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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2002)
feöruary 15. 2002 ». ( n i ont. 5 out flfflietizd? How d° >'OM react to gay-baiting radio disc jock- J 4 k eys .7 Should we lighten up and learn to laugh at ourselves, ignore them and hope they go away, or rise up in righteous anger? |||Q > think we have to leam to pick our battles. I save my righteous anger for the O regon Citizens A lliance and others who actively are campaigning against our basic rights. W e can afford to lighten up and laugh a little, ca n ’t wc? I B ret P alma Beaverton Human Rights Advisory Commission • • have never .heard these so- called gay-baiting radio disc jockeys, nor do I know what the term “gay-baiting” means. But 1 most definitely think you should get a sense of II to LCP. In the past six months alone, you have published several articles about LCP written by a paid employee of LCP. (See, for example, Kris- tan Aspen’s “United We Stand,” which appeared Aug. 3, 2001, under the heading of “Northwest News.’’) Although such a practice might not have seemed problematic to the paper’s management at the time, your veracity regarding events at LCP is now open to question for two additional reasons— not only because you repeatedly had the bad judgment to publish “news" about LCP written by an individual with a personal finan cial interest in LCP but because her pleasant portrayal of LCP proves in hindsight to be so at odds with the straggle that actually was occur ring. Perhaps Just Out needs to “tend to a little necessary housecleaning” itself. M argaret D eirdre O ’H artigan Pnrtlarul R em od el b e h a v io r To the E ditor : know you can’t do anything about this, but I am so frustrated I could just scream. My partner and I have been trying to remod el our house. In the process we wanted to use people who were in our community or were sup porters of our community. I called each of the contractors in the Just Out ads and Portland’s Gay «Si Lesbian Community Yellow Pages, and all of them told me that they were too busy or that the job was too small, or they didn’t show up for their appointments at all. I know that this really doesn’t have anything to do with you and the paper and that these peo ple just buy ads. I am just frustrated and don’t know where to turn. I was hoping to put some money into the businesses run by our communi ty, but now I am going to look elsewhere. I P enny S hepherd Portland S u rv iv a l off th e fitte s t To the E ditor : ccasionally, an article will be printed sug gesting the quality of service in nonstraight businesses is not up to the quality found in many straight businesses. I will give an example. Several weeks ago, I telephoned in an order for two hard-bound books by the same author to a well-known feminist/woman’s/lesbian/chil- O humor and quit taking these things and these people so fucking seriously. S hirley D. J ackson Portland next IkMIU h ™ can w e, as members of the sexual minorities community, take steps to increase education and aw are ness among voters and keep the Student Protection Act II from even qualifyirjg for the Oregon bal lot? Respond at www.justout.com. (Don’t forget to include your name, city and daytime telephone number.) dren’s bookstore. I read a great deal, and although both of the national chains will respond to my requests immediately, I try to support local businesses. Several weeks and three letters of inquiry later, there has been dead silence— nothing, nada, zip, goose egg. 1 happen to know about the industry; within the past 15 years, more than 50 percent of the independent booksellers have been driven out of business by the national chains. Many niche stores are hanging on by their fingernails. In a state with the highest official unem ployment in the nation, with 10 percent of the public eating at food banks and food kitchens, with both business and personal filings for Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 going through the stratosphere, you would think this bookstore would covet the business. It certainly does not stop them from requesting and receiving money from me for various causes throughout the year. Business is business. Money is money. Eco nomic survival is just that. If a business, straight or nonstraight, especial ly during an ever-deepening recession, has an “attitude”— and this one certainly seems to— then it will pay the price. The ultimate price. K aren B oynton Portland M ille r tim e To the E ditor : hank you for the excellent article on Pat Miller, a truly courageous, groundbreaking, custody-fighting lesbian mother [“M iller’s Tale,” Jan. 18J. Oh, the tales I could have shared with you! What a blast from the past to see Pat in Just T Out and to remember the wonderful and terror- filled days of our fight for her kids. 1 still talk about her and Juanita Blondell to my friends and colleagues. So many amazing memories. I remember telling Pat to “dress up” for the trial and how she came bounding up the courthouse steps dressed in her shiny black leather motorcycle pants and jackets. When 1 stared at her, aghast, and said, “I told you to dress up,” she said: “We did! These are our finest duds!” The judge was speechless. I did not know Juanita died. It grieves me deeply. I still can see the love in her own eyes direct ed at Pat and the strength with which she pro fessed that love and refused to hide it from the judge. I adored her and was proud to be her lawyer and friend. So many women came after Pat, fighting so hard for their children and their right to parent. Some triumphed, some fell, but the trail on which they struggled was hewn by pathbreakers such as her and Juanita. Women like them made victory possible for hundreds, and women like them are the clients who gave meaning to my life’s work. K atharine E nglish Wilsonville L e a th e r le s s o n s To the E ditor : would like to thank Ms. Oregon State Leather 2001 Tobin Britton, Blackout Pro ductions and supporting communities for their generous contribution of $939.57 toward the Tony deBlase Scholarship project. With the prcKeeds from their recent fund-raiser, the bal ance is now $6,762.51 toward our goal of raising $25,000 to create an endowment. The community-based project is being established for students entering the fields of sex education, sex therapy, research or studies that further the understanding of human sexuality, especially alternative sexuality. It is named after the man who is considered one of the most important leather people of his generation in remembrance of his vast work as an educator, but it commonly will be known as the Leather Scholarship. Donations can be sent directly to 1122 E. Pike St. #1001, Seattle, WA 98122-3934. Make checks or money orders payable to the Pride Foundation, and be sure to indicate clearly that your gift is for the Tony deBlase Scholarship. You also can make a donation by phone with your credit card. Simply call the Pride office at 800-735-7287 or 206-323-3318 and ask for Marie Gagnon. Contributions are tax-deductible. For more information about the project, please visit the Internet site www.leatherdaddy.com/scholarship. 1 I’ll tell you i f I can heal it. The overwhelming odds are that I can. Gravity Jade Effective healer Ail conditions Do what works! 503 - 228-0433 D ignified pet S ervices Cremation & Memorials F or Your Companion • Unique CnewOtion Uiws • Me-woiiiaP. 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