4 Ja a t «Mt • tune 6.2003
out
PERSONAL CONCIERGE
F in a lly ! A P e rs o n a l C o n c ie rg e
S e r v ic e a v a ila b le in P ortla n d !
Y our tim e is v a lu a b le and w e
aim to h elp you in c re a s e your
fre e tim e by doing th in g s you
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S e e all our s e rv ic e s at:
w w w .G o 4 U p d x .co m
W
The
Fantasy
Creature
Store
G ljts Jrom
myth a n d
fcaetuf
Dragons - Gargoyles - Fairies
Jewelry - Incense - Celtic
3106-B NE 6 4 th
Near the co rn er
of 6 4 th & S andy Blvd
next to It’s My P leasure
503-241-8888
To th e E dito r :
I
’ve been on the East Coast, away from Port
land, for six years. I’ve been back here for
three months. I am appalled at the changes
that have come about in my absence.
T his letter concentrates on changes in jUst
O ut. To put it succinctly, what the hell is
going on?
O n Feb. 21, an insensitively written editor
ial about gay male sex (“T he Opposite Sex”].
Regardless of one’s opinion about some gay
m en’s practice of sexual cruising in parks, any
unbiased, respectful and nonhom ophohic
discussion of it deserves the inclusion of impor
tant historical and social context. The editori
al didn’t bother. T he writer, with all her 98
p ercen t-en tren ch ed propriety, apparently
thinks herself above the need to treat gay male
issues any more sensitively or respectfully than
the straight press usually does.
T h en on May 2, the Just O ut cover displays
a huge picture of drinking glasses (filled with
amber liquid) being clinked, with the caption
“G et Your Drink O n: A Bitchin’ Guide to
Q ueer Carousing.” In my opinion, this cover is
careless and cavalier given the role that alcohol
and bars have historically played in the lives of
queer people and the alcoholism with which
many struggle.
W h a t gives? T h ere were a few times I
p ro tested against longtim e ed ito r R enée
L aC hance, hut in com parison, she certainly
show ed far m ore sensitivity, respect, under
stan d in g and com passion and was usually
thorough enough to place im portant discus-
T h urs 12-6 • Frl 12-6 • S at 12-7 • S un 12-5
John 10: 14-16
Metropolitan
Community
Church
of the
Gentle
Shepherd
Rev. Harriet Barshofsky
Sunday Services:
10:30 am -6:30 pm
We are a Christ-based church.
A ll are welcome.
We do Baptisms and Holy Unions.
Located ju st minutes from
the Interstate Bridge
http://www.mccgs.org
2200 Broadway Suite F
Vancouver, WA • (360) 695-1480
ATTENTION!
military service members
and their families...
• Need help with processing
a discharge?
• Need a legal or medical
referral?
• Feel like you’re being
treated unfairly?
• Harassed or abused?
• Know someone who is
absent w/o leave?
CALL:
War Resisters League
( 503 ) 238-0005
sions w ithin an appropriate social and his
torical co n tex t.
Is Just O ut on a downhill slide, or what?
Slip slidin* aw ay
R inny (C atherine ) S mith
Portland
C lass dism issed
To th e E ditor :
he owncr/puhlisher/editor o f Just O ut is
absolutely right (“W hy Was Kendra
Killed?” May 16]. She is not going to he the
next person shot by Portland police. She is
white, wealthy and probably never out late.
O nce again, we are flies on the therapist’s
walls as Marty Davis ponders her internal,
cycling turmoil that is loaded with shots of
racism, classism, elitism and judgment. O nce
again, she tiptoes oh-so-carefully around Big
Daddy’s toes by never talking about the real
issue— police brutality and accountability.
Rather than take a stand or even have an opin
ion about police misconduct, Davis spends her
editorial real estate telling us she doesn’t really
care about Kendra James; she wouldn’t want to
know her, and Kendra’s loss of life means n o th
ing to her.
I find these statem e n ts p a th e tic and
painful. I w onder how the hundreds o f P ort
land lesbians o f color feel w hen they read
them .
It’s obvious life-and-death judgments pivot
on sexual orientation and class to Davis, and
she carries the assumption over to her readers.
She repeatedly “challenges” readers to care
about Kendra, even though she was not a les
T
bian. Maybe Davis has been hanging out in her
advertising den a little too much and thinks all
Portland readers are white, upper middle class
and narcissistic. Sorry to not he challenged, I
already care.
M ight we dare assume Davis’ editorial
would have said som ething different, or any
thing at all, if Kendra were a lesbian? O r would
she need to be white and also not he a had girl
out late getting high?
Davis’ criteria for caring is right in line with
police criteria for harassment and killing. How
refreshing it would he if she had the bravery to
act like an editor and dare state an opinion
about anything that could remedy the situa
tion, like a truly independent citizen police
review hoard.
K im S tephenson
Portland
To protect and se rv e
To th e E dito r :
A
group of concerned com m unity members
met May 21 to discuss the controversy
concerning the U nited W ay’s decision to stop
funding the Boy Scouts and other organizations
that discriminate against sexual and gender
minorities. We also wanted to use this issue as
a springboard for our organizations to better
include and address issues that are crucial for
LGBT people of color.
W hen this m eeting was planned, the police
shooting of Kendra James had not yet occurred,
hut even though this incident was not on our
agenda, it was clear to all who were present
Do you feel former Vermont Qov. Howard Dean has a shot at beating Bush in 2004,
or is the United States not ready for such a progressive president?
I
t is still early in the race and there is a lot that is
happening on the national front and worldwide
that could change the setting of the race in the
blink of an eye. In a post-9/11 world, the challenges
that face our leadership are staggering. The longer
the recession lasts, the longer people go un
employed, the more we look to our country’s lead
ers to show us the way out of a problem that most
of us as individuals have little chance of improving.
I think Bush’s chances all rely on the record he
creates; his credibility could be totally lost if his
tax package fails to stimulate the economy as he
hopes it will. (1 have my doubts.) Another attack
on U.S. soil will whisk away his good public rela
tions for the “war against the evildoers." Anyone
with extra time to focus on his record might
unveil the true evil/ignorant person he is.
If this happens, then the rest of the United
States will be primed for change, and Dean is
that light out of here. 1 Find him straightforward,
honest, energized and intelligent, and I think he
is what this country really needs.
We need to stimulate jobs internally. Education
and health care are enormous professional fields
that employ people and provide much-needed assis
tance, and the product is what our country is found
ed on: healthy, educated, free thinking people.
A ttilia S awyer
Portland
• • •
I
believe he is the most refreshingly honest
candidate to appear in years. We are in a
financial crisis that can be fully blamed on
Republican fiscal irresponsibility. Dean speaks
clearly and fairly about his ideas, and he is not
tainted by insider W ashington tradeoffs and
waffling th at would weaken his credibility.
Alm ost half of the electorate sat out the last
election because they felt there was no choice. If
even 10 percent of them became inspired to
vote Democratic, he would win easily.
He really isn't all that liberal by Roosevelt or
Johnson standards. The current crop of Demos
are really closer to the right wing than they are to
the Dem voting block, and many are angry about
it. So yes, if given the nod, he would pull it off.
B ill Y oungren
• • •
N
ot only does Howard Dean have a shot at
beating Bush in 2004, he will beat Bush in
2004. Americans are tired of an extremist, civil-
rights-hating warmonger in the office. O nce
they get to know Dean and his progressive plan
for our country, there will be no competition.
Portland
J im H iller
• • •
Y
es, I believe Howard Dean has a shot. I’m very
pleased that he is progressive, but the reason
he can win is because he is the only Dem willing to
stand up to the Reps and disagree with their disas
trous policies instead of trying to adopt their issues
and “out-Republican” them. People are hungry for
a candidate who will represent their interests.
D an D ees
Tigard
• • •
W
hile I personally would enthusiastically
support Mr. Dean, I don’t think he can
unseat Bush. First, the Democratic candidate
must be folksy— that “aw, shucks” folksiness
attracts a lot of voters who might otherwise have
doubts. (Think Clinton, flush U and even Rea
gan.) And that folksiness will offset Bush’s folksi-
ness, which he uses as a stealth for his real agenda.
Second, our Democratic Party needs a candi
date who can deny the Republicans their “South
ern strategy" by appealing to just enough South
ern voters— both black and white— to carry at
least Georgia, Florida and Louisiana. If we can
put forth a candidate who can do just these two
things I’ve written here, Bush will be history.
D avid M indrup
Wilsorwilb
Portland
• • •
oward Dean no t only stands a shot at bear
ing Bush in 2004, he might just be the best
candidate for the job. W h at’s drawn people to
him is not only his positions but his unapolo
getic way of stating them.
Dean is a straight shooter, and people admire
a candidate who gives them straight answers
instead of dancing around a subject. W hen he
speaks, he emanates confidence and conviction,
two characteristics that have been in short sup
ply in a Democratic Party that has sold out its
core beliefs for political expediency.
Most importantly, however, Dean’s nom ina
tion would drive a wedge right into the heart of
the Republican Party. Civil unions, of course,
would become an issue. T he Republican Party,
which is always performing a balancing act
between their far right wing and party moder
ates, would have to take a position.
By lambasting Dean, they raise the specter of
the old intolerant Republicans and drive away
party moderates. If, however, they choose not to
make a big deal of the civil unions issue, they might
have a revolt in their far-right-wing base. They are
damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and
that couldn’t be better news for Democrats.
H
J ohn S antella
Portland