O REGO N S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
_________________________________________________JU N E«. 2010
PA G E 3
There’s a lot going on. so let’s get right to all things prideful.
celebrator/ and - ma/be a little of not-so-much.
O
nother promising Pride moment of
national stature was President Obama’s
proclamation in honor of Pride M onth.
Only one president before him, Bill Clinton,
has issued such a proclamation, in 1999 and
2000. As you might expect, there were no such
warm fuzzies during the George W. Bush
years. The complete Obama proclamation is
too lengthy for this space, so I’ll share with you
only the last two paragraphs. I do encourage a
Google visit to view the complete work.
A
As we honor the L G B T Americans who have
given so much to our Nation, let us remember that
i f one o f us is unable to realize fu ll equality, we
all fa ll short o f our founding principles. Our Na
tion draws its strength from our diversity, with
each o f us contributing to the greater whole. By
affirming these rights and values, each American
benefits from the further advancement o f liberty
and justice fo r all.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK
OBAMA, President o f the United States o f
America, by virtue o f the authority vested in me
by the Constitution and the laws o f the United
States, do hereby proclaim June 2010 as Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.
I call upon all Americans to observe this month
ty f i t t i n g prejudice and discrimination in their
own lives and everywhere it exists.
Thank you for this, Mr. President. We look
forward to working with you on further steps
in obtaining full civil rights and marriage
equality for all o f us. But first, please get that
oil spill taken care of— that’s by far the most
important thing right now.
have never been gay-bashed. I do not have
a personal understanding of the feelings
and the fears that such an experience leaves
behind. I have been fat-bashed my entire life,
and while that is not a pleasant experience it has
always resulted in feelings of anger rather than
fear. My own life experiences are also not ones
that leave me feeling fear of or disrespect for the
police. I know that there are a few, a very few
“bad cops,” but I sincerely believe that the ma
jority of police officers in Portland are decent,
hard-working people who care about doing the
right thing. Again, that is the result of my life
experiences. This is not to minimize the feelings
or experiences of others; it’s simply a statement
of my own place in the greater scheme of things.
I may not have shared similar stories but I can
be empathetic toward your responses and reac
tions---- as should everyone else.
Wednesday night, June 2 ,1 was in a packed
room o f people who had vastly different feel
ings and fears about their safety and place in
the community. Memorial Day weekend saw
hostility and gay-bashing rear its ugly head
again in the late night streets o f Portland.
These new incidents, combined with still raw
memories of similar events last year at Pride,
have left many in the community in troubled
discontent. The discontent stems from fear
and the equally frustrating feeling that those
in authority don’t seem to care. It’s emotional
impotence and it is painful.
Wednesday night brought together people
from vastly different places to a packed com
munity forum at Q C enter. You’ll find the facts
o f this meeting presented by Erin Rook on
page 5; I share here only my personal thoughts
I
and perspective.
First, credit must be given to the vast suc
cess of social media for the high attendance at
this meeting. Credit must be given to Stephen
Cassell and Just Outs own Daniel Borgen for
a well-organized and planned event. This fo
rum was literally only two days in the making
Word spread like wildfire via Facebook, blogs
and Twitter. This is a testament to the powerful
success of electronic communication. However
in the days following the reported bashings
we also saw the other side of the “wildfire
syndrome.” Rumors, fears and misinformation
also spread rampantly and rapidly. Some posts
I read were highly inflammatory and factually
lacking. At this point, the quickness o f new
media was likely to cause as much harm as
good.
et me pause here for a commercial
break---- events such as those of last
L
week are an example o f why newspapers
and reporters and editors are still needed and
still valuable. We take the time needed to get
to the facts. We know who to ask, how to
gather information and how to sort through
the gossip and the rumor. We know how to
request paperwork, deal with officials and
elected leaders. We know how to do our job.
Does it take longer to gather news the right
way? O f course it does. We realize that we
are smack dab in the Age o f Immediacy. We
recognize that hardly anyone wants to wait
anymore for information. You have a choice:
you can have information---- misinformation,
if you will---- quickly, or you can have it ac
curately. I t’s rare that you can have both.
And my point is, you ask? The point is to slow
down. Be reasonable and rational in absorbing
and disseminating news. The spread of incendiary
misinformation solves no problem. It only creates
more. In the face of irrationality, be rational.
W hich brings me to Portland Pride 2010,
“Pride to the People.” Please note that Just Out
is not the um, well, I can’t even say it. We are
banned by Pride Northwest from using, say
ing the word---- the word that, um, starts with
“g,”ends with “e”and rhymes with “ride.” Yeah,
that word, we’re not that. Nope, we’re Just Out,
a 27-year-old publication serving the LGBTQ_
community year-round, covering all events and
all the community all the time. We’re not the
Pride %$#&A, we’re just the newspaper that
writes about it for you.
See you at Pride.
Just Out Does Pride!
Visit us at our booth
(PABA Booth *8. near the main stage.)
at the waterfront festival.
j
-fi
9J
just out
by Mart/ Davis
It’s June. It's Pride.
n a national level, considered by many
to be celebratory is progress being
made toward the repeal of the military’s
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The U.S. House of
Representatives has passed the National De
fense Authorization Act, which includes the
D A D T repeal provisions. This House passage
now leads to the next step, the Senate floor
debate. This action could come in June; it could
come later. Once on the floor though, the efforts
could go south. There will be opponents working
to remove the repeal language from the defense
bill. In a nutshell, it’s complicated. The NDAA
for Dummies version is this: even Senate pas
sage would not guarantee immediate repeal of
DADT. From the point of passage----and it’s a
minefield to get to that point---- the fine folks
at the Pentagon are then charged with deciding
how to implement repeal. This will likely take
until the end of the year, at best.
Until that time it’s important to remember
that “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is still the law of the
land. Gays and lesbians can still be discharged
from the military, simply for being themselves.
The celebration this Pride is that progress is
being made; the matter is coming before the
public eye. Americans are being educated to
the value of gays and lesbians and the impor
tant role they can and do play in our nation’s
military. L et’s look to Pride 2011 for a rousing
celebration of full repeal.
To learn more about D A D T and how it im
pacted the life of Portlander Ira Zimmermann,
please turn to page 18.
3
Check www.justout.com
for Q schedule of
Just Out columnist appearances.
COME M EET THE PEO PLE YOU READ.
VOL 27. NO. 12
JUNE i|. 2010
INSIDE»
» PRID E 2010
PREVIEW
10 ‘ PEOPLE" GET READY
Tliis year’s Portland Pride gets underway and
under fire
» PRIDE ENTERTAINMENT
14 BLAKE-INGOUT
A Q_6c A with Pride headliner and American Idol
alum Blake Lewis
16 THE TREADMILLS OF LOVE
Hunter Valentine fight forlornness with punk-
rock pluck
46 NIGHTLIFE: BOOGIE BOUTIQUE
50 A PARTY B U T EQUAL
Collaborative Pride events are up with
community while gettin’ down
54 BLOCK HEADS
Just Out's own Lady About Town offers a Stark
Street Pride suvival guide
» PRIDE PROFILES
18 TAKING A STAND:
IRA ZIMMERMANN
Portland Air Force veteran recalls living under
“Don’t ask, don’t tell”
20 THE QUIET. HARD FIGHT:
JAMES SAMPSON
As a pioneering research doctor retires, the battle
against H IV /A ID S continues
26 GET READY TO GROW(L)
The Oregon Bears paw-nder club history on the
eve of BearTown 15
» PERSONALITIES
29 SCHOOL IS IN SESSION
New class o f drag stars breaks all the rules
58 GOING FOR THE GAY GOLD
Queercore icon and table tennis trainee Kaia
W ilson nerds out en route to Cologne for the
2010 Gay Games
» NEWS
5 NORTHWEST NEWS IN BRIEF
69 OUTREACH IN FOCUS
LGBTQ_self-defense training class
» ARTS 8 CULTURE
52 DANCE: EAST BEATS W EST
Tiny dances meet big drums in new collaboration
60 HIP CHICKS DO PRIDE WINE
» COLUMNISTS
22
42
45
63
SASSY GARDENER
LADY ABOUT TOWN
LIVING OUT LOUD
REMEMBER TO BREATHE