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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 2002)
4 just out « (Uly 19. 2002 out TTT 7------ 7 / T ZOSHOP.COM ONLINE HOZO FOOTWEAR SUPPLY The B e stT h in g fp m You’ll Ever Step In! / V - 'S.sionu / • 7 / , it^ne 7 • j - \ i e u l v • ; , •fV/ii lit f ~ l l ntu.Sjfhere S t raic i lit to the j oint i2 J I X JS'odi) / L If le r c u u j bit■^yrttec 503 - 492-2742 503 - 243-1127 111 W Columbia River Hvvy. Troutdale 310 SW 4th Ave, Suite 407. Portland Largest Jewelry Selection • Open 7 Days a Week 10am-8pm • State Licensed -1 0 Years Experience www.straighttothepoiht.org Mechanics that fix everything* Including RE/MAX S ig n a t u r e P r o p e r t ie s ! Pride o f Ownership! PDX Automotive is a certified Eco-Logical Business. Im p e cca b le 4 B R + b o n u s b u n g a lo w w ith h a rd w o o d flo o rs , fire p la c e , b u ilt-in s , a ll up d a te d systems, fenced b a c k y a rd . B e a u tifu l c u rb appeal on tre e -lin e d street. A r b o r L o d g e n e ig h b o rh o o d . $185,000 (503) 282-3315 r a r a Tina Schafer, g ri , abr A fo o icate B roker, M u lti-M illio n D o lla r P roducer RE/MAX Signature Properties Mechanics With A Conscience 282-4000 X 122 lU M M M N ^ d N O M O K W r tlM O lO w M tM n r 4 S E CarM U4 M w iram a Q m dJ Gerard Lillie *5934 N.E. Halsey e-mail: tinas@ rem ax.net T he J apanese G arden 611 SW KINGSTON AVE. Factions speak louder than words To t h e E d it o r : I read with interest the letter from A n n ie O tis as well as M arty D avis’ remark in her co m mentary about the lack o f the word “gay” when referring to G ay Pride [“C loset C a se ” and “Let Freedom R ing,” July 5]. I’ve had an opinion about that for a couple of decades that I’d he happy to share with you. T he two points I’d like to make are a) some o f us saw it com ing a long time ago and b) we did it to ourselves. I remember when a national magazine was no longer content to be “A m erica’s G ay Newspaper” and changed its slogan to “A m erica’s Lesbian and G ay Newspaper.” W hether that decision was made to attract a broader audience or to answer their extractors, 1 couldn’t say. 1 can say that at the time 1 thought it was strangely separatist. 1 always had thought “gay” referred to both men and women, and 1 still do. To say “gay people” or “gay men and women’’ is inclusive o f all. There doesn’t seem to he a male equivalent o f “lesbian.” 1 also always have used the term to refer to “nonheterosexual” people— and therefore it’s also inclusive o f bisexuals, transgenders, transsexuals and everyone else who makes the rainbow o f our community. Yet, as the years have gone by, all of these groups have felt the need to be named specifically— leaving “gay” to refer only to hom o sexual males. But I d on ’t believe the term origi nally was coined with that in mind. 1 think of it this way: W hen speaking of the Smith family, does one need to mention Boh Smith and G iro I Smith and Ted Smith and Alice Smith individually, or does the name “the Smith family” suffice? If we are truly the family we claim to he, shouldn’t one term cover us all? Isn’t it just silly to have to rattle off a half-dozen terms or even initials when one term should and could refer to us all? A n d what m essage does that send to our h et erosexual friends? Trust me, it doesn’t show diversity, it shows factions. Just ask around. 1, for one, would like to see the entire n o n heterosexual com m unity either re-embrace the term “gay” or pick a new nam e for our family that they can live with. Let that he how we enter into the new m illennium. M ore than .30 years after Stonew all, it’s about time we knew what to call ourselves. D onald F inch Portland Grow up To the E d it o r : I was saddened to learn that M etropolitan C o m munity Church o f Portland actually “banned” som eone from attending their services [“Church Bans A nim al Rights A dvocate,” July 5]. Isn’t that w hat the R om an s essentially did to Jesus? “You’re not good enough for us, your beliefs are scary for us, and your love for all life is som ething we find challenging and too hard for our egos to grasp hold of. S o in the nam e o f ‘our G o d ’ and supposedly for the ‘safety’ o f our ‘play by our rules’ congregation, we must ask you to he ‘crucified’— or, um, I m ean, ‘banned’— from our church.” It’s too had they ca n ’t talk their talk or walk their walk. 1 thought church was a place for “all” people to go and feel w elcom e? It’s caring people like this m an who was “ banned” from your church that this world needs. W hen we turn our heads from learning how to respect all forms o f life, events like the W orld Trade C en ter bom bing happen. T h e n the “righteous” people look around and say, “G ee, why did that happen ?” I would hope M C C som eday learns to teach love and respect for all life— queer or anim al! We c a n ’t exp ect that kind o f respect and accep tance to be given to our com m unity if we can ’t give it in return. A n d as for this m an being “dangerous”— yeah, th at’s what they said about Jesus and G an d h i. I used to attend this church, and he was one o f the kindest people there. 1 left the church when, in asking the pastor at that tim e why this m an was being harassed just because he loves anim als like I do, 1 was told, “ M C C has n o place for people with radical thinking ideas like that.” E xcuse m e? H av e you ever heard o f Stonew all? M C C needs to grow up and get out o f the Dark A ges. R en M atney Portlaiul Bless the beasts To t h e E d it o r : { recently read the news item regarding M etro politan C om m un ity C h urch o f Portland ban ning R oger Troen from attending services. W henever I hear a story where a m ainstream church asks a gay person to leave, I am angered hut not surprised. But it surprises and disappoints me to see an “all-inclusive” church such as M C C (w ith attorney and threat o f restraining order) dem anding that Troen leave. It’s true that he has a great deal o f know l edge, com passion and passion regarding anim al issues, and 1 think that m akes som e people ner vous. If Troen were protesting the pope, the m il itary or the Boy Sco u ts, he would be a hero to the gay com m unity. C o m p assion toward anim als is an intelligent and natural progression o f inclusiveness and tol erance for us as hum ans. It seem s to me that S U M M ER THONG t A-THONI ! 1596 off on all men's and women's thongs! 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