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/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 »V 4 Z • A