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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