Portland observer., April 11, 1984, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2 Portland Observer, April 11,1964
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Snitching vs. reporting
Black reporters find themselves being held ac­
countable by the Black community for coverage
over and above rational objectivity.
America did not understand the points raised
by Louis Farrakhan o f the Nation o f Islam, but
the Black community did. Farrakhan only an­
swered a question many in the community had
asked. W ho snitched on Jackson ...and why?
By asking this question, no one is defending
the d erogatory language Jackson used.
However, many questioned whether an off-the-
record, private comment should have been dug
out o f the 37th paragraph o f The Washington
Post and plastered over the fro n t pages o f
newspapers across the country.
In their quest for objectivity, Black reporters
forget that objectivity is the rule if everything
and everyone was fair. When it comes to the
news coverage o f those darker than blue,
nothing is fair and everything is judged by two
standards.
M ilto n C olem an is fro m The W ashington
Post; a newspaper which covers national and in­
ternational events while ignoring the local com­
munities o f color in Washington, D .C .
S ta ff pressure from The Washington Post
caused Janet Cooke to lie about Jimmy, her 8-
year-old drug addict. She did not have to dream
this story up to meet her deadline when, in
reality, Black youth are turning to the needle at
an alarming rate. The Washington Post had to
give the Pulitzer Prize back once their com ­
petitors questioned her source.
Was C olem an trying to make up, to his
editors, for what Cooke did? His disclosure tinted
Jackson’s “ rainbow co alitio n ” and gave fuel
to the Fire of those who wanted to see him burn.
The increase in death threats and the narrow and
racist coverage o f Jackson by the mass media
were the results o f Coleman’s disclosure.
Coleman hid behind “ professional integrity”
when the community called him to the carpet for
reporting an o ff-th e-reco rd comment. Every
good reporter knows you are only as good as
your sources. W h o w ill ever trust Colem an
again? What makes a good reporter is not what
you can tell, but what you can keep to yourself.
A reporter can develop a proper framework
to disclose facts and information. A reporter can
weigh the pros and cons and present the facts
with a correct perspective.
Coleman did not use “ professional integrity”
by reporting Jackson’s private comments. He
was not reporting. He snitched and that kind of
reporting does not belong in a newsroom. It
belongs in a police station.
Stop CIA actions in Nicaragua
France, England and other nations are loudly
protesting the illegal mining of Nicaraguan ports
by C IA operatives supported with American tax
dollars. So, too, should loud voices of anger be
heard fro m O regonians, including our
Congressional delegation.
T h e m ining is intended to strangle N ic a r­
agua’s economy by frightening merchant ships
away fro m its ports. A lread y, six ships, in ­
cluding a Soviet fuel tanker, are reported to have
been damaged by mines in ports on both the
Pacific and Carribean coasts of Nicaragua. Such
mining is tantamount to an act o f war against
Nicaragua and must be stopped at once.
The N icarag u an governm ent announced
M onday it is suing the U .S. government in the
International Court of Justice, to stop the covert
war, o f which the m ining is only the latest
m anifestation. The In tern atio n al C o u rt o f
Justice is a United Nations' organization based
in the Hague, Netherlands. The State D epart­
ment labeled the appeal to international law a
“ propaganda” act and gave abrupt notice that it
would not accept the court’s jurisdiction in Cen­
tral American issues for a two-year period. It is
the same court to which (he U.S. itself appealed,
in 1980, to resolve the fate o f the A m erican
hostages held by Iran.
Am erican citizens must ask (his question:
which government is seeking to block justice and
which is spouting propaganda? I f the United
States has nothing to hid, why not let the court
decide?
Guatemala human rights violations
(Continued fro m page I. column 3/
with Mexicans on our b o rd e r." He
said
the
G uatem alan s
do
agricultural work in Florida or other
states, and that many seek political
asylum here.
"T he
S tale
D ep a rtm e n t
is
refusing to give them asylum ," Paul
explained. " I t would indicate there
is a p ro blem w ith hum an rights in
Guatemala and we don't want to o f­
fend the government o f Guatemala.
" T h e v io la tio n o f hum an rights
there is gross beyond conception,"
he added. " D e a th squads are more
extensive and active in G uatem ala
than in El S alvad o r. T ou rism has
been cut dow n
to v irtu a lly
nothing."
In contrast to other C e n tral
American countries, in Guatemala,
anyone who " lo o k s like they are
w orking w ith the Indians and it
might lead to an uprising, is killed,"
Paul said. School teachers are par­
tic u la rly suspect, he added, and
many schools and universities have
been closed.
Paul said that to portray tensions
in C entral Am erica as a byproduct
o f E a s t/W e s t c o n flic t, as the
Reagan A dm inistration is doing, is
not correct. " I t ’s a red scare th a t’s
exaggerated."
He said many people in the U .S .
have "th e correct attitude but have
no in fo rm a tio n on w hat's really
happening there.
" I w ould suggest that people do
all they can to educate themselves
on the topic and then put pressure
on Congress. W rite to your
congressmen and senators and tell
them w hat’s happening."
Portland Observer
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A d d res s ________________________
C i t y _______________________ S tate ,
M ost p o litic a l observers argue
that President Reagan is unbeatable
in 1984. T h e case is m o u n tin g ,
however, for a stunning repudiation
for Reaganism at the polls. Reagan
received ab o u t one in ten Black
votes and 36 percent o f the Hispanic
vote in 1980, but today those Figures
have dropped to h alf that. Reagan
captured 27 percent o f the voters
who descritte themselves as liberals,
but in recent polls he receives less
than 12 percent o f liberals' support.
Reagan even captured 41 percent of
the voters w ith an n ual fa m ily in ­
comes less than $10,000; today he’ ll
be lucky to obtain one-third o f that
group’s support.
But the biggest factor in the elec­
tions o f 1984 w ill be the w om en ’ s
vote. In 1980, six m illio n m ore
wom en th an men vo ted , and this
N o v e m b e r, some experts predict
that women voters w ill outnum ber
men at the polls by nine m illio n .
Reagan was never the overwhelming
favorite o f w om en— he ran barely
one percent ahead o f Carter among
women voters in 1980. T o d a y , no
one believes that Reagan will be able
to hurdle the gender gap w ith this
margin.
As p o litic a l leader Bella Abzug
noted recently in the N e w York
Times, Reagan is even threatened by
" th e loss o f sig n ifican t support
from tw o fem ale groups that were
am ong his m ainstay in 1980:
R epu b lican wom en and older
w o m e n ."
In
June,
1983, a
Republican poll found that "every
subgroup o f w om en is m ore
negative towards President Reagan
than th eir m ale c o u n te rp a rts ,"
especially older women. As Abzug
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argues, "this switch can be traced to
fears raised by M r Reagan’s attempt
to tam per w ith Social S ecu rity
and the one-year freeze o f cost-of-
livin g increases in Social Security
benefits."
W orking class women are turning
against Reaganism fo r sim ilar
reasons. Sixty percent o f all working
wom en receive under $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 a
year, and o nly one percent earn
above $23,000 annually. For Black
fem ale household beads w ith o ut a
husband, their 1981 median income
was o nly $ 7 ,3 0 0 . C o m p o u n d in g
their plight is the role o f sexism in
the labor force. In the vast m a jo r­
ity o f circum stances, w om en sys­
te m a tic a lly receive 20 to 30 p e r­
cent less for doing the same type of
jobs th at men do. Based on an
evaluation o f educational skills and
technical a b ility , one can establish
" c o m p a ra b le w o r t h " between
various types o f jobs, which would
in turn lead to the closing o f wage
d iffe re n tia ls between w om en and
men.
Reaganites find the whole notion
o f co m p arab le w o rth u tte rly
r e p r e h e n s iv e . A d m i n is t r a t i v e
spokesperson Linda Chavez termed
the
concept
" fu n d a m e n ta lly
radical" and claimed it would " u n ­
derm ine the m arketplace economy
and the values we believe i n . " She
argued that " in e q u a lity in salaries
among races or between the sexes is
due
in
large
m easure
to
ch o ice— w om en or Blacks o ften
choose job s th at pay le s s ."
Assistant attorney General W illiam
B ra d fo rd Reynolds also suggests
that the reason that so few women
are in upper incom e brackets is
because few "w om en had ever ap ­
plied fo r h ig h er-p aid jo b s ."
Equalizing pay scales across gender
lines " m ig h t discourage wom en
fro m m oving out o f tra d itio n a l
w om en's jobs into better paying
jo b s .” In an even more p ath etic
justification o f sexist pay standards,
Reagan a d m in is tra to r M ich ae l
Horowitz even termed "comparable
w orth” a political plot to undermine
Black men by white women: " T h e
maintenance man will be paid less so
the librarian can be paid more.”
Black, Hispanic and white women
in increasing numbers recognize the
need fo r leg islative reform s to
uproo t sexism in the w ork place,
and that the Reagan administration
represents a m ajor barrier to their
p o litic a l and econom ic ad van ce­
m ent. T h e y generally oppose the
P resident's positions on ab o rtion
rights, child care, education, arms
spending and the Eq ual Rights
Amendment. To quote Abzug, " fo r
M r. Reagan to win a majority o f the
w om en's vo te, he w ould have to
stop picking their pockets and stop
being himself. (H is) record and con­
tinuing actions place him in direct
opposition to the political agenda of
modern American women.” Reagan
w ill have to obtain roughly 65 per­
cent o f the w hite male vote this
N o vem b er in ord er to w in reelec­
tio n , given the massive ele cto ral
gender gap and the anti-Reaganite
trend among Blacks, Hispanics and
the p o o r. W om en and racial
m in o rities , figh ting fo r their own
material self-interests, may turn the
sexist rascals out this time.
CAMPAIGN'84
lack judicial candidates
(C ontinuedfrom page I)
Robinson
(Continued fro m page I. column 4)
diversity to (he court system. I have
a commitment that goes beyond the
8 to 5 o f the courtroom. I believe in
going in to the com m unity and en­
couraging young people to pursue
the legal fie ld ."
(Continued fro m page I, column
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m a tta r Send address changes to the Portland Observer. . PO
Bo» 3137. Portland. Oregon 97208
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Brown
The Portland Observer w a s established in 1970
member
“Gender Gap” may defeat Reagan
court and most of the time are angry
w ith one an o ther. O ne is going to
leave the court angry with me. So, I
don't try to please anyone. I just do
what I think is fa ir.”
A ro u n d to w n , Judge B row n is
praised for his no-nonsense way o f
dealing with people: also, as a man
who puts on no airs. He can be seen
m oving am ong a ll social a ad
economic circles.
H e pulls no punches when a d ­
dressing the disproportionate num ­
ber o f Afro-Am ericans behind bars
"Blacks commit crimes; the types of
crimes where it is easy to get caught
...y o u break into someone’ s home
...y o u d o n ’ t know w ho you are
selling stolen goods to. You d o n 't
re a lly know w ho you are selling
drugs to and if you are a prostitute,
you don't know a cop from anyone
else. In Oregon, very few people go
dow n to the jo in t w ith o u t firs t
having an o p p o rtu n ity not to go
down there. Whether you are Black
or w h ite , w ho do you b la m e fo r
that?"
As fo r the v ic tim , " T h e y have
never gotten a fair chance. They are
try in g to do som ething a b o u t it
now. B ut, the system does all this
stuff for the crim inal and very little
fo r the v ic tim . I ’ m glad it is
changing and sitting on the bench.
I'm going to m ake sure th a t it
does.”
Diez
(Continued fro m page I, column 6j
atto rn eys w ho feel she operates
more on m other w it than ju d ic ia l
rules.
The criticism does not bother her.
At 66, she is confidently running for
another six-year term. On the bench,
she has witnessed the change in
American fam ily structure. " A n in­
creasing num ber o f children today
are being raised by a single mother
rather than a tw o-p aren t fa m ily . I
sec more and more young mothers
w ho are ch ild re n them selves,
needing the assistance of all kinds of
agencies to help them become good
parents."
S im u lta n e o u s ly , she has seen
young men not assum ing resp on ­
sibility like they used to.
" A number o f these men are not
m a rrie d to the w om en th at bore
th e ir c h ild . Even though they are
not making a lot o f money, they are
not sharing their income w ith that
mother and their child. I d o n ’ t un­
derstand w hy they d o n ’ t feel
obligated to support the ch ild ."
But Judge Detz is always positive.
She observed, " M o r e and m ore
m in o rity people see to it that they
get (heir education. A nd, there are
many, many wonderful families out
there. As a ju d g e, I o nly see one
side."
Her experience has led her to push
for an innovative way to deal with
the en tire ju d ic ia l process when it
comes to child abuse. " I t is difficult
to place crim inal blame on the per­
petrator, because the children are so
young it is impossible to put them
through the trauma o f testifying."
She advocates using video tapes
o f ch ild re n
explain ing
th eir
molestation with the aid o f sexually
e x p lic it d o lls . " I ' m ta lk in g to
lawyers and legislators to (encourage
(hem to) accept the idea o f setting
up video tapes in the courtroom so
these children’s stories can be to ld .”
Judge D e iz stopped short at
saying the perpetrators were cod­
dled by the criminal justice system.
" B u t there is a lo t o f plea
b a rg ain in g in this area. T h e em ­
phasis is on treatment of the grown­
up. T h e tra u m a su ffered by the
child goes on and o n ."
FOR THE SMILE
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