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TRANSITIONS
PFLAG Loves You
To the E ditor :
Do you love Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays.7 There is a “kicker” tax refund
coming in December. Consider donating a portion
of your refund to help us for $10, $20, maybe more.7
PFLAG Oregon State Council is working to
develop chapter leaders and chapter representation
all around the state. We are committed to bringing
our LGBTQ support, education and advocacy
mission to every Oregon family, across generations
and cultures. This is a tall order! Your donation will
help us make a significant difference as we serve
Oregon communities.
Send checks to PFLAG Oregon, P.O. Box 8944,
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PFLAG loves you!
P atricia K eeney
PFLAG Oregon Outreach
Ironic or Clueless?
To the E ditor :
1 often read The Oregonian as much for irony as
I do news. Now 1 find that Just Out offers the same
treat.
Take the Nov. 2 issue. The cover story is about
the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a concept that
was original, creative and relevant 25 years ago
[“Sisters of the Revolution”!.
Turn the page and we see the pic of Pat
Lanagan’s NoPo Eagle sign trumpeting his percep
tion of JO’s narrow portrayal of gay men. Next to it
are Marty Davis’ comments sharing her ongoing
cluelessness [“Friends in Need”).
Turn the page and we find a letter from Jerry
Stuart pointing out that JO failed to cover one of the
larger gay events in Portland this year, a bear event
[“Who’s Afraid of Bears.7”). Rich. I can’t wait for the
next issue.
G reg S moots
Portland
Our History
To the E ditor :
1 applaud Marty Davis’ open attempts to explore
her inner racist to vet out the feelings from the back
lash of defensiveness [“What’s in a Name?” Oct. 5).
Instead of trying to figure out if she’s a racist or
not (hint: We all have race-based bias and places of
privilege, power and oppression from which we
operate), perhaps she could go even further with
her analysis.
She feels disempowered and neglected. Flip it
around and watch where your privilege takes you.
We whities take for granted that people will listen
to us, that what we say holds weight.
This is not, to me, about a street name at all. It’s
about whose stories we are telling. It’s about who is
entitled to write history...and who is not.
It’s about how we interact in community.
S andy B acharach
Portland
Who Was César Chavez?
To the E ditor :
I am only an occasional reader of your paper
(there are not a lot of places that carry your paper
where 1 live), but I feel compelled to respond to the
editorial in a recent issue concerning the renaming
of Interstate Avenue as César Chávez Boulevard
[“Learn Your Rights,” Oct. 19).
This is not an issue about which I am particu
larly concerned, and I’m still not exactly sure why
your editor has decided to write about it, since it
does not seem to be of particular interest to the
LGBTQ community.
Nonetheless, 1 found the editorial to be both
offensive and indicative of a troubling ignorance
among your staff (or perhaps just your editor). The
letter that you printed from Molly Franks seemed
like a step in the right direction. Even for someone
outside of this particular debate, it was instructive
to read. Then comes this sentence from the editor:
“As the gay, lesbian, bi and trans community
matures and become a seasoned and knowledgeable
force, I see that it could now be our time to take the
emerging Latino community under our wing and
share with them lessons learned as they, too, fight
for recognition and civil rights.”
Is it possible that you are unaware that the
Latino community is not emerging at all, but has
been fighting for its rights in this country at least
since the time of Columbus? Do you even know who
César Chávez was? I am sorry, but to say that the
LGBTQ community has anything to teach anyone
about fighting for our rights is really absurd, consid
ering how young we are as a movement. We still
have a lot to learn (as the recent Employment Non-
Discrimination Act debacle shows) about working
together, creating solidarity and being inclusive.
I want to make it clear that this paper’s stance
does not speak for the entire LGBTQ community
and to apologize to any Latinos who may have read
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Neil Johnsen, 1956-2007
Community organizer and activist Neil Johnsen
died in the early hours of Oct. 30 after a long bat
tle with cancer.
Johnsen, who identified as gay, was a leader in
HIV/A1DS awareness projects in his hometown of
Vancouver, Wash. He helped create resources for
those living with HIV/A1DS, such as Martha’s
Pantry, a food and commodities bank, and LifeForce,
a resource center that predated Cascade AIDS
Project. He also helped organize some of the first Gay
Pride events in Vancouver.
Johnsen served on the hoard of directors for the
Southwest Washington Consortium on HIV and
AIDS. He also worked with the volunteer center at
the health district, encouraging volunteers to assist
those with HIV/AIDS with everyday household
chores and grocery shopping.
“There are so many things he has given to the
community. He was amazing. He was the type of
person that had his fingers in everything," said
Johnsen’s friend Greg Truluck.
Johnsen’s daughter Sarah-Jean Johnsen added:
“Nothing in this world mattered more to him than
friends and family. He would have bent over back
wards for any of us, and did on many occasions. He
was a wonderful person and amazing father.”
At Johnsen’s request, there will be no funeral
services in his honor. Memorial donations can be
made to Martha’s Pantry.
Johnsen’s friends and family met Nov. 11 at
Northbank Tavern to remember him. A fund
raiser will be held in his honor in 2008. For
rrtore information contact Mike Audette at
mike.audette@comcast.net.
this editorial and thought otherwise.
Please, Just Out, bone up on your history before
you write something else that displays your blatant,
privileged ignorance in a public forum. This is
embarrassing for all of us.
SMYRC; sometimes it’s to plan a fund-raiser, to
organize a trip, etc.
If Davis has an issue with SMYRC, Davis
should bring it up at steering committee rather
than pretend to represent all queer youth in bash
ing SMYRC. If Davis has brought these issues up
before and nothing came from it, maybe they are
only issues according to Davis. Maybe other youth
don’t feel this alienation, because if they did then
they know they have the power to change it.
SMYRC is a hate-free zone, so of course there
are rules to enforce respect! Telling your friend,
even jokingly, that you’re going to “slap them” isn’t
respectful! SMYRC might seem strict to some, but
it’s for the safety of the youth and SMYRC. From
my personal experiences, I believe SMYRC staff
and volunteers do listen to everyone’s “side of the
story,” and just because they don’t agree doesn’t
mean they don’t listen.
Personally, I’ve grown out of SMYRC. I go
there once in a blue moon to see how it’s changed.
I’ve made countless friends from SMYRC; many of
them still go to SMYRC for its resources, and many
of them don’t. But they all acknowledge SMYRC
as a part of their growing-up process, and they
respect SMYRC for what it’s done for them.
It sounds like Davis has grown out of SMYRC,
which is fine. But Davis should appreciate what
Davis got out of SMYRC. SMYRC does a lot for its
youth, and I think that if you went into SMYRC
and asked the youth how they felt, you would hear
a different story than what Davis has to say.
N ellie B oyd
Hillsboro
Outgrowing SMYRC
To T he E ditor :
This letter is in response to Dominique Davis’
letter regarding the Sexual Minority Youth Resource
Center (“SMYRC Youth Underwhelmed," Nov. 2|.
I’d like to start by pointing out that Davis is not
the Lorax of SMYRC youth. I’ve been a SMYRC
youth for four years now (maybe five, who knows),
and when 1 read Davis’ letter 1 was outraged by how
ungrateful Davis sounded.
When 1 first started going to SMYRC in high
schixil, it was the highlight of my week. The hour-
long bus ride twice a week after school was well
worth it. SMYRC helped me come out of my shell.
I became more social, respectful and involved in
my community. I don’t think Davis recognizes how
those workshops, letters and drag shows helped
shape who we as queer youth are and in turn how
we shape SMYRC.
SMYRC’s foundation is its youth. There is
a weekly open meeting called “steering committee”
that constantly evaluates SMYRC and watches it
evolve. At steering committee, if youth have an
issue regarding SMYRC that they want to discuss,
they are given the opportunity to. Sometimes these
discussions result in a change in the rules at
M arni C ohen
Portland
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