Page 2, Portland Observer, November 6, 1905,
Apartheid, fascism, and Reagan’s sanctions
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Along the ( olor I me by D r M an nmg
Purt One o f a Two-Part Series
Give the Mayor the power
to fire public employees
W hen the c ity ’s c o n tra ct with the P o rtla n d
Police U nion expires in 1987, city leaders (the
M ayor and C ity C ouncil m em bers) should
eliminate the clause in the contract that requires
binding arbitration when an officer is dismissed
from the Bureau.
This clause has resulted in the reinstatement ot
officers Richard A. Montee and Paul A. Wicker
sham by arbitrator Paul Hanlon after they were
fired by M ayor Bud C lark on the rec o m m e n ­
dation of Chief Penny H arrington. M ontee and
Wickersham are the two policemen who sold the
"IXiti’I Choke T in, Smoke T in " T-shirts.
M ayor C lark and C hief H a rrin g to n were
correct in firing the two officers. Both Clark and
Harrington are trying to control a Bureau that has
been running out o f control for several sears.
There are a num ber of individual officers on the
Bureau who are guilty of criminal acts and who
are guilty of racist behavior
Such behavior has resulted in the death and in­
juries of many Black citizens in Portland. In the
process creating racial tension between the police
and Portland Black citizens.
A local Black attorney said, "I am afraid to call
the police for assistance." I he law yer’s attitude
President Reagan's decision to im ­
pose lim ite d sanctions against South
A fric a Iasi m on th was a weak and o p ­
represents the sentim ent o f many P o rtlan d ers,
both white and Black. This reluctance by citizens
to get involved with the police is one of the reasons
for the high crime rate in Portland. Citizens who
have information concerning a crime don’t report
it because they are afraid to have contact with the
police. T he reason for this is residents living in the
Northeast part o f the city have been victimized
constantly by a group of officers who use their
badge as a shield to violate the civil rights o f
citizens.
It is the responsibility of the M ayor to assure
that all citizens are treated equally by public of­
ficials. M ayor C lark was doing this when he
dismissed the two officers who sold the T-shirts.
Removal of the two officers was in the city's best
interest; equally im portant, the M ayor was send­
ing a message that the city will not tolerate racist
behasiot in the Bureau.
W ithout this authority, the Police Bureau will
continue to be uncontrollable. I he result w ill be
deaths and injuries ot citizens, continuing bad
relations between the police and the com m unity,
high cim ie tales, and a drain ol cits finances in
legal lees and settlements.
Letters to the Editor
Police and truants
Zo zZic I ditor
P o lic e C h ie f P en ny H a r r in g to n
m ay be d o in g a g re a t service to
e d u c a tio n by her n e w ly a n no un ced
plans lo help sch o o ls e n lo rc e th e ir
policy o l preventive detention.
I lie ju v e n ile com e rale cle arly in ­
dícales d ia l schools are tailing lo keep
stu d e n ts o u t o f tro u b le liv e n in
sch o o ls w ith a m a x im u m se c u rity
o p e ra tio n th e re a lw a ys seem lo be
some teachers w h o gel so c a rrie d
awav w ith leaching they lose h a ck o l
Iru a n tlv in c lin e d siu d e n ls. th e n , o l
course, schools have h id e c o n tro l o l
w hat s iu d e n ls d o w ith th e ir la rge
am ount o l free lim e (there are lim its
to m andatory ho m ew ork) A n d even
die m ost rig o ro u s e x tra d e te n tio n
program lo t truancy is o l little use it
no one m akes the s iu d e n ls com e lo
school io la ke the ir p u n ish m e n t fo r
absenteeism.
I know fro m personal experience in
s u b s titu te le a c h in g a l the J u v e n ile
D e lin q u e n t H o m e lh a i inm ates w ho
aie allow ed out o t iheu cells lo r the
pi is ilege o l atten din g class lend lo be
b e lte r m o tiv a te d th a n d ie m any
siu de nls w ho consider schools lo b e
prisons and their classroom a cell
th e re is p ro b a b ly n o th in g lik e a
hide police in tim id a tio n or threatened
incarceration to make students respect
the law
and a p p re c ia te g o o d
cxluc at ion.
th e re may be a lew m in o r
pro b le m s and perhaps even a m a jo r
one in overtaxing police and detention
facilities.
Since no pro gra m is perfect, it w ill
be p ro fita b le to b rin g in o u tsid e ex
p e ris to stud y such d u n g s as un
necessary in frin g e m e n t o f in d iv id u a l
rig hts, unm anageable o ve rcro w d in g
o l facilities, the ra tio ot m onitory pet
sonnet to inm ate p o p u la tio n , and die
rale o f recidivism .
Since siudenls w ill still have tai lo o
much tree lim e outside o l class o i i.iil,
it w ill be necessary lo set up special
program s to deal w ith recidivists
Such p ro g ra m s m ay seem ra th e r
cosily, b i ll it m uvl always be remem
bered lh a l the cost to society o l not
dealing w ith educational problem s m
an enlightened way w ill ultim ately be
tar greater
Surelv we can com e up w ith some
in no vative fun d raising such as com
p u ls o ry lo ite r s p a r tic ip a tio n or a
super unsales las on e v e tv lh in g and
everybody
p o rtu n is tic m aneuver to u n d e rm in e
the a n ti-a p a rth e id m ovem ent abroad
and m the U nited Slates.
Reagan's Executive O rder p ro h ib it
ed U.S. loans to the apartheid govern­
ment, the sale ot computers lo the null
tarv. police, and other “ apartheid en­
forcin g agencies," and established an
a d v is o ry c o m m itte e " t o p ro v id e
recommendations to encourage peace­
fu l change in S o u th A f r i c a . " In a
rh e to ric a l flo u r is h , Reagan added a
lew sentences o f stern condem nation
against the reg im e w h ic h lie had
staunchly defended previously " T h e
system o l apartheid means deliberate,
system atic, in s titu tio n a liz e d , racial
discrim in a tio n denying the Black ma
jo n ty their G od given rights,” Reagan
asserted. " W c believe i t ’s w rong We
condemn it A n d we're united ill hop
mg lo r (he day when a p a rth e id w ill
be no m o re ."
I ess than tw o weeks later, a coali
lio n o f 10 U.S co rp o ra tio n s w ith ex­
tensive in vestm en ts in South A fr ic a
buttressed the President's hasty sane
lio n s I he new ly de veloped " I S
< orp ora te ( o n n cil on South A f r ic a "
is kxl by W Michael Hluementhal, the
fo rm e r 1 reasury Secretary and head
o l the B u rro u g h s C o rp o ra tio n , and
G en ei.il M o to rs ( ha irm a n Roger H
S m ith Ih e c o u n c il intends io lobby
fo r gra d u a l change in the a p a rth e id
system , w o rk in g closely w ith S outh
A fr ic a p riv a te sector leaders O ther
corporate participants include M o b il,
Legal Aid Service
< allex Petroleum, IB M . .m il C iticorp
I o I he I dllor,
N e ithe r R eag an's cosm e tic sane
lions nor the creation o l the corporate
anti a p arthe id g ro u p were viewed as
credible responses to the crisis inside
As a siudeni in ie in lo r M ultn om a h
( ountv I egal A id Service I have come
i i l l o co n l.icI w iih a service k n o w n as
die Senior I aw P ro je ct I he lawyers
involved ill die project are p rivate al
lorneys w ho graciously volunteer their
lim e and services lo seniors w ho need
legal assistance but d o n 't know where
10 lu rn . I In Senior I aw Project s ta ll
is com m itted lo providing quality legal
serv ice’s It* die elder Iv
Il is lo r lu u a te ilia , M u ltn o m a h
C o un ty is able lo o tte r such a service
to die elderly w ho have few apparent
a lte rn a tiv e s , the p ro je c t o ffe rs free
halt hour co n su lta tio n s, bv a p p o in t
in c u t, w ith a volunteer a llo rn e v and
c o n tin u e d services are a v a ila b le lo
those w h o meet die e lig ib ility guide
lines I liese attorneys are available at
lo c a tio n s th ro u g h o u t M u ltn o m a h
( ountv and o tte r seniors an alterna
arable
South A fric a . U.S. C iv il Rights C o m ­
missioner M a ry Berry Spoke fo r m il
lions o f Black A m ericans by o b serv­
ing: “ Instead o f standing on the side o f
justice, Reagan has chosen to issue a
fig le a f. a smokescreen behind w hich
the d ir ty business o f a p a rth e id can
c o n tin u e ." T he leader o f n a tio n a l
a n ti-a p a rth e id protests, T ra n sa frica
Executive D irector Randall Robinson,
no ted, " I he S ou th A fric a n govern
merit w ill be pleased, no d o u b t, that
President Reagan rem ains a de fa c to
ally o f that vicious re g im e ." A n d in
Response to the new corp ora te im tia
live s, Je n n ife r D a v is , exe cutive d i
rector o f the Am erican C om m ittee on
A fric a , declared that "th e re isn 't any
lim e le ft fo r them lo carry out the ir
vers carefully paced program s o l lob
hying lo r reform Il's lim e for them to
leave, to cut the connections that bol
sler the system.''
P olitica lly, both the Reagan adm in
istra tio n and U S m u ltin a tio n a l cor
p>»rations were pressured to take mea
sures which they found distasteful yet
necessary Hundreds o f na tion al p ro
tests agamt ap arthe id, pa rticu la rly on
college cam puses th is year, were a
c o n trib u tin g (a c to r. In the firs t six
m o n th s o l I9 H V , lo r e xa m p le , U .S
universities voted to sell $57 m illio n in
South A frican stocks. O hio Slate U n i­
versity alone sold $3.3 m illio n in c o r ­
p o ra te sto cks, a n d w ill d ive st a n ­
other $’ x m illio n bv 1 99 0 . the Dem o­
crats successfully turned the sanctions
issue in to a m a jo r p o litic a l w eapon
against Reagan's Republicans. D uring
the recent Senate de bate on S o u th
A frica, h a lf o f Ihe Black members o f
the House o f Representatives walked
on to the Senate B oor in protest. Ih e
( o n g rc s s io n .il B la ck I aucus c h a i,
m an, M icke v I e la n d o l le x a s , d e ­
cla re d , " I he issue has becom e so
p ro m in e n t am ong B lack A m ericans
lliat it w ill become a standard lo fudge
c a n d id a te s " in the I9H6 e le ctio n s.
I iberal Dem ocratic Senator le d Ken­
nedy also warned " I h e R epublican
Party
must decide whether it want*
to be the party o f I mcoln ot the parry
o l a p arthe id."
W liat tew critics discussed were the
underlying assumptions made bv Rea­
gan co n ce rn in g the precise p o litic a l
c h a ra c te r o l the a p a rth e id re g im e .
Most Americans perceive South A ttica
as a version o f the I S South prior to
the civil rights movement o l tile I95(X
and I960-,
a " J im ( r o w ," racially
segregated scxiety which maintains the
basic characteristics o l other \ \ estern
democracies Reagan him sell declared
on Sept 9 “ S ou th A fr ic a is n o t a
totalitarian society I here is a vigoioas
opposition press And every day we see
exam ples o l o u ts p o k e n p ro te st and
access to ihe in te rn a tio n a l media that
w ould never be possible in many parts
o l A fric a , o r in the Soviet U n io n ."
A partheid cannot be understood as
a distorted dem ocracy, or even as an
oppressive scxiety in which rigid racial
segregation dictates domestic policies
S o u th A fr ic a n a n th ro p o lo g is t Her
nard M aqubane notes “ A p a rth e id is
more than mere racial discrim ination
It is a strict ideology o l white suprema
cy, racial oppression, and exploitation,
whose logical extremity
genocide
is tem pered by the need fo r A fric a n
la b o r." A p a rth e id is a type o l fascist
society, a to ta lita r ia n state in w h ich
social controls are pervasive — in labor
relatio ns, ed uca tion , health services,
the c rim in a l justice system, and in all
facets o l daily hie
Dr. Manning M arable leaches p o ­
litical sociology at Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York.
EDITORI AL/COMMENTARY
falwellanp his IMMORAL MINORITY
III
live lo costly legal assistance while re
lam ing qu ality legal personnel I Im il
11 iin to itu n a ie dial more seniors do not
know about and lake advantage o l die
lux' legal seivices ottered bv die Semoi
I aw P to itx l
John /o b e l
( ,ene I ehrnan
Healthwatch
jr - w
« i/ » '« ') * v
bv Steven Hailev N. D
Back pain: a common complaint these days
Hack pain is one o l die m ore com
m on c o m p la in ts in to d a y 's society
I here are a nu m b e r o f fa c to rs th a t
co n trib u te lo this occurrence , w hich
in c lu d e p o o r m u s c u la tu re (n o e x e r­
cise ), tra u m a (a u to a c c id e n t), m i
p ro p e r I d lin g te c h n iq u e s , stress,
s u b lu x a tio n (m a l p o s itio n o t the
spine), sports in ju ry and a n a to m ica l
anomalies
bile there .lie num erous
causes and fa cto rs in v o lv e d in back
p ro b le m s , the s y m p to m s o fte n in
elud e s tilln e s s , lim ite d m o tio n ,
headaches and ir r i t a b il it y O th e r
s y m p to m s such as nu m bn ess in
lin g e rs , severe s h o o tin g p a in s ,
digestive disturbances, knee and ankle
ir r i t a t i o n , are asso cia te d w ith par
tic u la r regions and o r c o n d itio n s o f
die spine
I he spine consists o f fo u r regions
the cervial (neck), thoracic (rib cage),
lu n ib a i (low b a c k ), and sacral ( ta il
bone, hips) 1 here are norm ally seven
cervical vertebrae, 12 th o ra c ic , five
lu m b a r and a sin g le (used sacru m
I ach vertebrae is separated bv a ver
lebral disc w hich fun ctions m uch like
a shock absorber lo d is trib u te forces
th ro u g h o u t the spine S u rro u n d in g
die vertebrae are ligam ents w hich act
like a g ird le lo ho ld die vertebrae hi
pro|vei o rie n ta tio n w illi one another
f i n a l l y , m uscles c o n n e c t each ver
teb ra e a n d e x te n d th r o u g h o u t the
spine to assist movement
W h e n v e rte b ra e becom e m al
po sitio ned relative to then ad |om m g
s tru c tu re s , a v a rie ty o l th in g s may
happen I lis t the g ird le (lig a m e n ts)
stretches, and the muscles are called
in to a sup po rtive role W hen muscles
are con stantly tense to ho ld the ver
tebrae in place, c ircu la tio n is im paired
and they often become sore and s tilt
As the mal position lingers ot worsens
we may get local m lla iiia iio n , w hich
mas lead to the shooting pains dow n
the leg (sciatica), numbness m lingers
and a sanely o l other problem s
W h ile m in o r back problem s o fte n
resolve on th e ir o w n , m any pe op le
sutler fro m chronic or recurrent back
p ro b le m s P am m e d ic a tio n s max
d im in is h the sym p to m s, but Ihev do
not s tr u c tu r a lly c o rre c t a m al
p o s itio n e d spine l o r e p o s itio n a
m in o r s u b lu x a tio n , the serv ices o l a
D O ( D o c to r o t O s te o p a th y ). D (
( D o c to r o f C h ir o p r a c t ic ) , o r N D
(N aturopathic D o c to r) mas be useful
Other things, such as heat (not in the
fir s t 24 h o u rs o l a cu te in ju t y ) ,
m assage, re st, stress m a n a g e m e n t,
and stretching exercises, max help the
ir r ita te d bac k In acu te c o n d itio n s
exercise should be approached slowly
and care fu lly, since stretching may ac
tually worsen the in flu m a tio n I w ill
devote a fu tu re article to specific exer
uses to help back problems.
N o t a ll back p a in is associated
solelv w ith s u b lu x a tio n , and oc
ca sio n a lly m ay be a sign o f a m ore
serious c o n d itio n W ith chronic con
ditions it is wise lo seek a confirm ative
diagnosis fro m a q u a lifie d physician
I ho ug h m any d o c to rs suggest pain
m ed ica tions and rest as the prim a ry
treatment tor back conditions, I have
seen many people w ho do not respond
to the a b o ve p ro g ra m . P h ysica l
th e ra p y ,
s p in a l
m a n ip u la tio n ,
n u t r itio n a l a n d e xe rcise p ro g ra m s
may o fte n s h o rte n the d u r a tio n ot
illness and a ffo rd a pain free existen
ce II vou have a long term com plaint
oi recent back in ju ry and are seeing
litt le im p ro v e m e n t, seek a second
o p in io n , esp e cia lly fr o m a D . l .,
N I ) . or D (>
PORTL4ND OBSERNER
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