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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 1985)
Page 4, Portland ObMrver, May 22, 1966 EDITORIAL/OPINION McCoy: Listen to the voters continues to avoid and fight independent health and environmental studies, the concern and call for action is being compromised by politicians. Let’s assist M cCoy in rectifying his mistake. We understand sthe pressure a large corporation such as Teledyne Wah Chang or its supporters can level on a politician, and it's easy for McCoy to become isolated since he visits his constitu ency infrequently. W rite M cCoy and urge him to vote positively in the wishes o f those who voteo ‘ Yes’ on ballot Measure 9. I f not, the ef forts o f Ballot Measure 9 would have to be re peated. Voters in District 2 deserve a much more pro gressive representation since McCoy survived the 1984 primary on the increase in voter turn out due to the presidential campaign o f Jesse Jackson. The wishes o f our district should no, be com promised or ignored. Urge McCoy to reconsider his vote on SB624: Senator W illiam McCoy State Capitol Building, Rm. S-209 Salem, Oregon 97304 The community deserves an explanation from State Senator Bill McCoy as to why he voted down Senate Bill 624 and 625 which would have closed a loophole preventing Teledyne Wah Chang from dumping radioactive waste on the floodplain o f the Willamette River. The rhyme and reason for Ballot Measure 9, which passed by 62 percent in Multnomah County, placed strict requirements on the dis posal o f radioactive waste. Senate Bill 624 re inforced it and M cCoy and other State Senators ignored it. Three weeks ago, the State Senate had an op portunity to close this loophole. A tie occurred and in the event o f a tie the bill fails and SB624 takes a dive, along with the wishes o f the m ajor ity in District 2. M cCoy’s vote was decisive in side-stepping the grassroot call for restraint and reason when it comes to the disposal o f radio active waste. While the Oregon Energy and Facility Siting Council wastes time arguing about how radio active waste is, and as Teledyne Wah Chang The Church o f Scientology is converging on Portland to protest a $39 million verdict by a Multnomah County jury. The Street Beat team asked, “ Did you feel the verdict awarded las, week was excessive?” Street Beat by Lam,a Duke and Richard J Brown NfckiWWto Bookka The money award is too much. You don't get that much when you kill someone." Craifl W M m Unemployed Danny Oabome M ukden "They charged up the church on just one case. It sounds as if the judgment was way o ff." "Seems like the verdict was right, but I question (he $39 m illion judgment.’ ’ ITS A REAGAN APVANCE 7FAM... HE WANTS TO MAKE AN OFFICIAL VISIT TO PATCH UP RELAT/OHS, Apartheid: Black responsibility A long I he C o lo r Line by Dr. M anning M arable Two weeks ago. hundreds o f thou sands o f students seized administra tion buildings, boycotted classes and held rallies demanding ihai their uni versities hall investments in corpora tions doing business in South Africa. At the University o f Wisconsin at Madison, several hundred protestors occupied a conference center at the State Capitol; A t the University o f California at l.os Angeles, ai leasi 200 protestors look over a campus build ing, following a demonstration o f 2,(XX) students. Rallies and protests occurerd at over 75 campuses nation wide. At my own university, about 400 students met on our campus yard to protest investments in South Africa Subsequently students marched to the main administration buiding and spontané«,usly conducted a sit-in which lasted several days. Anii- apartheid faculty held lectures and discussions on the moral, political and economic reasons justifying total divestment Some Black students were in the leadership o f these protests, hut the majority simply disappeared. Had they been studying for exams, which are si ill three weeks away, there mighi have been a valid excuse for inactiv ity. But some were clearly alraid to "gel involved"; others d idn’t under stand "w hat apartheid was"; and still others, a tiny m inority openly supported U.S. investments inside apartheid. This incident, albeit insignificant in the general trend o f anti-apartheid struggles, raised for me several con cerns. We may jx»ini to reams o f statistics which illustrate that co lieges which have divested hase not suffered; we may cite evidence that virtually every legitimate trade union, religious and jx,lineal leader o f Black South Africa favors sanctions agains the regime; we may even repeat, fo r the thousandth time, the cases where U.S. firms have provided technical and material support to the mecha nisms o f violence which maim and murder African people. But we can not mobilize effectively to aid in the liberation o f South A frica so long as Black Americans themselves are con fused, divided and disoriented about our stake in the worldwide struggle against racism. T im , many Afro-Am erican yinith have not been educated or motivated to comprehend the direct connection between racial oppression in South A frica with the Reaganite racism in side the U.S. Defenders o f the status quo may say that agitation has no place inside educational institutions. But education without a social con science and a political orientation is no education at all. Students involved in ihe "s it-in ” movement aertns the South a quarter century ago learned more about racism and politics than in any course on contemporary gov ernment. A il education for Blacks which provides technical abilities without a sense o f racial heritage and political commitment creates a gener ation o f Clarence Pendletons. Bui perhaps the larger quest!«,n is whether we can expect the battle against racial inequality to include all Black people. Some Blacks, fo r vari ous reasons, clearly identify with systems o f exploitation. A few have even convinced themselves that fu n damental, denKxratic change isn’t possible in the short run, hence ac commodation is now the name o f the game. Given the growth o f the "B lack Anglo-Saxons" in corp«,rate circles and effective offices since the late 1960s, we can anticipate even more defections from the ranks o f the civil rights movement; Blacks who pay lip-service to racial justice but whose actions demonstrate a commitment to aparttieid and Reagamsm. Our struggle along the color line must include all people — including many whiles — who have acted in concert with us lo destroy apartheid, poverty, and social injustice. Reform and democracy .11 require a broad coal ii ion o f progressive forces. But we cannot expect all Alro-Americans to rally for divestment, affirm ative ac tion, or for fu ll employment, in an environment which rewards capitula tion and subservience. As thousands o f white students illustrated Iasi month, the fight to abolish racism is not fundamentally a black-while a ,n flic t. Nor are our opjx,nents solely while. Dr. Manning Marable teaches po litical sociology at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York. "A long the Color L in e " appears in over HO news papers internationally. Letters to the Editor The Observer welcomes letters lo the e d ito r Letters sh o u ld be typed or neatly printed and signed with the a u th o r's name and address la d dresses are n o t p u b lis h e d / We re serve the right to edit fo r length. M ail to : P o rtla n d Observer, P. O. Pox 3137, Portland. OP 972OH Cert Sm ith Musician To the Editor, "1 don't think it ’s a free dom o f religion issue. They frauded that woman. I think they’ll appeal that $39 m illion verdict and it will come down." Sandy Korpenfeh Bartender Rebel Owings Housewife " , don't know the issue but the cash award did seem c sees aw. Makes me wonder how far people can go.” "T he verdict might be cor rect, but the money judgment was outrageous.’ ’ P O R T M N D OBSERVER I So far. 12 P«,rtland Police officers have been "reprim anded" f«,r buying T-shirts that said, " D o n 't ch ke 'em. smoke 'e m ." As reported by The Oregonian, their names cannot he re leased, because the agreement the Police Bureau has with the union representing the officers prevents it. What kind o f trust is that supptwed to inspire? I believe the names should be published for the whole city io see, so the residents o l Portland w ill know who these officers are. Their pur chase o f these T-shirts exposes a racist mentality, and not exposing their names hides them from the reaction they rightly deserve from the Black commumiy. Are Black residents o f Portland supp«>scd to live in fear, not knowing i f the officer standing in from o f ihem is a racist or not? One o f the officers inv«,lvcd in the ileath o f M r. Stevenson was involved in the ojxnsum incident a few years ago. I ’m sure he was “ reprimanded,” too. Sec where he ended up? Repri mands in the file arc worthless. On the other hand, s«, was the whole in quest process, so what’s new? The in quest was mainly a public coroner’s rept,rt, deciding who died, when and how. We knew that already! A ll the inquest turned out to he was a gigantic public relations gesture toward the Black community. The Black resi dents in this town are angry and scared, and should be. Attempts by the authorities to calm things down and gloss things over should be seen f«x what they are: attempts by ner- v«>us public officials trying to main tain p«,wer. I am white, but not one o f those whiles who deny racism in P«,rtland because they have never experienced it firsthand. That's sticking one’s head in (he sand. T ru th fu lly, isn’t that really what the auth«,rities want us to do — trust them totally and stick our heads in the sand? Well, we’ re not going to behave exactly the way they want us to anymore. 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