may 3, 2002 -
r r m io u t
M a ttie
n e e d s to b e an o n ly d o g
in a f e m a le o n ly b o rn e.
k il l
Were you satisfied with the ending of Kissing Jessica Stein, or were you hoping she would
“go gay” ?
I
found it objectionable that, in a film that otlv
erwise stuck to the conventions of a main
stream romantic comedy, the two main charac
ters did not end up together.
That Jessica would end up with a subordinate
male character was foreshadowed throughout
the film, not only in their shared scenes but also
in the highlighting of their shared faith, which I
took to be a validation of the acceptability of
this ending. In no other formulaic romantic
comedy would the main couple not live happily
ever after; therefore, this film sends a convolut
ed message about the practicality of two women
loving and living together for the long term.
I must say, though, 1 would have been far more
disappointed had the other lead character also
ended up with a man, thereby sending a strong
message that women might mess around with each
other but only until they find Mr. Right. As it was,
1 found the film to be witty but definitely not "true"
to a lesbian perspective—just another mainstream
attempt at portraying us as an interesting oddity.
6 year old sp ay ed fem ale- 3 / 4 A u stralian
sh ep h erd . 1 /4 G e rm an sh eph erd .
S h e is sw eet, playful, en ergetic
and in great h ealth . S h e is happy and
o b ed ien t a s an indoor dog.
F r e e to a good h o m e .
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Portland
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N
o, 1 wasn’t satisfied!!! The girl doesn’t
know what she’s missing.
W
• • •
• • •
N
ot every movie we go to has to reflect
the diversity o f our culture correctly or
have a profound impact on our daily lives.
Sometim es we just need a little mind candy,
and why shouldn’t it come in the form o f a
lesbian flick?
However, Kissing Jessica Stem was not a lesbian
flick. Kissing Jessica Stem was a repressed-Jewish-
painfully-straight-girl-has-a-dating-frustration-
induced-experimental-phase-during-which-she-
leams-the-value-of-a-life-lived-slightly-outside-the-
• Consumer advocacy
Call us for your summer travel plans.
S tacy B ias
Portland
E va H offman
Milwaulde
• • •
lines-and-then-promptly-goes-back-to-men flick.
I
enjoyed the movie. I hate to say it, but I usu
ally expect the person “exploring her sexuali
ty” to go back to being straight.
In this case, at least one of the characters
pursued other lesbian relationships, which was
nice to see. And the characters maintained their
friendship after the demise of the relationship.
For a change, nobody was pitching herself off
a bridge! It had a pleasant ending.
K armen L inder
Vancouver, Wash.
hy go see it now? You just gave the end
ing away!
K ris V ockler
Vancouver, Wash.
LLOYD TRAVEL
1026 NE Multnomah
503-288-5145
next I hi-4! 14 do you
feel the Catholic Church is
scapegoating gay priests by linking
pedophilia to homosexuality?
Respond a t w w w .justout.com .
(D on't forget to include your
nam e} city and daytim e
telephone num ber.)
M y
Give it arrest
To t h e
1
E d it o r :
am disappointed in Just Out’s ongoing cover
age of my case and the misrepresentation that
I feared for my safety merely because someone
drew on my locker f“PPB Blues,” April 5].
A s was clear in the Willamette Week arti
cle, fears for my safety were appropriately
based on much more than just graffiti. A ddi
tionally, a fact that has yet to be printed is
that the officer who made the death threats
was named as a suspect in the locker vandal
ism by a male co-worker!
In this same article, Chief Mark Kroeker
refused to acknowledge his actions during the
course of my disability hearing and the Equal
Employment Opportunity investigation, instead
claiming everything occurred prior to his
administration. I beg to differ, considering 90
percent of the retaliation I received was under
his direct command.
During my hearing, the Portland Fire and
Police Disability and Retirement Fund’s attor
ney met only with those board of trustees mem
bers who originally voted to deny my claim to
formulate a strategy to fight it (namely, the Port
land Police Bureau board members, to include
Kroeker) despite the fund staff’s recommenda
tion to approve it.
Hearings before the board are defined by
City Charter and Administrative Rule to be
“nonadversarial, fact-finding hearings.” The
hearing I received was nothing more than a
fact-suppression hearing. Shortly after my
hearing the fund administrator wrote a letter
to the board, stating her opinion that the
fund’s attorney had been adversarial during
my hearing.
During the monthlong break between the
sessions of my hearing, the fund’s attorney
actively contacted the Internal Affairs Division
seeking information to discredit me. A co-work
er filed falsified criminal charges against me in
Washington state. This instigated a covert inter
nal investigation of my “alleged” misconduct, in
blatant disregard for the union contract and the
Officers’ Bill of Rights.
Police are trained that the single-party con
sent recording of telephone conversations is legal
in Oregon. Hence, every bureau board member
knew my actions did not constitute a crime.
Yet the falsified crime report was submitted
as evidence against me April 11, 2000. As a
consequence, the tape was not entered into evi
dence because of its “alleged illegality."
Capt. Bret Smith (then of Internal Affairs,
now North Precinct commander) testified to
the “alleged illegality” of the tape, despite the
fact that he had prior knowledge and evidence
that it was perfectly legal. Months later, I
learned Internal Affairs received evidence
April 4, 2000, exonerating me of any criminal
conduct. Smith’s testimony bordered on perjury.
All of this occurred under the direct com
mand and supervision of both Kroeker and
Assistant Chief Mark Paresi.
The community must hold bureau manage
ment accountable for its actions/inaction and
not blindly trust its empty words. If the bureau
learned from its “mistakes,” that would be one
thing. Sadly, the bureau’s actions are not “mis
takes" but conscious, intentional acts taken
against innocent victims.
P é t * . y p i^ u t
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family, et al.
M e d ic a l l y R e t i r e d O f f i c e r
D amon W oodcock
dwrider2001 @hotmail. com
co rrectio n
n the April 19 article “Not Narrow,” House
Democratic Whip Steve March’s district
number was incorrect. He represents District 46.
Also, the legislation March introduced
would have ensured health care decision and
hospital visitation rights to legally registered
domestic partners. Although he supports a
statewide domestic partnership registry, the
chief sponsor of that bill was Rep. Jeff Merkley,
D-Portland.
Just Out regrets the errors.
I
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