lustout
4
MAY 5. 2006
"So, the one night
stand worked?"
letters
Spanish, a National Language
"Maybe it’s time to get
that bigger place..,?"
Kim Trip, Reniti/ Trust
503.416.2017
bl lp://uwavallyl rust.<wn/fcimt rip
1902 XL'. SanOy ftlw). Part la nO
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To the E ditor :
It someone is proud to be an American and
wants to sing it in Spanish, what’s the problem?
Did you know one of the world’s oldest and
most successful democracies, Switzerland, has four
official languages and only has a population of
7 million? None of those languages is English, by
the way, but most Swiss people speak English quite
well, too.
Finland, with a population of 5 million, has two
official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Ethnic
Swedes constitute just more than 5 percent of the
population in Finland. Historically, a minority of
Swedes oppressed a majority of Finns for centuries;
still, the Finnish government sees fit to accommo
date ethnic Swedes within its borders.
Again, in Finland, English is not an official
language, but most Finns 1 have met in Finland
speak English, too.
My favorite multilingual success story is South
Africa, with 11 official languages for 46 million
inhabitants. South Africa is truly “the rainbow
nation.” Luckily for Americans, one of their official
languages is indeed English, although only about 20
percent of South Africans speak English at home.
If you are going to travel to Switzerland,
Finland or South Africa, you can easily get around
and converse with most people in English.
I don’t think it is too much to ask that
Americans make Spanish an official language and
have English-speaking children learn Spanish in
school. Any Spanish-speaking child I have met
loves learning English. Why can’t English-speaking
American children greet the world with equal
enthusiasm about learning another language?
1 regret not being fluent in a second language,
and the good and bad about English being so preva
lently spoken in rhe world is that 1 do not “need”
-to learn another language.
I know it would be very expensive to require all
American children to be bilingual, but 1 would
much rather spend my tax dollars creating a rain
bow nation here than militarizing the world with
soldiers who only speak English. Can you imagine
if all American soldiers were bilingual? I really
think it would transform what we, as Americans,
do in the world.
Our national anthem glorifies war in any lan
guage. And still, 200 years later, war is what we as
Americans do so well. We have mastered war
making; perhaps if more of us mastered another
language, we would have more compassion for
others and cultures different from our own.
In the end, it does not matter what language we
speak; it only matters what language we are listen
ing to. I want to be proud to be an American again.
Perhaps if 1 learn to listen to Spanish more often,
I will be.
J im G irod
Vancouver, Wash.
(!X O p *** w > CcxnbifMi by becoming a
Sustaining Member tod«'
Don't Believe the Hype
CaB Catharine Hurter at 5O3-222-M94 x 12 or email
C atharlneSi »i.ter aolther o ad. org
To the E ditor :
More than two years ago, we were married on
the first day same-sex marriages were legal in
Multnomah County. Our ability to do that was,
in no small part, due to Diane Linn. For almost
two decades we have been in a committed
relationship, and first we want to thank Diane for
taking a stand for us.
for more mtcrmatico go to www.»r»ter«ofthero»d org or vW
us at 133 NW Sollt Avenue. Portland. Oregon 97209
I’m not even interested in making the stark
comparison between Diane Linn’s real leadership
and real results for the GLBT community with her
opponent’s. 1 am just going to focus on the decep
tive characterization of Wheeler by some members
of our community who wish to split the GLBT
vote.
Some claim Wheeler is a friend of the GLBT
community and supports our civil rights, including
the right to marry. Where’s the proof, you ask? It
simply does not exist. Where was Wheeler when
we had to fight vicious battles during the No on 13
and No on 9 campaigns? Absent! Sometimes, in
front of progressive audiences, Wheeler talks about
how strongly he supports gay marriage. Where was
he when we fought for the basic right for our
relationships to be legally recognized during the
No on 36 campaign? Absent! Wheeler, a multi
millionaire with supposed ties to the community,
has never donated $10 or 10 minutes of rime to
support our battles.
The only association Wheeler has with the
GLBT community is being a board member on his
family’s conservative (anti-gay, anti-labor and
anti-choice) foundation when they gave money to
anti-gay organizations. But he claims those are his
daddy’s values, not his. I need you to ask yourself
this question: “Would I sit on a foundation that
actively worked to roll back the progress and rights
of the GLBT community, or any community 1 care
about?” Those are his roots, that is his record, and
that is how he should be judged.
Wheeler’s campaign is the most deceptive I’ve
ever seen. Wheeler, a lifelong Republican, knows
he cannot be elected as county chair unless he
paints himself as a progressive. Don’t do his dirty
work for him. Don’t present him as something he’s
not, and don’t support him. Wheeler does not
deserve your vote! Don’t believe the hype.
Naito, Maria Rojo de Steffey and Serena Cruz, the
other three who so bravely made a stand for gay
marriage? Ms. Naito and Ms. Rojo will remain on
the county board after the election; Ms. Cruz will
not, and all three of them are publicly supporting
Ted Wheeler, not Diane Linn. Why should our loy-.
alty be any less for them?
If you do the math, you have three of the four
voices whom we owe our loyalty to not supporting
Diane Linn in the upcoming election. Why re
elect someone to office who is not wanted in the
position by her colleagues? The county govern
ment is broken, and we have a chance to fix it.
Furthermore, the union that represents
Multnomah County workers is not supporting
their boss, Diane Linn, either. They are supporting
Ted Wheeler. This is a cry for help, and we the
voters should pay attention to these signs.
If you take a minute to read about Ted
Wheeler or make the effort to stop by his office
and talk with him, you will find that not only is
he one of the most intelligent individuals you may
ever come across but that he is in fact an ally of
the gay community; he supports gay marriage and
equal rights based on sexual orientation. So if you
vote for him, you are voting for gay rights. You are
also showing your loyalty to three people instead
of just one who made a brave decision to extend
marriage rights to same-sex couples in
Multnomah County.
If you want to keep Diane Linn in public office,
encourage her to run for a seat in the Oregon
Legislature so she can take on the wicked witch of
rhe east, Karen Minnis. Vote for Ted Wheeler and
save Multnomah County.
J eff D ickey
Portland
Trung Tu for Judge
J ames G reene
W ade W alters
Portland
It's Not All About Us
To the E ditor :
As a gay man living in-Multnomah County,
1 find it insulting that Just Out seems to think the
gay community should only be concerned with one-
issue, loyalty and the gay marriage referendum,
when considering who should be the next CEO of
Multnomah County.
Hello, there is a county to run, which is much
more multifaceted than the one issue of gays and
lesbians. We may think the world revolves around
us, bur it doesn’t. For the record, there are gay men
and women in Multnomah County who care about
and understand the bigger, broader and more
important issues that we should be concerned
about in this upcoming election.
Let’s assume that this is the only issue in the
race. And let’s assume we are supposed to give our
loyalty to Diane Linn, “For Better, For Worse,”
because she supported the gay marriage referendum
in Multnomah County (April 21]. If you extend
this argument about owing loyalty to people, you
leave some questions to be answered. Just Out gives
readers the impression that the decision to extend
marriage rights to gay couples was a unilateral one,
made by Diane Linn alone. This is not the case.
Diane Linn is a part of a collective body that made
the decision. What about owing loyalty to Lisa
To the E ditor :
I support Trung Tu for judge and think we need
his influence of fairness for all in the Multnomah
County Circuit Court. 1 have known Trung for
many years, and he is hardworking, diligent, fair
and very intelligent! 1 urge people to vote this
election and vote for Trung Tu.
D oug M endenhall
Portland
Support Jim Hill
To the E ditor :
I read with amusement and dismay the letter
titled “Ted Earned the Vote” (April 7].
Once again, the voices of one-issue politics get
the support of our so-called gay leaders. There are
those of us in Oregon who are state workers,
schoolteachers, firefighters and public servants of
all stripes who care about gay rights. We also care
about our jobs and our retirements. Ted Kulongoski
in four short years had presided over a dismantling
of our public retirement system. If he were to serve
four more years, we may have our equal rights,
which are important to us all, but at the cost of our
economic security. I submit to you that Jim Hill
also cares for our welfare, both in equality and
financial security. Make the wise choice in the pri
mary and support Jim Hill.
D avid F letcher
Salem