
lack thereof— from W al-Mart “m anagem ent.”
These people need to be dragged— kicking
and screaming, if need be— into the 21st centu
ry. Consider where you spend your hard-earned
dollars, Oregonians. You could be next!
J anine H. O shiro
A nn A rmstrong
Portland
Salem
Better sorry than safe
Bi and large
To the E ditor :
To the E ditor :
don’t care if Derry Jackson comm its political
suicide by making impetuous racist com
ments. N or do I care about Mark Kroeker’s
philosophical viewpoints on whether gays live
an immoral lifestyle.
O ne would think with all the education and
political advice these two individuals have
access to, they would not make such explosive
and dam aging statem ents. However, som e
politicians still are not savvy in cleaning up the
bltxxJ after they cut their own throats.
Jackson is a good example. It does not take a
political genius to know the best thing he
should do is say, “ I am sorry.”
N o excuses, no why-I-did-its, no he-made-
me-say-its. Just “ I am sorry.”
These two should take lessons from President
Clinton; he said he was sorry, and look what hap
pened: nothing. He has an astute way o f con
vincing us of his sincerity, and he was successful.
Airlines whose planes have crashed and killed
our loved ones come right out and say, “We are
sooooo sorry.” It’s the new political and corporate
strategy that researchers are finding really works.
My advice to Jackson: Grow up politically
before you consider politics as a career. A nd get
your facts straight; after all, everyone knows the
heterosexuals and closeted hom osexuals run
everything.
1
K aty M urphy
Portland
Shop aroiind
To the E ditor :
B
igotry is alive and well at Wal-Mart. I am a
50-year-old trans woman, unambiguously
“female” in appearance and identified as such on
my Oregon driver license.
In any event, one should be able to make the
reasonable presumption that people can con
duct their business without fear o f intimidation
and ridicule. Apparently not at Wal-Mart.
I was shopping July 28 at the Troutdale store
when an associate grabbed and moved my shop
ping cart toward me, at one point forcing me to
grasp it before it hit me. This young man, Terry,
then glared at me and said with sarcasm, “I’ll just
put this here.” He and his co-worker Donald then
proceeded to glare at me, exchanging knowing
glances and snickering, as though I were the Beard
ed Lady at the tum-of-the-century freak show.
T his happens all too often; nevertheless, I
was so stunned that, as they moved down the
aisle, I was speechless with indignation and
impotent rage. Determined to report this inci
dent, I asked the cashier for the store manager.
After some reluctant back-and-filling Terry
was located. Together with Patsy, the assistant
manager, he denied it all: “We weren’t laughing
at you, sir.”
I replied, “I’m a woman; it’s ma’am .” Both of
these Neanderthals persisted throughout the
entire episode in referring to me as “sir,” “he”
and “him" and seemed to be enjoying the whole
proceeding immensely.
After this pointless exchange, Patsy and
Terry flounced off without so much as a hint of
an apology, let alone any serious attempt to
question him as to his inexcusable behavior.
N or is there any excuse for their reaction— or
hy does it seem so impossible for other
wise intelligent people to grasp the con
cept o f bisexuality?
In the “Just A sking” section of the Aug. 3
issue, readers responded that they thought
celebrity queer women such as A nne Heche
were engaging more in “lesbo temping” than a
true and valid expression o f their sexuality. In
fact, Heche identified as bisexual, not lesbian;
her decision to take up with a man reveals noth
ing about any trend in the lesbian community
because she was not a lesbian.
Moreover, both reader responses addressed
the issue as though it were a question o f
either/or: Either you’re gay or you’re straight. For
bisexuals, the world is not limited thusly; many
o f us espouse a both/and approach.
For decades, researchers have known most
people fall somewhere in between purely het
erosexual and purely homosexual. Why, then,
do so many gay and lesbian people (and straight
people, for that matter) refuse to acknowledge
bisexuality as a legitimate identity and orienta
tion, seeing it instead as a phase o f denial on the
road to becom ing a “real” queer?
W
K ate O ’N eill
Portland
Identity crisis
To the E ditor :
hen you spoke o f A n ne H eche, Sinead
O ’C on n or and other celebrities “ lesbo
temping” or pulling publicity stunts, I have to
wonder why you discounted bisexuality as a rea
son for these women’s various relationships.
Bisexuals exist, although a lot o f the queer
community, and the straights, seem to wish we
didn’t. From what I can see, we often actively
are ignored and, at times, even are treated with
hostility, as though we were “traitors” to some
cause we never signed up for.
There’s room for all o f us in the queer com
munity, if we’re going to be as accepting o f diver
sity as we all claim. Bisexuality isn’t just some
"phase” people go through to get to the queer side
o f the road. Our sexual identity doesn’t depend
on who we’re sleeping (or not sleeping) with
today; it is based on our feelings for both women
and men, however you want to identify those.
A bi woman doesn’t “turn straight” if she’s
sleeping with a man, just as she hasn’t “turned
lesbian” if she’s sleeping with a woman. S h e’s
still bisexual.
M ost folks wouldn’t identify a celibate les
bian as “asexual” just because she’s not in a sex
ual relationship. It’s not about whether you’re
getting any or with whom; it’s about what you
feel, where your desires are.
Different people will identify differently, of
course. Som e bi women identify as “ lesbians,”
while others identify as “straight.” Still others
refuse labels at all. But in any case, we still love
K ith women and men.
Why does our difference discomfort so many
other queer folk? I shouldn’t have to be saying
we’re just as capable of love and com m itm ent as
anyone else. W e’re all human here.
W
E rynn L aurie
Seattle