♦ January ta. 2ÛÛ2
EpERfilout
cWiffamette
Don't fence me in
To the E ditor :
1
___
YOUR WILLAMETTE VALLEY FAMILY
REAL ESTATE COm ECTIO ri
I s u p p o r t GALA c h o r u s e s l
Upcoming ÇQnçgrts;
Confluence 2/16
2/1 7
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Salem Unitarian (5090 Center St. NE) 4pm
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OC4PTFOL
The Beauty ofAllAVheel Drive
think the idea of putting a fence around
Waterfront Park during Pride 2002 is awful
(“ Big C hanges A head for Pride 2002,"
Jan. 4). The whole point of Pride is to create
an open and inviting forum encouraging
those out, coming out, unsure and even
straight to participate.
What is this about treating “the event
more like a private party than a public gath
ering” ? What good does that do? How is hav
ing queers line up with $3 any different from
waiting to get into Silverado on a Saturday
night?
What makes events like Pride and Peacock
in the Park special is that they take place in vis
ible and public locations, where just about any
one can happen upon them, inconspicuously
mill about freely and explore the different
booths. It is a somewhat anonymous atmos
phere, which is good for those still insecure and
discovering themselves.
Having a fence up will scare these folks off
for sure. If 1 were closeted, I wouldn’t want to
stand in line and be so obviously pegged as queer
by the general public. And if 1 were straight, I
probably would avoid the event entirely.
It sounds to me like the whole thing is
about money. Each year 1 am amazed at the
diversity of organizations that set up booths.
Driving the price up will dissuade some of these
folks (and myself) from coming, which would
be a shame. For Pride to continue to do what it
is suppose to, it (like this publication) must
remain free!
What about homeless queers who don’t have
three bucks? Or teen-agers?
A nd as a gay man I feel it is wrong for
me to pay money to com e to my own party.
I’d rather save the dough to donate as 1
choose.
Also, aesthetically there is something per
verse about having hundreds of queers cor
ralled inside a chain-link fence, suggesting a
concentration camp or human zoo.
Finally, as for the fundamentalist rabble-
rousers, I think they are a paltry concern. We
have a police force for this very reason; let them
do their job.
Pride is not a private party. It is a public
gathering, and its worth serves not only the
queer community but also the community at
large. Please keep it open, public and free.
C raig S troud
Portland
02 Outback
Sport
5ar
A L L
W H E E L
DRIVE
?.l 7,977
STK#325050, S25051
At the corner of M ission and 25th in Salem.
Art for illustration only • Subject to prior sale. Prices do not include license, title or doc. fees. Prices expire Monday following publication
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Abandon the fight
for gay marriage!
To the E ditor :
ut do not abandon the idea. Marriage is a
concept that historically was created in
the church and then attached certain legal
rights by governments. The word “marriage"
has a strong emotional attachment for people
with strong religious beliefs because it is a holy,
therefore religious, union between men and
women.
So when we fight for gay marriage, we are
attacking their religious belief system. This is
clearly a fight we will lose.
Look at the Defense of Marriage Act and all
of the other proposed legislation as examples.
We are giving conservative religious groups a
way to attack us openly.
But are we truly fighting for marriage in
the eyes of the church? If we are, we should he
going through the church and not through
the government.
There should he a separation of church and
state. We are fighting for legal rights and the
recognition of a same-sex partnership by our
government, not the church.
So why not use language that reflects our true
goal and that will not offend our opponents? Call
it “legal union” instead of “marriage.”
And have them he equal in the law and
allow the opposition to think they have defend
ed the religious institution of marriage. Every
body wins.
A fight for “legal union" is a fight we can
win. Even deeply conservative, religious peo
ple can understand that same-sex partners
who have been living together in a committed
relationship deserve certain human rights.
Some people might find this a compromise
they are not willing to make. They might want
to feel that a gay union is equal to a marriage.
The question is: In whose eyes?
The church is not ready for that leap, hut the
state might be. Let’s win a battle and not lose
the war.
B
W illiam G eo rg e
Boston
Rated R
To the E ditor :
I
have several friends who have restrictions
placed on them by various agencies because
they are drug addicts or alcoholics who are on
probation, parole or post-prison supervision.
They cannot go into places that serve
tr a n s it io n s
Janet L. Henke, 1944-2001
F
ormer Portlander Janet Lonja Benke died
Dec. 27 near Phoenix. She had stopped
on the side of the highway to aid an injured
dog and was struck by a passing vehicle.
She was horn April 5, 1944, in Terre
Haute, Ind. She received her bachelor’s and
m aster’s degrees from Evergreen State
College.
Benke worked as an environmental com
pliance officer for several corporations in
Washington and Oregon, including Boise
Cascade, Nestle, Washington Beef and C as
cade General. She moved to Arizona last
spring to begin a job with Romic Environ
mental Technologies Corp.
During her years in Olympia, Wash., she
was known to many people as “Janet B., the
Voice of Lesbian R adio” through her
KAO S-FM program, Alternate Route. Her
love of women’s litefature, art and music was
reflected in program m ing that included
interviews with well-known N orthw est
authors, poets, composers and performers.
Benke owned and bred quarter horses and
spent many hours enjoying their com pan
ionship. Friends say she was a little woman
with a big heart who appreciated excellent
writing, artful speaking, rodeo riding and
roping com petitions as well as the magnifi
cen t expan ses o f cen tral and eastern
W ashington.
She is survived by her brother, Eric of
Boston, and father, Paul of Jamestown, N.Y.
A memorial service will he held 2 p.m.
Jan. 27 at First Unitarian Church of Portland,
1011 S.W. 12th Ave.
Remembrances may he made to the Ari
zona Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
A nim als, P.O. Box 33334, Phoenix, AZ
85067.