Page 2, Portland Observer, September 25, 1986
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Accountability will change police attitudes
Recently the Portland Police Bureau announ
ced it w ill offer a “ mandatory” eight-hour cross-
cultural communications course for C ity police.
This p ro gram was developed by the Cross-
Cultural Communications Committee appointed
by C h ie f Penny H a rrin g to n a fter police killed
L loyd I). Stevenson, a Black man, on A p ril 31
under confusing circumstances.
We agree that officers on the Bureau should
have c u ltu ra l awareness training, but we doubt
that the eight-hour course will have any changing
effect on the attitudes o f many officers in the
Department. Nor w ill the course prevent future
killings, harassment, and b ru ta lity o f innocent
Black Portlanders by those officers on the Bureau
who engage in such criminal activities.
The reason for this pessimistic view is based on
the w ords o f the police themselves when the
Oregonian surveyed 220 officers in July o f 1985.
The survey asked tw o questions which were
related to police and m inority relations. The first
question was “ D o you th in k the Departm ent
should offer training to increase the racial sensiti
vity o f officers?" The second question was “ How
well-prepared do you think the typical Portland
Police Bureau is fo r dealing w ith individuals o f
different races and cultures?" O f the officers sur
veyed, 81 percent said they were either w ell-
prepared or very well-prepared in dealing with in
dividuals o f different races and cultures.
In other words, many officers in the Depar
tment are u nw illing to recognize that problems
exist between them and m inority citizens o f Por
tland, despite the constant occurrence o f charges
o f police brutality and police racism by members
o f the com m unity which incudes the killings o f
tw o innocent Blacks, L loyd D. Stevenson and
Alberta Tate.
W ith such an arrogant attitude by large num
bers o f police officers regarding the treatment o f
citizens, "accountability" must be used as a tool
in changing the attitude o f the officers. By ac
countability, we mean those officers who are in
volved in criminal activities and acts o f racism arc-
made accountable for their misconduct by means
o f prosecution or dismissal fro m the Bureau.
Then, and only then, w ill those officers who are
g u ilty o f c rim in a l or unprofessional behavior
possibly change the ir “ su periority a ttitu d e .”
However, in order for this to occur, the District
A ttorney’s office and police administrators must
show a willingness to prosecute and discipline o f
ficers involved in such acts. By doing so, the
chance o f incidents such as the T-shirt epidose, the
killings o f Lloyd D. Stevenson and Alberta l ate,
and the oppossum incident are less likely to occur.
5 ON SOUTH AFRICA
South African Action Alert
In light o f recent events su rro u n
ding S outh A fric a , now is a very
critical tune for us to act together and
take a stand against apartheid. The
S outh
A fric a n
g o ve rn m e n t’ s
declaration o f a Slate o f Emergency
under w hich increasing num ber o f
people are being arrested, detained
and to rtu re d makes this a tim e fo r
united protest.
P O S A I is an um brella group fo r
several an ti a p a rth e id and peace
groups in the Portland area We are
committed to supporting the struggle
w ith in S outhern A fric a fo r self-
determination o f peoples o f color and
an end to the apartheid system. O ur
e ffo rts arc aim ed at educating O r-
gonians about the c o n d itio n s in
Southern A fric a , oppression o f the
Black m a jo rity population, links bet
ween racism in the U.S. and in South
A fric a and the econom ic respon
sibilities o f the U.S. and to activating
Americans to ssork in solidarity with
movements fo r liberation in that part
o f the world. POSAF recognizes that
there is a link between the struggle o f
Blacks in Southern A fric a and the
struggle o f blacks in the U.S. for self
d e te rm in a tio n . P a rtic ip a tio n in
P()SAF is open to anyone who shares
our commitment to these goals.
POSAE has organized protests fo r
cing the resignation last w in te r o f
C a lvin Van P elt, S outh A fr ic a ’ s
honorary consul in Portland, and has
supported divestment legislation. It
recently te m p o ra rily prevented the
unloading o f South A frica n cargo at
the Port o f Vancouver, and is curren
tly conducting weekly actions in front
of Columbia Coin, a prominent seller
o l the k ru g e rra n d (S outh A fr ic a ’ s
one-ounce gold coin)
On October llt h a n d 12th, locally
coordinated protest actions against
South A frica 's apartheid regime w ill
lake place in cities and on campuses
across the c o u n try These n a tio n a l
protesi days were in itia te d by the
American Committee on A fric a and
student anti-apartheid groups from 17
campuses. Besause o f the d ra m a tic
esents in South Africa o f the last two
months, these national protest days
have the p o te n tia l to be very broad
and very large.
In Portland, POSAE is initiating a
mass demonstration on Saturday, Oc
tober 12th at J 2 noon. It w ill begin at
le rrv Schrunk Plaza, S W Madison
and 3rd and march th ro u g h d o w n
town Portland, returning to Schrunk
Plaza fo r a ra lly . The m arch is
scheduled at a tim e when campus
groups, co m m u n ity o rganizations,
la b o r u n io ns, peace and w om en's
groups call participate.
W e urge you to participate and to
encourage you to become a supporter
o f this im p o rta n t d e m o n stra tio n o f
concern fo r the people o f South
Africa.
Healthwatch
Letters
bv Steven Hailey N. D.
To the Editor:
October 1 is W orld Vegetarian Day
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
Message to Senate:
"hold fast to sanctions
Meese should resign!
by Joseph E. l.owerv
by John E. Jacob
President Reagan's proposals are too little , too late.
They ignore the gravity o f the crisis in South Africa and in
sult the intent o f Congress to send a definite message o f
hope to the oppressed and o f re p u d ia tio n to the o p
pressors
M r. Reagan's proposals are vague, in d e fin ite and
represent an attempt to take the sting out o f Congressional
action.
I urge the Senate to pass the legislation before it W'e
need sanctions w ritten into law, since executive orders by
the President could be rescinded as abruptly as they were
issued.
t he Reagan proposals want to study the banning o f the
Kruggcrand. the Act bans the coin which pours millions o f
d o lla rs in to the B otha governm ent a n n u a lly . Reagan
speaks o f some vague increases in scholarship aid while the
Act specifies $24 m illion
M r. Reagan w ould send a muted whisper o f maybe,
while w h a t’ s needed is a strong p ro clam ation o f N O to
aparheid.
II is indeed ironic that the President declares an intent to
enforce fair employment practices in American companies
o p e ra tin g in S outh A fric a w hile his a d m in is tra tio n is
engaged in the most vicious assault on affirm ative action
in this country in our history.
W'e w ill conduct prayer vigils at Federal offices across
'he nation urging the Seriate to pass the anti apartheid act
and override a presidential veto if necessary
A tto rn e y General Edw in Meese should resign It Ins
resignation is not forthcom ing. Congress should take the
lead in asking for his resignation.
As the n a tio n 's c h ie f law enforcem ent o ffic e r, Mr
Meese has made it very clear that he is incapable o f ren
dering his duties as they relate to affirm ative action And
his Dickinson College speech, comparing supporters ot at
firm ativc action to apologists lo r slavery, demonstrates he
lacks the sensitivity and the capacity to make the moral
and legal distinctions required by his office.
M r. Meese misleads the public by labeling a ffirm a tive
action goals as quotas, even though affirm ative action has
been supported—even mandated— by the federal courts
and implemented by the business community He persists
in th in kin g that a ffirm a tiv e action is compensation for
past d iscrim ination when it is one effective remedy for
present econom ic disadvantage, ra cia l is o la tio n , and
secondary social status.
His departure from office would help restore the Ad
ministration's shattered credibility in racial and law enfor
cement issues.
I his com ing I uesday has been
designated by the International Vege
ta ria n I nion as W o rld Vegetarian
Day I lie entire m onth ot O ctober
has been proclaimed to be Reverance
lor I lie Month
II is no coincidence that O ctober
2nd is the birthday ol one ol the best
know n vegetarians, M ohandas k
G a n d h i to G a n d h i (the same man
who began to lig h t S outh A fric a n
separatist policies in 1893), as ex-
piessed il l his book The M oral Hasis
o f I eitetarianism . the reverence tor
anim als
is essential
in
any
humanitarian or spiritual movement
O m society has become in-
cieasmglv aware ol the detriments of
a high meat diet, and fro m a health
standpoint many people aie choosing
to restrict then meat intake Diet fo r a
Small P lanet led many people to
recognize how energy intensive meat
p ro d u c tio n is, and how high meat
co n su m p tio n u ltím a te le leads to
world hunger
W h ile vegetarianism is a personal
c h o ic e and therefore tails on each in
d iv id u a l's shoulders and value
system, I hope that we can take the
tune to participate in a meatless day
tins I uesd.iv I have included a sain
pie vegetarian diet to r those in
ter esled
Breakfast
Granola in apple juice
Fruit, raisins optional
/ unch
Salad (spinich, dark lettuce,
mushrooms, sunflower seeds
and other vegetables of choice;
oil/vinegar garlic dressing)
Soup (tomato, lentil,
split pea, etc.)
Dinner
Stir fry vegetables
over riee or millet
(veggies might include mushrooms,
zucchini, carrots, celery,
tomatoes, tofu;
fried in olive oil and garlic)
O vo la cto vegetarians (egg and
m ilk) might use some renetless cheese
over the veggies and m ight include
bread sandwiches in the meals.
Dairy less bread is available in health
food stores
Next week I w ill write on another
diet practice o l G andhi, (. hrist and
others the art ot I asling W hen done
properly a last can be sale and help
lul
I would like to level a complaint at
Nathaniel Scott, for the way he took
one o f my comments out o f context in
the September 18, Observer article on
the media coverage o f m in o ritie s
panel.
What I actually said was that there
are stupid, incompetent w hite jo u r
nalists who manage to slay employed
in media. A t the same time the "la ck
of qualified candidates" persists as an
excuse m an industry that has actually
lost ground (compared to the early to
m id seventies) in the realm o f
minority hiring.
I w ould p re le r that everyone
w ritin g or re p o rtin g fo r news
o rg a n iza tio n s have at least some
serious m u lti c u ltu ra l education as
well as training in journalism , but an
obvious double standard exists. M r.
Scott's reporting to some degree belies
my argument.
I might add that at no time did I say
or suggest that my presence o r my
comments had anything to do w ith
mv jo b W hat M r Scott did was to
quote me out o l context in a manner
suggesting that I was in d u lg in g in
thoughtless d e risio n o f an en tire
group ot people. I suggest that either
M r. Scott or his editor sacrificed in
formation for sensationalism.
■IrZ/twr.S. -l/<’uzrrr/<r
I* S Mv apologies m not presenting
the home b n tfi a rticle bv the local
mid wile It will still appeal at a later
date.
John E. Jacob is the President o f the N ational Urban
Ieayue
Joseph E. Low ery tv President o f the Southern Christian
leadership Conferente.
Portland Observer
•>l M M '
Th« Portland (thirrvrr
IUSPS 9 » 680) *
"If you w ere a Salvadoran civilian, you d be dead"!"
was the message conveyed as dem onstrators drop
pad w h ite paper bom bs from the Burnside Bridge
last Saturday aftern oo n in support of the National
Campaign to Stop the Bombing in El Salvador
Thursday by h * P u M e h n g Company kx
1463 N E R
worth Portland O a g o n 97211, Po*l Office Bo« 3137 Portland
Oregon 97708 Second eia*» po«taga
at Port land Oregon
The Poriivnd O ò tm r was aatabfcatad m 1970
are » o n « *
C Aw rwMiA-M. « • . / *
'* *
MEMBER
h to c u h o n ■ founded T M 3
Suhw nphon* »IS on |KW
«V the In County
Post
m a tte r Sand td d n w t t hengae to lha Portland O tte n e r. P O
288 0033
Bo» 3137 Portland. Oregon 97208
■Utreti I Henderson, E d ito r/P u b lish e r
A ! Williams, General Manager
N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g R e p re s e n ta tiv e
A m a lg a m a te d Pub lisher» Inc
N e w York
Local o rg anizers of th e M a rc h , w h ic h p roceeded
from the Burnside Bridge to A rtquake in the South
Park B lo c k s , in c lu d e d th e P o rtla n d C e n tra l
A m erican S olid arity C o m m itte e and the Portland
chapter of the National Pledge of Resistance
The purpose of the march and m ock bom bing was
to draw attention to the $483 million and helicopter
gunships being sent to El Salvador by the U S for
use by the governm ent in its bombing raids on the
rebels w h ich have killed m an y civilians N a p a lm ,
fra g m e n ta tio n b o m b s , and w h ite p ho sp h orus
rockets are all being used
The protest demands include stop the bombing in El
Salvador, renew the dialog between the governm ent
of El S alvador and the FM LN FDR leadership and
stop U S aid to the governm ent of El Salvador
9
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