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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2003)
june fi. 2003 Continued from Page 8 of Portland, do 1 see all kinds of questionable driving, including failure to stop at stop signs, failure to use a turn signal while driving fast and changing lanes, not to mention reckless driving consisting o f weaving through freeway traffic. Yet rarely do 1 see police officers around these events, and if I do, I do not see them stop ping someone for “failure to come to a com plete stop” at a stop sign. So exactly what does this really mean? Is it a fallback position, much like “1 got my foot stuck in the door” ? White privilege means 1 don’t have to worry much about these things. “Driving while black” (or, in this case, “rid ing while black” ) results in the tragic death of a young woman. A young woman of color who was out in a car late at night, the same activity white people take for granted, although with no thought of the risk it could entail. Maybe coming home from a long trip or a social evening out, etc. Why in the first place did the police follow this group of young black people? Do white people worry about an officer following their car? Are they sure to keep their hands in view so the cop doesn’t shoot them (“1 thought he had a gun” self-defense)? Is “they didn’t stop at a stop sign” just another in a long list o f self-defenses used against the black men and women who feel they have the right to he out, m oving freely, without the risk o f being killed? T he black community puts out m anuals for how to interact with police and what are your rights. Why? To save lives and prevent tragedies such as this. Kendra James didn’t sit quietly and didn’t keep still while in the presence of officers. If the police have an arrest warrant out and are purportedly looking for her— when they see that she is in an increasingly agitated state (not to mention in a vehicle, which can be a “deadly weapon” )— why don’t they simply back off? In her case, the ultimate price was paid during an interaction with “public serv ants” out to (supposedly) “keep the peace and protect the public.” Then we hear on the news: The white offi cer walks. And to add insult to injury, it is said, “This has nothing to do with race.” I do not understand why Portland is not on fire with the rage of the injustice of this. L inda K anzinger Portland An open letter to the governor and Legislature To the E ditor : oday in Multnomah County, scores of par ents, teachers and crime survivors are breathing a collective sigh of relief with the passage of Initiative 26-48, the temporary income tax increase that directs millions of dol lars to our aching schools, safe communities and strengthening our social safety net. T he citizens o f M ultnom ah County and Beaverton voted overwhelmingly to support our schools and social services, and for good reason: T h e links between poverty and crime are well docum ented and inescapable. Peo ple living in poverty are twice as likely to be the victim o f a crim e. G iv en that inescapable truth, the voters have offered an T example of courage for the Legislature to fol low— if they listen. O f course, the temporary tax is only a moderate fix for a m omentous problem. More must be done to address the factors that led to our current problem : over reliance on incarceration as the solution to crime, lack of stable funding for education and, o f course, those pernicious tax breaks that riddle O regon’s tax code. Quite simply, the state can no longer look to social services to balance the budget in the face of a sagging economy and gloomy prospects. As crime survivors, we are standing up to say that the people have given enough. It is incumbent upon you, Gov. Kulongoski and members of the Legislature, to combine the power of your compassion with the position of your office to find more revenue for Oregon. The voters of Multnomah County have shown a willingness to sacrifice in times of cri sis. Our only hope is that our state leaders will prevail upon our wealthiest citizens, our corpo rate citizens, to do the same. D avid M. B a ker Survivors Advocating for an Effective System the E ditor : hank you Ju s t Out, for covering the recent Howard Dean visit (“Dean Beats Around the Bush in Portland,” May 16). There has never been a candidate for presi dent with more to offer our community. We need to support him now when critical pri maries are near. It was great to see Terry Bean, Barbara T w ip o v r aOlVJSSTJC Lesb Mention this ad and get a 10% discount. J im M o rris Portland Hooray for Hollywood To the E ditor .- I’d like to thank Patricia L. M acAodha for her article about our neighborhood group (“Think Globally, A ct Locally,” May 16). It’s important to me that queer folk be represented among those helping issues that transcend sex ual orientation. It should be noted, however, that our group is Hollywood Neighbors for Peace. Q uestion s or com m ents can be sent to Hollywood4peace@ yahoo.com. L yn S yn clair Portland correction s he May 16 article “Fixing a Hole” indicat ed that 75 percent o f the YW CA of Greater Portland Counseling Center’s clients identify as queer. The correct number is closer to 50 percent. Just Out regrets the error. T Keen on Dean To Roberts, Bill Bradbury and Serena Cruz leading the way for Dean’s Oregon campaign. Visit www.deanforamerica.com to learn more. • • • he May 16 national newsbriefs misspelled the name of U .S. Rep. Ileana Ros- Lehtinen, R-Fla., and misidentified her as a Democrat. Just Out regrets the errors. 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