Portland observer., May 27, 1982, Page 3, Image 3

METROPOLITAN
Portland Observer, May 27,1982 Page 3
r.
Street Beat
Ron
Person,
A g ric u ltu ra l
w orker— " I d o n ’ t know . It could
have worker out better. A couple o f
measures I ’ m not too satisfied
w ith — especially the one dealing
with more taxes on trucks traveling
on the roads.”
Boles students Lisa Channel, Ronald Hale, Roy
clay and Regina Davis and their principal, Dave
This week we took the question,
" H o w did you feel about the results
o f the last election— were you satis­
fied?” , to the streets.
Phyllis Houston, student— " I ’ m
not really satisfied. I think H arold
Williams should have won. We need
a black leader in District 18.”
Ellen, carpenter— “ No. I think in
District 18 it is silly that there isn’t a
black representative. Out o f all the
good candidates that there— a white
male w on.”
M cC rea, w are w inners of the 197«
Goodyear Blimp assay contaat. (Photo: Dan Long»
Students vie for blimp trip
The O bserver w ill sponsor its
third annual Goodyear blim p ride
for students next week.
Students w ill be selected from
Applegate Elementary School and
Boise Elem entary School through
their essays on " I f I were the
Goodyear Blimp..."
Judges will be City Commissioner
Charles Jordan; Sharon M c C o r­
mack, D irecto r, Northwest N eigh­
borhoods Against C rim e ; Steve
Buel, School Board member and
teacher; C ounty Com m issioner
C aro lin e M ille r; James Loving,
D ire c to r,
King
N eighborhood
Facility; and Ruth Spencer, Director
o f the Oregon M in o rity Educators
Organization.
Prostitution: Questions, answers
by Harris Levon McRae
For the past several weeks the Ob­
server has attempted to look at pros­
titution in Portland and to see what
all the concern involving it is about.
P rostitution in Po rtlan d and in
the U n ited States as a whole is a
phenomenon that takes a variety of
forms based on the activities o f the
prostitutes and the relationships
they have with their customers.
An attempt was made to address
this complex issue with a m u lti-fa ­
ceted approach including interviews
w ith the prostitutes themselves as
well as customers, the police, the
business community and other con­
cerned citizens.
Prostitution deals with the selling
o f sex. Sexuality is learned mainly
thorugh social in tera ctio n w ith
others and derives its meaning from
(hose relations and th e ir c u ltu ra l
context. Because o f this, human sex­
uality is highly variable.
"A c tu a lly prostitution comes in
several ways. You have to be a pros­
titute to get and k-ep some of those
so-called 's traig h t* jo b s ," one
woman commented.
Since prostitution is influenced by
the prevailing notions o f sexuality in
the society, its m eaning can vary
from time to time.
M an y people believe that only
poor and minority women are pros­
titutes despite the fact that many
white women are visible “ hooking”
on the streets, and despite the fact
that pimps many times recruit girls
who arc runaways from middle class
homes. Also, traditionally, prostitu­
tion has been defined in terms o f fe­
males, but there are a large number
o f male prostitutes on the streets as
well.
A lot of people involved in prosti­
tution today were victims o f sexual
and physical abuse. They had been
victimized as children. Because they
didn’t have a family support system
many o f them had to find other
ways to survive.
" I ran away fro m home and I
needed some money. I met this guy
who was a pimp and I hung out for
a little while. After about a week he
threatened to jump on me. He never
did though. I got into prostitution
because I couldn’t just lay around
the streets like some bum ,” one f if ­
teen-year-old girl related.
A p im p w ill usually try to con ­
vince a person whom he wants to
sell sex fo r him that he is in love
w ith them , and that they are the
most important thing in his life. He
(or she) acts as the person’s fam ily
and best frie n d fo r a w h ile. The
pim p provides shelter and f o o d -
setting (he person up for sexual ex­
ploitation.
“ All I worry about is getting (hat
mind. Once 1 get the mind, the body
can’t be too far behind. When you
turn a chick out you have to put in
her mind what you want to be there
— otherw ise her m orals, or w h a t­
ever, can complicate things,” one
pimp said.
Some prostitutes get involved as a
means to support themselves and
their families. Some married wom­
en sell sex to men other than their
husbands— with the husband's en­
couragement. Those dollars that the
wife brings in may be the difference
between paying the rent or not.
O th er women w ork daytim e jobs
and sell sex at night for fun and ex­
citement.
Citizens ask why prostitutes can't
be taken o ff the streets. Where are
the police?
“ Prostitutes are a good source of
in fo rm a tio n fo r a police o ffic e r.
The prostitute on the street sees and
hears a lo t. M any o f the bad guys
talk to prostitutes all o f the tim e.
There isn’t an awful lot a uniformed
officer can do about prostitution.
He can watch a person for a while
and then make a loitering arrest if a
person is engaged in conduct s u ffi­
cient to show that they are loitering
for prostitution," said Captain Bob
T o b in o f the P o rtla n d Police
Department.
" H a rd time in my opinion is not
the answ er, but the police or the
crim inal justice system has to pro­
vide an alternative. Maybe a work
release p ro g ram . I know that in
Portland we need to be able to take
the prostitute o ff the street and put
them into some type o f government
custody,” Captain Tobin added.
Since men usually seek out wom­
en 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 o f women in our society.
There is no doubt that economic
exploitation is an im portant factor
in the oppression o f women. In an
already a ir-tig h t jo b m arket more
women w ill turn to prostitution in
order to earn a living.
There are several ways that wom­
en can be helped and supported as
far as leaving prostitution or never
getting involved in it.
W e— our society— need to have a
large-scale program o f support and
services which realizes how severe
the situation o f a woman trying to
stay out o f prostitution is. The sup­
port should include food and a place
to sleep, counseling, a id help in de­
veloping other econ imic a lte rn a ­
tives such as a job or e iucational pro­
gram.
As much as prostitution is in the
news these days, it is not unique to
our time. Prostitution existed in an­
cient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The
selling o f sex has shown a rem ark­
able persistence in d iffe re n t times
and cultures.
We have looked at many factors
that relate to prostitution including
cultural, sociological and economic
ones, and it has been shown that
there is no one answer to the social
questions posed by prostitution.
One businessman seems to have
summed it up pretty well: I t ’ s the
oldest game in the world— they ain't
gonna stop it now.
Commercial
Fred Hayes, fo u n d a ry w orker—
" Y e s , your vote is always w orth
som ething every tim e you cast it.
Y o u r vote is gonna count fo r
something one way or another.”
D in a Popp, nurses a id — " N o , I
Willis Turner, retired— “ W e ll, I
just don’t think that politicians live
guess so. Everybody voted the way
they w anted. T h a t ’ s the way up to th e ir promises. They are
A m erica is, the m a jo rity get their making cuts where the money situa­
tio n is tig h t. I would lik e to see
way so I have to be satisfied.”
people— especially the eld erly be
reimbursed for money they lost in
the cuts.”
■■■■■» by Harris Lavon McRae and
Richard Brown
T he average person spends
23 hours a year standing in a bank.
Y>u don’t have to.
At First Interstate Bank, you can conduct any of
your normal banking business without even se t­
ting foot inside the hank-in under 30 seconds.
O ur Day & Night Teller machines
let you bank 24 hours aday. every day.
You can m ake deposits, transfer funds
bet ween your checking and savings
|
accounts, m ake loan and credit card
payments, and more.
What's m ore, only the First Interstate Bank
Day & Night Teller netw ork can give you
up to $200 instant cash anytime at m ore than
600 locations throughout the 11 west-
• e rn states. O r a $200 advance on
your First Interstate Bank VISA card.
Try 30-second banking at
First Interstate Bank. You'll find
it second to none.
Residential
De Caro’s Custom Interiors
•
•
•
•
•
Antique Restoration and Reproduction
Reupholstery and Restyling
Custom Made Furniture
Custom Woodworking
Excellent Workmanship
4507 N.E. Fremont St., Portland, OR 97213
287-5683
o
F irs t In te rs ta te Sank