4 J u s t o u t • September 6. 2002
sons. We were vocal and yet we were peaceful.
What the nation saw from the media cover
age is when the protesters were being pushed
To t h e E d it o r :
hack after the event within the Hilton was over.
he Burnside Triangle occupies a central
Before all this, the protesters and the police had
place in the history of gay men and lesbians
no conflict. I even stood there talking with a
in the Portland metro area.
couple of the officers.
The life of prominent lesbian doctor and
But when the well-dressed crowd began leav
social activist Marie Equi is one extraordinary
ing
the hotel, the police moved in to push hack
example of this rich history. During the early
the protesters off a public street. It wasn’t until
decades of the 20 century, the Burnside Triangle
the people who paid $ 1,000 to have dinner with
was home to Equi, her partner, Harriet Speck-
the president (while thousands go hungry every
hart, and Equis adopted daughter, Mary.
night
in Portland) or $25,000 to have their pic
When Equi, a pacifist, openly opposed U.S.
ture taken with him (while Portland has an
entry into World War I, the federal government J a c o b B ro sto ff a n d M e l in d a M a r ie J e t t e
ever-growing homeless problem) that the con
tried her on treason charges. The prosecutor : Burnside Triangle Advisory Group Co-Chairs
flict between the police and protesters began.
attempted to use her lesbianism against her at ;
Taxpayers sexin will receive the hill for the
trial. Equi ultimately was convicted under a new
police at this event. It is estimated to he around
espionage act and served time at San Quentin
$100,000— money that won’t he seen in our
To t h e E d ito r :
Prison in California.
struggling schools.
K, I think it’s time to get rid of Marc Acito.
Before gay liberation, lesbian feminism and
\
Haven’t we all had enough of the racist,
Yes, I will admit a small handful of protesters
the sexual revolution of the late 1960s and early
got out of control and caused us all to l(X)k had
1970s, homosexual men and women lived in a fatphobic, inappropriate and totally insensitive
within the minds of those who only saw the
society that offered no civil rights protections in remarks?
In his latest column he jokes about sexual
event through the media. No matter what the
employment, housing or public accommoda
circumstances might he, there always will he
tions and no visible community advocacy pro abuse between priests and altar hoys (“Groping
those who take it t(x> far.
Mechanism," Aug. 16]. That is not funny and
grams. In such a world, the bars and clubs in the
But of all the thousands who were there to
not something to make light of. It is a reality
Burnside Triangle were some of the primary
with
devastating
lifelong
effects
for
many,
many
gather,
it is my understanding that only five peo
social gathering places for gay men and lesbians
people.
ple were arrested. The media did not see fit to
in Portland.
Because the neighborhood was known as a
How can you joke about something like show coverage of the other protesters, such as
myself, who did move hack when the police
that? How can the editorial staff at Just Out
place frequented by homosexual men and
asked us to. Even though we were on a public
“unsexed women,” it was also a place targeted
allow stuff like that to he printed?
street staying behind the barricades at least a
by police and city officials in their efforts to
I’m really disappointed that the only (that
block away from the hotel. Even though it is our
monitor and control the activities of gay men
I’ve found) queer newspaper in Oregon tolerates
and lesbians. In 1912 police officials and City
oppressive and unacceptable commentary. If right, as Americans, to gather peacefully and
demonstrate in what we believe in.
Hall mounted a same-sex vice investigation
those of you on the editorial staff think it’s OK
to continue to print stuff like Marc Acito’s reg- !
Because the police hold closed-door meet
that ruined the careers of several prominent
closeted homosexual/hisexual men and led to
ularly inappropriate and degrading insults, then
ings to determine what they did, rightly or
wrongly, and the protesters quickly are judged by
the suicide of one man’s wife. In the late 1940s
I think you seriously need to examine your
the Portland Vice Squad reported on the activ socialization.
people who viewed only what the media decid
ities of male and female impersonators at the
I’ve had enough of the tolerance of igno- J ed to show, a true assessment of what happened
old Music Hall on Southwest 10th Avenue and
ranee in the queer community. As an | Aug. 22 never will he fair. But I was there.
What I saw on television and read in the
on the cruising prospects for “confirmed les oppressed minority, how can we accept or per
bians” at the former Buick Café on Southwest
petuate oppression against others? I would like
paper and heard on kx:al talk radio the follow
Washington Street.
to see some more awareness on the part of the
ing day is not the full story. Only a brief
During the 1970s the Portland Town Coun editors, and I would like to see Mr. A cito’s col moment taken out of a daylong peaceful
cil, a gay business association firmly rooted in umn canceled.
protest. But showing the peaceful protest is not
newsworthy.
the Burnside Triangle, played a leading role in
contravening the efforts of city officials and
S h a n n o n R ed m o n d
As a candidate for Portland City Council, I
police to dismantle the “homosexual presence” Eugene
have learned firsthand how the media are selec
in Portland. The work of these leaders, together
tive in their reporting. But that is another issue
with those of social activists, succeeded in bring
for another time.
ing about a significant change in attitudes
toward the queer community.
T o t h e E d ito r :
Ric B er r o n g
The Burnside Triangle continues to he a des
Portland
am quite discouraged by the media coverage,
tination of choice for many gay, lesbian, hi and
both ItKal and national, of the President Bush
trans residents of and visitors to the metropoli protest.
tan region. As a social and entertainment neigh-
For my own reasons, I was there. Marching
borhtxxl with a rich history, it is one important
along the streets of downtown Portland with a T o t h e E d it o r :
area in the larger queer geography of Portland.
sea of others who were there for their own rea-
en years ago I quit talking about AIDS
because I was burned out and it seemed
obvious that you either used a condom for oral
and anal sex or you died. Now I am concerned
By the early 1980s her
that those who deny that A ID S is real are irre
focus had shifted to studying sponsibly misleading some men into having
bareback sex.
music’s effects on the human
body as well as its healing
piritual leader, musician,
It is undeniable that having bareback sex can
potential. In 1993 she began
composer and author Kay
he as lethal and emotionally irresistible for some
a sacred singing circle,
Louise Gardner died of a heart
men as smoking or overeating, hut it also can he
Women with Wings, which
attack Aug. 28 at home in Ban
done safely and responsibly. The most cited rea
has met weekly ever since.
gor, Maine. She was believed to
sons in medical journals for risking bareback sex
he in her early 60s.
Gardner is survived by are drinking or drugs, which cause a lapse in
her partner, Colleen Fitzger judgment, or the mistaken belief that anti-HIV
• She performed her first com
ald; daughters, Jenifer Wil drugs will cure you. These reasons might he
position at the age of 4. She
son Smith of Bangor and
important, hut I see a bigger problem with those
studied music at University of
Michigan and received a mas
who deny thar HIV is harmful.
Juliana Smith of New Castle,
Del.; brother, K. Winston of
ter’s degree from Stony Brcx>k
For example, a former Falcon gay video srar
Clifton, Va.; mother, Enez R.
named Jeff Palmer recently moved to Eugene
University.
In 1972 Gardner founded
of Chatsworth, Calif.; and
and wrote on his Internet site (www.jeff-
two grandchildren.
the feminist and openly lesbian
palmer.net) that he stopped taking A ID S
hand Lavender Jane. She later
Memorial services were drugs and that he performed a public bareback
held Sept. 1 in Bangor and
pursued her dream of becoming
“breeding” sex act. He believes the claim of a
a symphony conductor by founding and record in Evansville, Wis. Remembrances may be made
popular Web site that the A ID S drug AZT,
ing works of women composers with the New
to Temple of the Feminine Divine, P.O. Box
not HIV, causes AIDS. This is mesmerizing
many men.
England Women’s Symphony.
602, Bangor, ME 04401.
Going down in history
(FORMERLY DUKES ADULT BOOKSTORE)
OPEN 10 AM'10PM
To publicly recognize and commemorate the
Burnside Triangle as a historically gay district
affirms the struggle of gay, lesbian, hi and trans
people to achieve full citizenship in Portland
and honors the contributions they have made to
the city throughout its history. The citizens of
Portland have demonstrated the value of such
public memorials in adding to the city’s social
fabric: Witness the Japanese American park on
the waterfront, a revitalized Chinatown and the
experiences of African Americans to he recog
nized at stations along the Interstate MAX line.
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