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Enough is enough
To t h e
E d it o r .-
I
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“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
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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