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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2001)
4 jM St M t • September 21.2ÛQ1 out Auto, Home, Life & Business "Your Independent Insurance Agency" p &□ Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker, Inc. Aid research No N e e d le s M arc Baker Downtown Portland (5 0 3 ) 227-1771 ww w .epbb.com " Q u a l i t y ca s e - T c v <^ouc \jUet*. >^OU C0Li*.t tUefe" BOARDING • WALKING • MID-DAY BREAKS TRANSPORTATION - VACATION VISITATION JOHNNY SOLE Portland, OR 9 / 2 0 5 503.228.5844 Upstairs 503.225.1241 Downstairs 815 SW Alder Street Cell: 503-201-4870 Home: 503-774-3227 kevin.friends@usa.net Fax: 503-771-3733 LA HOG S DIAMONDS ON BROADWAY now offers you the biggest selection of commitment rings in Portland. Stop by our downtown store, open even Saturday and Sunday with Free Parking*. Mention this ad, take $100 OFF any item over $500. • Parking validated for Alder Street G a ra g e o r Smart Park the E ditor : I n this time of terrible destruction and great loss, the American community comes to gether in support and aid. The many factions of our society work together much as the pas sengers of United Airlines Flight 93, including at least one gay man, are believed to have handed together to take hack the plane and, in doing so, heroically prevented it from hitting a populated target. As in any time of great devastation, our com munity needs to give financially. I ask everyone to remember those members of our gay, lesbian, hi and trans family who have perished by giving prudently as well. Remember the Red Cross will not let gay or bisexual men donate hlixxJ no matter how dire the need. Remember the Salvation Army asked for, and received, special protection for religious organizations exempting them from any nondis crimination policy based on sexual orientation in President Bush’s plan to involve religious agencies in social services. Remember the United Way supports the ban on gay Boy Scouts and troop leaders by contin uing to contribute financially to chapters across the country, including New York and Washing ton, D.C. It is important, even imperative, to let these organizations know that when they ask our community for dollars to support their pro grams, they are asking us to contribute finan cially to our discrimination. We should not taint the memories of our murdered gay, les bian, hi and trans friends by financially donat ing to any charity with a policy of discrimina tion against us. If you already have contributed financially to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Way of America September 11 th Fund or another selectively supportive service organi zation, I encourage you to let them know how much money they received from someone they discriminate against. Perhaps now is the time to open their hearts and policies; otherwise, encourage them to return your donation to you, then forward that same amount, or more, to a nondiscriminatory charity. O f the charities listed at Helping.org for this special time of need, the New York Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York State Fraternal Order of Police World Trade Center Fund stem from organizations that do not discriminate in employment or benefits regarding an individuals sexual orientation. (The AO L Time Warner Foundation— also nondiscriminatory— is covering administrative costs associated with contributing online so 100 percent of your donation is directed to the char ity.) You also could do a search at Helping.org to find gay, lesbian, bi and trans organizations in New York and Washington to which you can donate. And at this time of great tragedy— as I mourn my friend who worked on the 90th floor and my boyfriend’s colleague who was a passen ger on the plane that struck that tower— please give a hit more. At this time of great compas sion, please remember also to he careful as well as caring. J G raigory James Giardino Your Downtown Jeweler with Pride To McMinnville Oregon's Family Business of the Year (503) 223-5051 539 SW Broadway www.Larog.com New patriotism To t h e A E d it o r : lthough I do not wish to detract from the righteous grieving of those who have lost family and other loved ones in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I do feel a gaping abyss between myself and others “like me” and those who have “come together” to “renew the spirit of America” so we are now a “stronger nation.” 1 am unclear which America this is. The America that for years has made me angry and afraid with words like “faggot” ? That America? The America of religious freedom whose government makes public display of participat ing in a Catholic ritual? The America most commonly referred to as a “Christian nation” ? The great melting pot that marginalizes those who don’t fit neatly into the mainstream, whose citizens live in fear and wariness of each other but now unite under one banner to rise against a common enemy? Now we’re all Amer icans again! Honestly, 1 am tom. A part of me grieves. Undoubtedly whites, blacks, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, Catholics, Jews and, yes, probably even Muslims were killed in the recent unfortunate events. Another part of me is satisfied to see the America 1 was never a part of suffer in a way 1 have lived with for years. Tmly it is pathetic that while we see waving flags and tear-filled eyes and get our ears filled with buzzwords like “new patriotism,” “stronger nation” and “Americans coming together,” threats are being phoned to mosques, Muslims and other Arab Americans. I am not filled with renewed patriotism for a country where it has been made clear that I am tolerated and abhorred in the same moment. J oe A yers Portland. Surprise attack? To t h e E d it o r : The Sept. 11 attack should have come as no surprise. The United States is a high-profile country and an open society with unsecured borders and poor immigration control. Getting vengeance will he difficult, as under ground warfare is very effective. A police state would stop this, hut we won’t tolerate one. R alph G aston R aines Eradicating hatred To t h e E d it o r : e were stunned and saddened to hear of the slaying of the young trans woman, Loni Okaruru, in Hillsboro. It is extremely disturbing that such grue some, senseless actions have become common place in our society. It is nearly impossible to pick up a newspaper or turn on the evening news without hearing of yet another instance of human shortcoming in its most despicable form— violence. How many of us will have to die before we as a community, we as a society, we as a nation decide to say, “Never again” ? How many more Loni Okarurus, Matthew Shepards and Brandon Teenas will have their lives tom from them before we take a stand for solidarity? To para phrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice against one is injustice against all.” Organizing for justice is central to our mis sion at the Lesbian Community Project. We believe that as individuals and as a society we all are diminished by such heinous acts of degrada tion, and we are committed to the struggle to eradicate hatred and violence from our state. We respect and honor the life of Loni Okaruru by striving to build a community in which no trans, lesbian or gay person has to suffer at the hand of ignorance and intolerance. A nnie O tis Lesbian Community Project Treasurer
