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
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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