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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1982)
Portland Observer, March 25,1982 Page 3 METROPOLITAN Street Beat Our Street Beal question this week is, " D o you feel that there should be a citizen board that watches how the police handles complaints against the police de partment?" Rhonda Fornah, housewife— "Yes, that way there would be less unequal treatment of people.” H erb Lyons, shipyard worker— “ Sure, why not? I don’t see why it would be ojbectionable. 1 haven’t really thought about it.” Police aatlm at* B.000 participated In laat Thurs day’* m arch and rally for Jobe and Juatlca, or- ganlxed by a broad coalition of labor unlona and com m unity action groupa. The dam onatratlon waa a algn of the growing unity between organ ized labor and the raat of the prograaaiva move ment In the face of Reagan'a attack* (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Yes Nina Spears, unemployed the police because I feel that half of t) department is crooked." Reece Blacknall, unemployed— “ Yes, because when you ask them something they don’t come up with the right answers.” Prostitution: A part-time job Part III by Harris Levon Mcrae Simply because society doesn't condone an act, that doesn't make that act prostitution. It is this intan gible factor that makes it difficult to decide how you determine a woman to be a prostitute. Some married women sell sex to men other than their husbands. M any times hus bands not only know about it but actually encourage it. Those dollars that the wife brings in may be the difference between paying the rent or not. Other women work daytime jobs and sell sex at night for fun and excitement. I talked to several "part-tim e** prostitutes as well as many street prostitutes to get today's story. Monday night I hit the streets to find out how street prostitutes felt about "part-time" prostitution. Po lice cars were swarming on Union Avenue like bees on an intruder in a bee hive. All up and down the street talk about "busts" and "being has sled" were going on. This clearly was not a night for a reporter inves tigating prostitution. Tuesday I found out why. "T h ey (the police) busted about 20 girls yesterday for prostitution. I was in jail about three hours before they let me go. Every Monday they bust girls and Tuesdays and Thurs days are vice nights. On those nights the cops act like tricks (cus to m ers)," I was told by a young woman who sells sex on Union Av enue and on Interstate. It seems that the residents o f the North and Northeast communities have finally stirred up the police de partment enough to have them at tempt to do something about street prostitution. "W e started really getting hassled about a month ago. The word is out on prostitution. This is how I make my living and it's getting to be hard to do that," a woman who has been a prostitute for a little over a year told me. In this age of Reaganomics many of us will find ourselves doing things we normally wouldn’t do to make or save a few dollars. It has to do with that urge of all living things—survi val. M ore city people are tending gardens than ever before, others are buying more of their clothing from " t h r i f t " and "second-hand" stores, and others are "moonlight in g "—working more than one job. For some that "other jo b " is the selling of their bodies for sexual in tercourse. " I'm out here during the days and I go to school at night. People who put down prostitution don't realize that it keeps some people a liv e ," one woman told me. "A ctu ally prostitution comes in several ways. You have to be a pros titute to get and keep some of those so-called 'straight* jobs," another woman added. " I do a little stealing, 1 lay down for money, I do a little o f every thing. I have to do it. I don’t like it, but you know I have to liv e ," one woman said. As you can see there is a lot of ambiguity about what people con sider prostitution. Some people feel that there is little difference between many wives and prostitutes except for the fact that "prostitutes" want their material reward immediately and "w ive s" get their money in a more long-term plan. This is a valid opinion. I know more than one woman who has sex with her hus band because they "have to— it goes along with the furniture." Some women voice their views: " I have thought of cutting down the time I am out here. I would like to do some other things with my life. I f a girl really had her act to gether she could make some good money out here part-time.” " M y kids d o n ’ t go w ithout. Whatever I have to do to keep my home together— it's worth it. Some of these guys spend hundreds of dol lars on liquor so I might as well get the money.” " I f men don’t mind giving away money for sex, I don’t have any problem with taking it. This is life and you need money." One mother of three who has sex with anyone who has the money told me, "L o o k , I ’ m on my own and I have to pay the rent." There is no doubt that economic exploitation is an important factor in the oppression o f women. Since men usually seek out women for sex in exchange for money, and it is the women who agree and submit, any view of prostitution has to come to terms with the role and place of women in our society. In an already air-tight job market more women will turn to part-time prostitution in order to earn a living. " It's amazing the things that you think you have to do to survive. One day I started crying in the middle of laying with this dude— 1 knew I couldn’t live my life like that any more," I was told by a woman who now babysits and cleans houses to pay her bills. It is quite evident that society tol erates part-time prostitution just as it does street prostitution. Our soci ety must face the issue o f alterna tive employment for women who are forced to turn to prostitution to support themselves. Making the rich richer (Continued f(om page I col. 6) a gimmick that does not alter the control o f the companies. It strengthens the relationship between imperialism and (he Third W orld nations that is the cause of poverty and underdevelopment. Induatrlal redeployment The Caribbean is a source o f cheap labor that is geographically very close to the U.S. This makes it convenient to develop a process called redeployment— the transfer to underdeveloped nations o f cer tain industries which are no longer profitable or desirable in the U.S. because of excess capital resulting from the U .S . economic crisis, a falling profit rate because o f high wage costs, or damage to the envir onment. This industrial redeployment, al ready seen in the Caribbean and Central America, involves setting up subsidiaries o f U .S . parent com panies. These companies are not based on the needs of the countries where they are based but on the strategy and needs o f the parent company. The result is an industry whose existence is for the quest o f profits via the exploitation of under paid workers. Reagan's dream seems to be a Caribbean dotted with export bases for U.S. transnationals exporting to the U.S. merchandise produced by exploited Third World people. Tax incentive* There are also tax incentives to encourage investment of U .S. pri vate capital. U .S . direct invest ments in 1980 were estimated to be SI 1,946 million, not counting huge investments in financial centers such as the Bahamas. For example: Tate and Lyle owns the m ajo rity o f the sugar planta tions in Trinidad and Tobago, and its subsidiary, Caroni L td ., owns most of the sugar cane land in Ja maica and Belize. Elders and United Fruit (now United Brands) control banana production and exports in Jamaica. Oeest Industries own most of the plantations in Barbados, Do minica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. U.S. investment has not brought riches to the area. For every dollar invested in 1979-1980, U .S. com panies removed $2.24 in profits. In 1980 they received a 23 per cent re turn on their investments. Even so, Reagan placed restrictions on receiving private investment. He asked for absolute guarantees: prom pt, adequate and effective compensation in case of nationaliza tion; unrestrained opportunity to re move profits and other assets. Financial aid Reagan made it clear that "much of the aid will be concentrated in the private sector." He said he will ask Congress for $330 million for fiscal 1982. The Economic Commission for Latin America o f the U nited N a tions has estimated that just to meet the economic needs of Central Am erica would cost $20 billion. Reagan has offered $350 million for Central America and the Caribbean. The national debt of the nations includ ed in Reagan’s proposal was $15 bil lion in 1981. The interest owed to U.S. and European banks in 1979 was $867 million. What Reagan has offered is less than half the interest charge for one year. And this $350 will go mainly to an Economic Sup port and that will be used to finance imports from the private sector. Not less than $100 million will go to El Salvador to help prop up a falling government. What Reagan is recommending is spending a small sum to finance im ports from the private sector and obtaining a favorable short-term balance of payments, rather than providing long-term concessionary credits under favorable conditions to be used by countries on develop ment programs. In other words, her Caribbean economic strategy is designed to fur ther U.S. interests, not the underde veloped nations o f the Caribbean and Central America. M aria Al-Meshan. unemployed— “ Yes, in some ways it would help." Charles Watson, security guard— "Y e a h 1 do. I have a lot o f com plaints. Somebody needs to watch them and know what’s going on.” by Harria Lavon McRae and Richard Brown Joe L y ski, retired— "They have smart people in the police depart ment and they should solve their problems on their own. Why bring! outsiders in." Imports At Wholesale Prices A fascinating new and easy way to purchase unusual hand-carved furniture, and over 2,000 other variety items, has been made available by a local small firm, which feels there is a need, in these hard times, for people to be able to buy at affordable prices. This company is located at 1930 N.E. Columbia Blvd., Portland, and is in the process of converting an old farmhouse into a place convenient to buyers at prices the public loves: wholesale! Solar Co./Import Division is anxious to have you stop be and get acquainted. There are full color catalogs available, and many samples on display in the show room. Prompt and courteous treatment is the motto of Solar Co. Their phone number is 283- 4003. An additional cash discount is yours when you mention you read this article in the Portland Observer.
