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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2002)
4 j — * * wpfii n /w > out Enough is enough To t h e E d it o r .- I American Sign Language is the Third Most Used Language in the United States! If you ever wanted to learn how to sign, here's a great place to start! You Can Sign! Learn ASL at your own pace with this seven-time award-winning videotape series. To Order: Call 1-800-767-4461 TTY 1-888-283-5097 www.SignEnhancers.com RE/MAX S ig n a t u r e P r o p e r t ie s ! The Adaptable Spa The Spa for all your lifestyles JetPak ™ Plumbing and PermaShell Structure Warranty Etem aStone ™ EtemaWood™ Cabinet Warranty Hom e .sc C astle • SI’ \ S • l-VIIII • D amon W oodcock dumder2001@hotmail. com —J ill William .< NoB/ame™ Equipment Warranty ^I MI II IS “Tina was extremely helpful to me in finding a house for my disabled father. She understood our needs and took care of everything for us very quickly. Tina also iust helped my brother, a first time buyer, find his dream home. He is thrilled!" read with disappointment Marty Davis’ com mentary in the March 1 issue (“Judgment Day’’]. In it you stated “the fact that Woodcock has not talked once to us ‘on the record’ up to and including the day the settlem ent was approved, and you have the true reason for the limited yet adequate coverage his story received.” T he above statem ent, simply put, is untrue. In fact, Just O ut was the first media outlet I did speak to “on the record,” against the advice of my attorney (see April 21, 2000, edition regarding the Portland Police Bureau’s refusal to acknowledge the locker vandalism as a crime, let alone a hate crime)! A dditionally, Just O ut was aware 1 could no t go on the record until the settlem ent was com pleted *(ie-» funds disbursed) and why (my rightful fear of retaliation from the city by com ing up with some inane excuse for holding up funds). For me, the settlem ent was a m atter of survival. It should he noted my assignment to the m en’s locker room triggered a slew of epithets (“faggots,” "dykes,” “queers” not wanted there, etc.), culm inating in the vandalism. A bout the same time, more anti-gay epithets were made in an incident th at occurred during a C entral Precinct day shift roll call while m an agers sat idly by. T he bureau had no intention of conduct ing proper investigations of the incident and didn’t. T he very day news of my hate crime was discussed at the Sexual M inorities R ound table, the chief’s office actively began its retal iation against me. These facts are public record. 1 had to m aintain near-total silence for almost three years because of the litigation with the city and the Portland Fire and Police Disability and Retirem ent Fund for my rightful benefits. But 1 will be silenced no longer. T he most recent assault on our com m unity by the police is a direct result of the bureau’s ongoing refusal to take these internal issues seriously. It is most interesting to note th at the FBI was not “invited" to join the investigation until it became public knowledge. Sadly, our community is divisive and seem ingly always at the ready to lash out at rather than support each other. A recent column by Byron Beck of Willamette Week, and the over whelming responses he received, is a perfect example. It is this very divisiveness both within our community and within the ranks of the police bureau that sends a loud and clear message to managers and officers that it’s OK to treat sexu al minorities the way they do! Beware. Chief Mark Kroeker is not the man he has led you to believe. It’s time to unite, stand up and say enough is enough, because our fight for equal rights is far from over. The community needs to see real action from the police bureau, not he spoon-fed empty words. T in a Schafer,GRi.ABR M u lti-M illion D ollar Producer RE/MAX Signature Properties 282-4000 S I I I M S y Tigard 11960 SW Pacific Hwy 99 W at Greenburg Rd (503) 620-4534 <! X 122 e-mail: tinas@remax.net Truth in the details To t h e E d it o r : his m onth we memorialize a longtime friend of mine, Jim Magin, one of the most recent victims of AIDS. I will he attending a service set up by his family, some of whom never even came to see him dying in the hospital from a very fast- moving case of pneumocystis. His parents, who live in the Portland area, finally showed up T when the doctors announced that he was brain dead and that life support would not help. I recently read an obit in th e Oregonian for this p artner in a 21-year relationship. Missing in th e obit and entirely in th e consciousness of most o f the family at th eir sibling’s u ntim e ly death was th a t this m an loved an o th er man and lived w ith him , relied upon him , shared his bed and experienced m any joys and a few sad m om ents together. This man was one-half of Jerry and Jim: long time companions, out in the bars, dining at Hobo’s or Starky’s, sitting at home watching sports or entertaining and traveling together to many places, most often to their favorite, the Oregon coast. The family never knew that a party at Jerry Young and Jim Magin’s home was a reason to celebrate: We were not ashamed of any thing they did; we were honored to be invited. We celebrated them and their good life together. Jim was only 45 and in many respects was still a big, gangly, sweet kid. My sadness at the death of my friend of more than 25 years is made more difficult by the fact that people read nothing of his death from AIDS or that remembrances should be made to Cascade AIDS Project, O ur House of Portland or Esther’s Pantry, which his partner had sug gested. Instead, the family suggests sending money to a nice, safe (no one will know he died of AIDS!) charity. So again people in our community are left to think AIDS is “cured" or just a chronic dis ease: “Again, no one died this week in Portland from AIDS or related illnesses.” Jerry and his many friends are here to tell you, sadly, this is not true. How do gay men and lesbians get the respect from the families we grew up with and our “in laws"? W hen will we get the rights to visit our partners in hospitals without lengthy explana tions or having to obtain a relative’s OK to see our lovers and partners first? (In Portland most hospitals are better than many in less progressive parts of the country.) W hen will we all learn to be tested if we have behaviors that might put us at risk for AIDS? W hen will the laws of our state and nation accept us as true domestic partners? I don’t have the answers hut beg the younger generation to work toward changing the obso lete laws and outmoded ideas of our families and communities. D on’t hide! Be true to yourselves! Keep up the fight started more than 30 years ago by the folks at Stonewall! D ick L evy Portland Conference misrepresented To t h e E d it o r : hile I applaud the inclusion of Portland Fellowship’s upcoming conference, “Homosexuality: A Compassionate Response,” in the April 5 edition of Just Out, I am con cerned about the lack of objectivity in the reporting of this event by Jim Radosta [“ ‘Ex-Gay’ Ministry Holds Conference’’]. As someone who is familiar with this ministry, I can attest to the fact that nowhere in the pro motion materials for this conference is the word “convert” used, nor does the fellowship advocate the usage of an offensive and derogatory term such as “queer” for those who experience same- sex attractions. In fact, I personally have heard executive director Phil Hobizal clearly state on numerous occasions that the fellowship’s mission is not about “converting” homosexuals into het erosexuals. Rather, the focus is to help individual Christians who desire freedom from same-sex attractions or other sexual issues draw into a clos er relationship with Jesus Christ. W
