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How do you fe d about U .S . Sen. Qordon Sm ith's advertisem ent featurin g Judy Shepard? Do
you think M atthew w ould have liked him ?
I
feel taken advantage of. I would
not object to Smith advertising a
laundry list of his positions on various
issues, including support for G LB T
civil rights. But 1 believe singling out
our issues is misleading to voters.
Anyone would think from his ad that
Smith is a Democrat and that he
would vote according to Democratic
values on issues such as abortion or
the environment.
As to whether Matthew would
have liked him, 1 have no idea. I
didn’t know Matthew Shepard or
whether his political values were fully
formed. Given his age at the time he
died, 1 doubt it. What I don’t doubt is
Judy Shepard’s sincerity or that she likes Gordon
Smith.
0 0 0
atthew Shepard might have loved
Gordon Smith, h it that alone is not
a reason for LG BT folks and their support
ers to vote for him instead erf Bradbury.
Furthermore, Judy Shepard should not be
telling Oregonians how to vote in our local
elections. Does she know anything about
the other candidate’s longer and stronger
support of gay rights in Oregon? I’ll bet
Matthew would have liked Bill better!
M
Portland
• • •
early all of Sen. Gordon Smith’s television
ads bother me because they do not realis
tically depict his alliances, priorities or record.
He is trying to make himself out to be a cham
pion of women, Galahad to the gay community,
protector of the environment— as though he
has been there all along giving full support.
This is a lot of selective, election-hour baby-
kissing. The most surreal endorsement of all is
given by the mother of Matthew Shepard, whose
death Smith has appropriated in a television ad
and linked with sponsorship of a hate crimes pre
vention act that he himself has acknowledged to
be “nothing more than a symbol.”
“Matthew would have liked Gordon a lot,”
Judy Shepard is heard saying at the end of the
commercial. Only G od knows if Messrs Smith
and Shepard would have hit it off, but I prefer to
think Matthew might have seen through what
writer Truman Capote so aptly described as
"spindazzledazzle.”
N
mith’s ad audaciously targets the heterosex
ual “soccer mom” voters and not the “gay"
voters with Judy Shepard’s emotional message,
“Smith protects your children.” This effectively
neutralizes Lon Mabon’s bigoted message, “Chil
dren need protection from homosexuality,"
which appears frequently in rural newspapers
and on radio talk shows outside Portland.
Yes, Smith is politically “using” Matthew, but
at least his message is positive and not bigoted.
Protests should be used only against overt bigots,
such as Mabon. Votes should be given only to
candidates who truly seek the "gay" vote and
who actually deliver positive results.
Portland
T
homas
K raemer
0 0 9
I
don’t pretend to know what Matthew would
think of another person. From what I have
read, he was open and accepting. 1 think we
need to get over ourselves and stop the witch
hunts. Matthew’s mother likely knew him better
than anyone in Oregon who never met him.
Trust her judgment.
Mabon ballot measures and into organizing
rational responses to Ashcroft nationalism, we
need to elect folks we can trust.
Serena will be proactive, courageous and
effective in protecting and advancing the free
doms that Oregonians and Portlanders value.
She will stand up for what is right.
Please join me in voting for Serena Cruz.
We need her commitment, passion and energy.
And we need a strong woman to keep the boys
honest.
Here’s a vote you can celebrate. Cruz for
council— tell your neighbors, co-workers, fellow
dog owners, gym buddies, support group war
riors, PTA partners— spread the word!
D a n R yan
To the E ditor :
Portland
1
A lan B atte
next
Corvallis
Cruz control
agree and appreciate your endorsement of
Serena Cruz [“Home Run,” Aug. 16J. We
need her on City Council.
I’ve known Serena for years. In those years,
I’ve learned that she does not just talk about
equality and justice.
For her, these values are fundamental and
involved in every decision she makes. Her
authenticity as an advocate for civil liberties is
refreshing.
Her voice is desperately needed on City
Council. As we move out of reacting to Lon
S
ometimes I wonder if gay activists are fight
ing for our rights or just fighting for the love
of fighting. I got turned off to activism working
with the N o on Hate group because it seemed
like all the people were more interested in fight
ing each other than Lon Mabon.
Now, we’ve made wonderful progress to the
point where a conservative Republican actually
is supporting some of our causes, and all we can
do is bitch because he doesn't support them all?
Just what we need to do: punish him for moving
in the right direction. You don’t have to endorse
him, but don’t drive him away either.
Beaverton
W es D. B evans
F r an k D ixon
Practical Guide to
Estate Planning.
• Schedule a FR EE 30
minute consultation to
discuss your personal
estate plan.
James D. McVittie
Attorney at Law
2310 N W Everett
Suite 200
Portland, Oregon
97210
503.224.6611
000
Scappoose
and
• To Receive Your
FR EE Booklet 4
• • •
Portland
J a c o b B rostoff
Call the Law Office
of James D. McVittie
503 - 224-6611
Lake Oswego
M ichael T aylor
ronmental protections, greenspaces and the
equal rights of sexual minorities.
She is the stealth, far-right candidate for dog
catcher. The extremists are running her for
Metro Council president because it is an impor
tant seat that many of our region’s residents
don’t know much about.
As in past elections, they are counting on
sneaking their extreme candidate into office
when only the extremists are paying attention.
Don’t let them fool you.
Protect Your Assets
Through Estate Planning
L yle M. T ucker
S
R eid V anderburgh
5
Ready« willing
and labeled
To
the
E ditor :
Telcome to the G LB T community of
Portland.
You’ve got the lesbians who still hate you
because your steak touched their tofu dog
five summers ago at the lesbo potluck. You’ve
got the gay man who, upon taking a break
m
N ational Qay and Lesbian T ask
Force has received flak for its
C reating Change them e, uB uilding
an A n ti-R acist M ovem ent." D o you
feel this should be the focus of the
conference? Why or why not? (P lease
see related item on P age 3 .) Respond
a t w w w .justout.com . (D on 't forget to
include your nam e , city and daytim e
telephone num ber.)
from talking about himself, noticed you had a
female body and, instead of dealing with his
own issues toward women, made a “pussy”
joke.
You’ve got the Hawthorne fashion victims
who still might not quite have their shit togeth
er, but by god they look cool, and they kept that
McDonald’s from moving in next to the Star-
bucks. You have the poor but emotionally con
tent social workers who are grateful for the slid
ing scale and the yuppies who resent it.
You’ve got the gender-questioning, the
"queers” and all the old fogeys who hate both of
those words. You have the hippies, the college
students, the people of color, the religious and
the spiritual, the slackers and the druggies, the
jocks, the artists, the moneymakers, the politi
cians, the homeless, the youth, the single moms,
the differently abled, the mentally ill, the bisex
ual, the bi-curious and the ones wfio are repelled
by labels altogether.
You’ve got the people who need to fit in
and the ones who fight not to have to. You
have the ones who take their shirts off at
Pride and the ones who think that if the
“straight” community sees us as being more
moral they eventually will respect us. There
are those of us who put a lot of energy into
C ontinued on P age 7
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