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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1980)
Pag« 2 Portland Obaarvar August 7 , 1980 EDITORIAL/OPINION Tribalism and Racism rife in Britain t ^22^31 by N. Fungai Kumbula «^8 Bigger and better jails Parents, teachers and coun sellors have steered at least a generation of young people away from potentially satisfying and lucrative skilled craft occupations. Since 1945, the U.S. has had six full cycles of econom ic contraction and recovery. The 1973-1975 recession was seriously aggraved by inflation and high interest rates, along w ith real shortages o f basic resources. U n e m ploym ent reached 10 per cent and inflation was over 10 per cent. The result was a more extrem e depression than the U .S. had e x perienced since the 1930s. This week the Oregon Legislature is meeting in Salem to slice $204 million or more from the State budget - most of it out of education and human services. A t the same tim e, the same Legislature is voting to put a $84 million bond issue on the N o vem b er b a llo t fo r c o n s tru c tio n and renovation of prison facilities -- to make more room for prisoners. The prison fund is a result of the recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge James Burns that prison overcrowding is a denial of the prisoners' constitutional rights. Rather than fin d alternates to prison fo r non-violent offenders -- such as persons who drive w ith suspended drivers lisences -- or establish drug and alcohol program for those w h o are c o n fin d e d because o f those pro b le m s, G overnor V ic to r A tiy e h re c o m mend spending $120 million for new prisons. The state is losing an opportunity to deal w ith the causes of crime and to demonstrate new m eth ods o f re h a b ilita tio n in fa v o r o f w arehousing m ore prisoners then releasing th e m back to th e same e n v iro n m e n t u n prepared to survive w ithout returning to crime. The accompanying cuts in human services and education will hurry the cycle along and insure that the new prisons will be kept full. During this period unemployment fell most heavily on the unskilled, the uneducated, Blacks, older w orkers and yo u th . Factory workers, miners, and transportation workers had u n e m p lo ym e n t rates higher than the national average. Workers least vulnerable to unemployment were those who possessed the highest skills and training. There are a number of vocational training courses in the area's schools and com m unity colleges that lead to apprenticeships or jo u r neyman standing in skilled trades, but there is little effort on the part of the public schools to expose young people to these trades or to give them equal s ta tu s w ith the m ore glam ourous academic careers. Many young people w h o w ill never com plete the m any years of college to become doctors, lawyers or psychologists are being steered away from the skilled and lucrative trades that would provide security. There are many young people who w ould benefit from an o p p ortun ity to learn trades - machinists, mechanics, electronics technicians, instrument makers, tool and die makers, etc. One item the School Board should consider in the design of the new middle school is an e x p lo ra tio n o f careers th a t w o u ld expose young people to the w ide range of skilled trades as well as academic careers. Try skilled trades, too A shortage of skilled workers has plagued the U.S. for a long time and this shortage is aggravated by the m yth th a t the U.S. has become the world's first ''w hite collar society” where work will be done by machines and only those in service careers will prosper. The ME - decade By Gregory L. Gudger A lthough Thara M em ory is generally recognized in Portland as an accomplished musician, com poser, arranger and teacher, folks in the Black com m unity have often sampled - voluntarily or no - the wit and wisdom of his grass-roots, and somewhat earthy, philosphy. Once, after having experienced a high spirited rap/repartee between Thara and Charles Tatum -- a cu ltu ra lly proselytic talent in his own right -- I was made a gift o f a memorian witticism. At the risk o f losing some o f Thara's s p irit, consider: "H o lly w o o d is a big m in d -trip . What you have to understand is that you can’ t believe what you see. What’s presented to you on TV for example, is really not supposed to be believed, but is presented to you as capsulized reality. But if you ac cept it as being far from the truth, you’ ve really been psyched out because there’ s a lot more truth to it than you think.” Okay, Thara. I ’ ve held on to that memorian tid b it fo r tw o years, and the significance o f it has emerged several times since. Several weeks ago, for example, a made fo r T .V . movie featured a rather famous actor portraying an ex-football player-turned private in vestigator. On top of being a fairly decent gumshoe, our hero came across as a generally likeable fellow - more humorously dilligent like Columbo than intrepidly relentless like Sam Spade. Though he main tained the seemingly-universal sm all-and-dingy o ffic e , our guy lived in a tw o-story, ranch-style home in the Bay area with a wife who zipped around in her late model Ford wagon while he drove a modest Chevy on the job. He ap parently gets along well with his wife, although her fetish for artsy film s seems as esoteric to him as does his penchant fo r watching pigskin slugfests on Sunday after noon seems to her. We soon find out, as does our hero one evening by unfortunate happenstance, that Mrs. P.I. gets very serious about a F ellini or Bergmann theme, and takes in a lover in addition to the show. From a distance, he sadly watched her dump her station wagon on a dark side street in favor of a 450 SL. "Gee-zus!” he exclaims at the great confrontation, “ We seemed to get along fin e ,...lo v in , listenin, laughin and all that. I don’ t stay away from home too much! 1 may not always agree with you, but I still support you, and your celluloid jones, too!” "A n d 1 appreciate you for that and all that you have done for me,” she responds, but I need to find myself...I need to justify being with you.” BULL_______ I” A fictitious domestic crisis, but a malady reflective o f the very real "ME-Decade,” the 70s. However, it is realistic local implications, par tic u la rly fo r P ortland Public School’ s new wave o f Black ad ministrators. Portland’s Black community has had its share o f those who, upon reaching vocational milestone, desert their commitment, culture, their very beings like a selfishly adulterous "C h ip p ie ” violates a mate’s love in the night. Although we have yet to see how A dair, Cawthorne, Chavis, Grice and Gerald will wear their new hats, the community has every right to ask: shall they drape their respon sibilities loosely and flip p a n tly about their shoulders as if uncertain about the purpose that they serve? Or worse s till, shall they forget altogether and stroll, bare-bottomed and unconcerned, like the fabled emperor whose “ new clothes” were envied in his own m ind, and ridiculed by those who control it? Several o f the new Black ad m inistrators have shown more positive signs but I dare not assume that they w ill fully embrace their responsibilities to the District as a whole and, most importantly, to the 8,000 or so Black students who have yet to get a fair shake from this system. I am however optim istic that they w ill not forget who they are, who they are to serve and to whom they owe the often forgotten privilege: the Black community. I ’ m sure Thara w ill have something to say about you - one way or the other. PORTLAND OBSERVER The Portland Observer (USPS 969 6801 „ p u s h e d every Thu, V.,bV5 " ^ Publishing Company, Inc , 2201 North Kill.ngswort O 7 ° ^ nc e° ° n 9?2' 7 P° 8' 0M 'ce Bo’ 3137 Oregi 9/208, Second class postage paid at Portland, Oregon d Subscriptions »7 50 per year in Tri County area. $8 00 per ™ outside Tr. County area Postm aster Send address change, the Portland Observer. P O B o . 3137, Portland Oregon 97208 The Portland Observer» official position ,, expressed only in i Editorial column Any other material throughout the paper is th opinion of «,e individual writer o, submitter and doe, nSTnec« sarily reflect the opinion of the Portland Observer 283 2486 ALFRED L. HENDERSON Editor/Publisher N ational A dvertising R epresentative A m a lg a m ated Publishers. Inc N e w York MtAAê« L NW A ÏPER batot'H'On ■ founded ISM ill 1st Place Community Service ONPA 1973 1st Place Best Ad Results ONPA 1973 5th Place Best Editorial ONPA 1973 Honorable Mention Herrick Editorial Avvard NNA 1973 2nd Place Best Editorial 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1975 Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association 3rd Place Community Leadership ONPA 1978 There was once upon a time a US ambassador to the United States who made a statement to the effect that the British invented racism. He was compelled to make a public apology by his “ boss,” the State Department. Privately, however, he refused to retract his statement because it was true. Since when do we have to apologize for telling it like it is? he argued. The British were righteously upset by Andrew Y oung’ s statement because, not only are they racist, they are tribalistic too. Young was, therefore, focusing attention on a very sensitive subject. Publicly they will blast racism and tribalism and louder i f it is being practised in another country. For a cursory visitor to Britain, a walk through any part o f the islands is a real eye- opener. The ghettoes in East London, in Glasgow, in Wales and in Ireland would look disturbingly familiar to someone coming from the southside o f Chicago, Watts, Harlem or even Soweto. As in this country or South Africa, the "haves” really have and the "h a ve -n o ts” do not. W hile South Africa has the Broeberbond, the US the KKK, britian has its very own neo-nazi organization, the National Front. There is a man by the name of Enoch Powell who has made his reputation by his call for the depor tation of all “ non British” Britons. He is a member o f Parliament and he has been re-elected again and again because o f this racist philosophy. The current regime o f Margaret Thatcher has from time to time proposed just such a policy. Like almost every other country, Britain has had her fair share o f economic woes: in fla tio n , stag flation, recession, unemployment, trade deficits, spiraling energy costs, labor unrest, declining productivity, foreign competition and the like. Rather than blame all these ills on its own fa ilu re to govern, the Thatcher regime blames it all on "foreign born” Britons. The people usually referred to as "fo re ig n b o m " Britons are Jamaicans and other West Indians, Malays, In dians, Chinese and others from the Orient as well as Africans and other Europeans. How did all these people end up in Britain? Simple: because o f British meddling in the affairs o f others who would much have preferred to be left alone. The English, in th e ir customary arrogance, went and "colonized” those various peoples, disrupted their usual way o f life, stole most of their resources and then left them, literally to starve. A t the same tim e they talked about England like it was the H alf way House to heaven and en couraged these people to emigrate to England. Emigrate they did and they took up those jobs that were too dirty for the "classy” English to do; in essence, they kept the country going. For most o f these people, England is the only home they know. In most cases, the countries they "originated” from cannot ab sorb them: they have their hands full trying to cope with their current populations. O f late, the neo-nazi N ational Front has become very visible, a disturbing sign o f the disquiet rum bling throughout B rita in . The National Front does not merely call for the deportaton o f "non-British” Br'tons but also for the Irish, the Welsh and the Scots to get back to Ireland, Wales and Scotland respec tively. The Irish are the butt o f most English jokes; portraying them as inferior, lazy, dumb and all those familiar sterotypes. How is this kind of tribalism any different than what the British castigate in Africa? Glasgow, the largest c ity in Scotland has the highest crime rate of any city in the world with the ex ception o f New Y o rk. It has an equally high rate o f alcoholism and prostitution. Most Glasgoans either die from cirrhosis o f the liver (a result o f alcoholism) or homicide. The policy of the Thatcher regime is that the rich will get richer and the poor poorer. The gap between rich and poor has been widening faster than ever. The West Indians are subjected to what are called "S A S ” laws; just like the pass laws o f South Africa. This means that the police can stop and search any Black that they see on the street. Funny enough, the A fricans are excluded fro m this notorious harassment; the police can tell who is who by the accent. So, as soon as they find out they have stopped an A fricn , they w ill usually make some lame apologies and let him/her go. It is not because they love the Africans. It is simply because they know the African and will call their respective embassies to complain of harassment. The embassies, in turn, will contact the media and the story will be all over the papers by mor ning. They hate to be embarrased. With this kind o f inborn racism and trib a lism , it is any wonder that Britain w ill continue to cooperate with racist South Africa and see ab solutely nothing wrong with South Africa’s policies? Next time the British castigate tribalism or racism in any part o f the world, somebody should remind them to look in their own backyard. Notes from City Hall By Charles Jordan Commissioner o f Public Safety Earlier, we discussed seizure and storage o f your property after an arrest by an o ffic e r as well as domestic violence and the use o f restraining orders in maintaining peace in family affairs. However, we did not discuss those domestic disturbances that result from heated arguments where a weapon is present on the premises and how that situation can be handled by an officer. " You and your spouse or child are having a disagreement that ends in a violent confrontation and the police are called in to help. ” "WT/A tempers fla rin g , one o f you mentions that a gun or other weapon is on the premises and that you are afraid. " The police officer can seize the weapon for safekeeping, if the o f ficer feels it is in the best interest of all involved that the weapon is not within reach o f anyone until anger subsides. You will be given a receipt for that property. The officer will take the weapon to the police sta tio n ’ s property room and hold it for a period not to exceed 30 days. At any time, you may claim the weapon by presenting your receipt and your property will be returned to you. Such property is subject to a storage charge o f 50« per day. At the end o f 90 days, weapons taken for safekeeping which are not claimed will be destroyed. OSPIRG opposes Northwest Power Bill To the Editor: A few years ago, Oregon’ s utilities used the slogan, " I t puts you in debt without your consent,” to defeat a ballot measute to sim plify the P.U.D. procedures. Under the Northwest Power Bill, the Bonneville Power Ad m in istra tio n (B P A ), a federal agency, would be authorized to commit Oregon’s ratepayers to pay for new power plants whether need ed or not. This would include cost overruns, such as the quadrupling costs in Washington; or "d ry holes,’ plants, such as Three-Mile-lsland, that are not operating. This guaranteed purchase a u th o rity removes from private utilities the initiative fo r prudent planning and careful management. BPA is not capable o f assuming this initiative. According to the General Accounting Office: "Bonneville is not adequately prepared to con struct or oversee the construction o f large generating fa c ilitie s ,’ and BPA administrator Sterling Munro has admitted this agency’ s inability in this area. OSPIRG believes passage o f the Northwest Power B ill w ill strip Oregon consumers o f local control over the rates they pay fo r elec tricity. We need more local control, not less, if we are going to control the ever escalating price o f energy. Yours truly, fFendy Lou Manley Rena Taylor OSPIRG Vice-Chairpersons Who controls the police? Often im m orality struts around masked as morality, especially the poor and large segments o f the m inority communities around this nation, the police are viewed as op pressive and disruptive forces o f control to be avoided at all costs. Since one of the most visible forms o f control is exhibited through the police, we could expect those gaining privileges from the results of police activity to respond favorably toward such an institution. Many o f us have been treated as outsiders or intruders in our own land. To many o f us the police fun ction to maintain the status quo and this translates to Caucasoid privilege. Sooner or later we get around to asking the key question ol Who controls the police who are charged w ith co n tro llin g the dangerous classes? ’ In Amcr.ka this has been an elusive question to answer We hae continually found ways to com- promise the need for popular con trol ol the police with the need for an operation that functions " in - dependent o f p o litic a l c o n flic t over control, we continually hear or read o f police p a y o ff, bought policemen, and other form s o f corruption. I he police departments o f cities like New York, Chicago and San Franscisco have been notorious for the corruption within them. The Knapp Commission is just one example o f the story o f police corruption. In both, the order maintenance and the legalistic approach police Itnd themselves in the position oi using a great deal of "discretion,” especially when dealing with Blacks, other minorities, and the poor. I ’ m inclined to believe, unchecked police "discretion" is a matter o f serious concern to Blacks given the high rates o f racial prejudice high rates of racial prejudice amongst Caucasoid po h « officers. Black and Rei„ , heir study o f Boston C hlcago. and W ashington police, out ,ha, ,h f grea, majori(y o f caucasoid officcrs hold anti-Black atitudes caucasoid officers, thinking ,hc very worM o f B|acks ,hey encoun are „ poshion ,Q UJe , hejr discre,ionary poWers ,o ,he disadv.n- tageof Blacks. The Amerikan Friends Si Committee, in its report on and punishment in Amerika i the follow ing observation: justice system functions to ma a racist relationship betwee Caucasoid majority and the E Brown, Red. and Yellow mini in A m e rik a ." The comrr obedience structure o f racisn existed in the criminal justice s' since the settlement o f thecoun Under the guise o f keeping f sale from political pressure, tht service system and the unioniz process have given the p amazing p o litic a l power along with a belief that the r can prevent crim e, has elei them to a favorable position i eyes o f the general public. Until major institutions be. people-oriented instead o f pr oriented, inclusion o f Blacl Police work, can at best only be sidered tokenism. Respect I Dr. Jam il Cher Field Director, (CC
