4 Jttst Mat » decem ber 5. 2003
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Racism is objective
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PRUL IvHTCHELL.
alloons on Broadway seems to believe it has
the right to make a profit from racist stereo
types [“ Humor Is Subjective,” Nov. 7).
The letters about this store using an Aunt
Jemima figure on a greeting card reminded me ot
a debate Portland’s sexual minorities community
I had in the 1980s. A white man dressed in black
face as Aunt Jemima in the Gay Pride march
because he said it was “funny.” He was chal
lenged by a black woman, a crowd of onkxikers
and myself. Security, after being confronted by
the crowd, asked him to change or leave. He left.
The debate raged in our community press.
Many said, “You have no right to spoil our fun."
Nowadays the line is, “ Humor is subjective.”
Well, yes and no. Racism is an objective fact,
with a history and consequences, for all who live
under it or who tolerate it. Many others pointed
out that fun at the expense ot people of color in
our movement is not acceptable.
The LG BT movement has a long way to go to
reach equality. We are mostly working folk, many
ptx>r. We have no universal health care, social
services are under attack, and the fundamentalists
have declared war against sexual minorities, Mus
lims, women and all who are not RICH, white,
male and Christian. Let's get together and defend
each other instead of falling into the divide-and-
conquer strategy that has worked for tixi long.
A drienne W eller
might, ought to he. This fight is going to get tmly
ugly and violent, so all noastraights need to he pre
pared for anything. Try to remember the bl;x;k sit
uation in, say, 1965 in Selma, Ala.
J ohn B oynton
Vancouver, Wash.
Sweet Tart
To the E ditor :
art was fabulous! I was happy to see that Just
Out reviewed it; however, I think it deserves
a better rating (“It’s Gixxl to Be Queen,” Nov. 211.
What exactly is your measuring stick for a suc
cessful lesbian cluh? Considering our current
options, Tart blew the rcxifoff of the Portland les
bian club scene! Portland is desperately in need of
a happening, sophisticated place where lesbians
can go to dance to cutting-edge hip-hop, dnnk
fabulous cocktails in a smoke-free environment
and enjoy beautiful women. Finally, Tart came
along and provided Portland with such a club!
T h e last DJ was incredible! Did Jixli Darby
even notice that it was only when the last DJ
started spinnin’ that the entire dance fkxir was
packed? And no, no, it wasn’t last year’s Top 10
on 95.5 jam m in FM.
Yes, Hokxrenc is a great space with an ixitstaixl-
ing staff, hut that only contributed to Tart’s success;
it was by no means the defining ingredient. It was
the lesbians who created Tart, the hot lesbians who
attended Tart and the DJs spinnin’ at Tart that
made it a hoppin’ cluh and a gcxxJ time for all.
Radical Women
S haley H oward
Equal protection
To the E ditor :
Portland
Memory lane
pon reading the Nov. 20 editorial "Civil
Union: Prevent Civil War” in The Ore- To the E ditor :
gimwn, I am stunned to read an opinion that is
s a native Portlander now living elsewhere,
simply wrong!
lust Out serves to keep me current on
Public opinion in the past and tixJay has
activities hack home. Your 20th anniversary edi
sometimes needed a nudge to remind ourselves of
tion was a wonderful stroll down memory lane
the laws of this land. We have not always moved
[“Memories and Milestones,” Nov. 5|! Rtigcr
forward without the intervention and mterpreta- i Vines’ letter about Windfire in your subsequent
tion the courts have provided us in order to
edition also brought hack a great deal ot memtv
ensure equal treatment for all its members.
ries ["Those Were the Days," Nov. 2I|.
Remember, the 14th Amendment says, “No
Windfire was a youth group that was formed
state...shall deny to any person within its juris
in 1983 for gay and lesbian teens and was one of
diction the equal protection of the laws.” We do
the pioneering organizations for that age gnxip.
; not grant one group or person a right without pro- Just Out was there to help it with publicity for its
i viding it to us all.
various meetings and events and to provide an
I don’t believe anyone is asking for anything
ixrcasional article about its progress.
beyond equitable treatment under the law.
I was the first Windfire member to turn 21 and
“graduate" from the group, and this month marks
M icheil M ac C utcheon
the 20th anniversary of that ixzcurrence. I want to
! Portland
wish everyone assoc iated with Just Out (and Wind
fire) the happiest of anniversaries. While some of
us have aged better than others, 1 think were all
still holding together pretty well after all this time!
This is going to get ugly
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C O M P U TER S
and
N ETW O R K S
he editorial by Matt Foreman said exactly
R obert H ansen
what I h.kl said in a previous letter [“Promise
Austin, Texas
and Peril,” Aug. 15). The difference is that his arti- j
cle was more concise and had three plaas of opera
tion. I would add one more plan of operation: Boy-
a n t any company, any corporation and any state
To the E ditor :
that openly is against gay marriage.
\
ixi’ve been asking for stories regarding Just
1 will just briefly point out a few things I’m sure
Out's influence on (xir lives; here’s mine
(or hope) you know as reminders:
[“Dear Just O u t..." Nov. 7|.
1. The United States is in the worst recession 1
1 moved to Portland to he with my partner in
since the 1987 stock market crash.
October 2001, and what with the moving and the
2. In had times, a “scapegoat" is wanted/needed.
job hunting and the holidays and then the winter
3. While 10 percent to 15 percent might he gay,
weather, we really didn’t get ixit tcx> much. I had
85 percent are not gay.
left my family and friends hack in California and
4. A kn of the very same petiple with guas, with
hadn’t had a chance to make new ones.
homhs, with all sorts of weapons who absolutely
With the coming of sunshine and warm days,
believe in what they are doing agaiast abortion
wc had begun to get exit and about, and one of the
clinics will have the same mind-set agaiast non events we went to in June 2002 was the opening of
straights being married.
Jamison Square. I noticed, however, that there was
Am I an alarmist? Maybe. What I am is a real
this one woman who appeared to be trying to rake
ist. I see what truly IS— not what could, should,
our ph<xo withixit being intmsive. As we were
Thank you, Marty