Page 8, Portland O bserver, D ecem ber30 1987
Speak Out
The Other Story
Health Watch
happened, the woman remains
by Steven Bailey, N.D.
Last week, in an article entitled,
faceless
and
nameless.
Why?
One
'J o e
Holcomb
Remembered,"
can only speculate. On ihe street,
I wrote of the grief, anger and tra­
there is talk that maybe she doesn't
gedy that was expressed by the
exist at all.
approximately 200 persons who
When discussing the transmission of AIDS, or how we get AIDS, it is
To the friends, family and rela­
gathered to pay their last respects
helpful to revisit the "germ theory". The "germ theory", credited to Louis
tives of Joe Holcomb, he was a
to Joseph Scott Holcomb.
Hol­
Pasteur, states that infection consists of: (1) an opportunistic organism;
hero. But there are those who feel
comb, 27, was killed December 12
(2)
a route of transmission; and (3) a succeptible host.
that Holcomb was just an unfor­
at the MEtS Coin-Op Launderette at
AIDS is consistent with the "germ theory". The organism is a virus now „
tunate victim of circumstance.
4236 N. Mississippi.
called the HIV or AIDS virus. The route of transmission is agreed upon by .
A Black man, who asked that his
Media reports, including my own,
the scientific communtiy as being fluid exchange from an infected person to
name
not be used, said, Man, this
gave similar descriptions of the
an uninfected host. The "succeptible host" portion of the AIDS conditio
racial thing is thick down here. You
meeting and the five-block silent
is the least clear area of current understanding of AIDS
....
see, what we need to look at are the
march. At such an intense, emo­
The
AIDS
Virus
things that happened before Hol­
tionally charged gathering, it is
The AIDS virus has been identified, yet we already have isolated at least ,
comb was shot. Here is this good
mandatory that journalists attempt
18 different HIV viruses. Not only are there a wide variety of these viruses •
citizen,
a
white
man,
who
looks
out
to paint an accurate picture of the
(all capable of initiating AIDS), but the virus is capable of continual change.-
his window and sees what he thinks
proceedings, the environment and
The multiplicity of organisms and frequent mutations of the virus is the red- •
is
harassment.
So,
he
runs
out
of
expressed personal feelings of the
son orthodox medicine no longer predicts an early vaccination program fo r^
the
place
where
he
worked
and
con­
people involved.
The "Joe Hoi
the condition (as we were promised in the early part of 1984).
fronts
a
Black
man.
At
that
point,
Janice Woods
comb" article attempted to do just
Route of Transmission
(
everything
turns
black
n
white.
Medications Nuise
that.
The AIDS virus is spread only through the exchange of bodily fluids?
His
intentions
might
have
been
The first reports of the shooting
No . . • because of all the Rea-
good, but all I saw and all that the
Like serum hepatitis, you cannot get AIDS from casual contact such a
alleged
that Holcomb was shot
ganism politics that are affecting
other Black people saw was a white
hugging, shaking hands, etc. You can get the AIDS virus from four specific
while
attempting
to
aid
a
woman
everyone. That is what I am hearing
man chasing a Black man.
No
who was being harassed by two
routes:
,
. .
from most people — on the bus,
matter what his reasons, that was
(1) Sexual Transmission: to date, the number one cause of transmission,N
Black
men
near
the
Coin-Op
Laun­
my friends — everywhere I go. My
the picture that was created. When
(2) Sharing a hypodermic needle with an infected person,
derette at N. Mississippi Avenue.
son, who is 18 years old, just regi­
those kinds of pictures are created,
(3) Iatrogenic: blook transfusions, primarily pre 1984, as we currently-,
This
information
hit
the
newspapers
stered to vote, and he has been
it splits people right down the mid­
do a much better job of screening donors. The role of pooled contamina
and electronic media like a bomb.
complaining about Reaganism. He
dle.
What
do
you
think
white
peo­
tion of vaccinations and/or immunoglobulin supplies remains a potential
Unfortunately, it was the only infor­
says he will vote for Gary Hart. I'm
ple
would
have
thought
if
the
situa­
mation available to journalists at the
source of the virus; and
enthusiastic because my sons will
tion would have been in reverse and
!4) Intra uterine (from infected mother to fetus).
time.
be on their own after this year,
a Black man was seen chasing a
(1) Sexual Transm ission:
Now, there are reports circulating
and I'll have my house all to my­
white man? I don't think they would
There are many forms of sex that can be involved in the transmission of
through the Black community that
self . . . I love it.
have
thought,
'Hey,
there
s
good
AIDS
Certainly we all recognize that homosexual intercourse has been a
media accounts of what happened
citizen
Joe
Blow
chasing
John
major
cause
of the spread of AIDS. While gay populations are now doing
are inaccurate, except for the fact
Doe.'
So
whatcha
think
the
Black
better
at
practicing
"safer sex ', there are still many other groups and active
that Holcomb was shot.
people
thought
when
they
saw
Joe
If the story was rewritten accord­
ties that are "<it risk"
'
Holcomb chasing a Black man?
Heterosexual sex is a well established method of transmitting AIDS
ing to the new information, it would
That'-, why no one has come forth
Both male transfer of the virus through semen to women and female transfer -
read like this:
with
information."
of the virus through vaginal secretions to men is accepted as a common
(1) The woman who is alleged to
There appears to be a growing
cause. As in the above two cases, the transmission of AIDS from one
have been harassed was the girl-
belief
that
white
businessmen
along
woman to another woman through secretions in lesbian sex is possible.
firend of the man who is alleged to
N. Mississippi Avenue are attempt
The precautions are well established for preventing AIDS:
have done the shooting.
ing to use the Joe Holcomb incident
(2) The woman was not being
(a) Cease promiscuous lifestyles;
as a means of removing so called
(b) Establish monogamous relationship or practice abstinence. At least
harassed.
Instead, she and the
"Black undesirables from that part
consider your partner's sexual history before exchanging fluids. An HIV
man, who is said to have shot Hoi
* «-‘C
of the neighborhood.
comb, were having a personal,
test might prove of value.
While
it
is
not
my
job
to
specu
( ) Utilize "safer sex" practices of using a condom when exchanging-
street-level dispute.
late about the Holcomb incident or
fluids with your partner if there is any doubt about whether either partner-
(3) That Joe Holcomb’s impres
Ernestine Broadous
about the information I've shared
might have been exposed to the AIDS virus.
sion of what was going on, from the
Proprietor
here, it is worth my time to pursue
( •) Abstain from deep kissing with persons suspected as potential HIV
place where he worked across the
Steens Kitchen
this story further.
street, was inaccurate.
positive
(could be anyone)
Yes . . . I do not depend on the
There is something deeper here;
The reports say Joe Holcomb
2) Shared H ypoderm ic Needles:
political system to determine how I
something that will tell us about
We all have the ability to say no to intravenous drugs. If you or some­
cornered the man and proceeded to
feel about what the future holds for
why some residents along N. Mis
one you know are using intravenous drugs, it is essential that you do not use
physically rough him up. The man,
me. I have a greater source to rely
sissippi Avenue feel like they are
the same needle that others have used. Sharing a needle one time could,
unable to fight off Holcomb, shot
on. It's spiritual — where there is
living
in
Mississippi.
him.
be enough to get AIDS.
always hope. Therefore, I am en­
There is something here that will
The reports also allege that the
(3) Iatrogenic:
S
thusiastic about the future. If we all
tell us why some residents of that
so-called harassed woman is actual
It is harder to prevent iatrogenic AIDS, as we trust in the medical sys
put our trust in our spiritual being
neighborhood saw Joe Holcomb as
|y a well-known prostitute who
tern. Blood donations are must safer than even two years ago, but 100 <>,
and exercise more faith, everything
just another white man chasing a
worked closely with the man who is
certainty of safety has not been reached.
will be all right. The phrase on our
Black man.
alleged to have shot Holcomb.
(4) Intra uterine:
money is so appropriate: "In God
It's there. Somewhere.
So far, in spite of all that have
I feel it is worthwhile to get an HIV test prior to conceiving children,
We Trust." We should do just that.
Any public health clinic and most physicians will be happy to provide these
Do you think most people
are enthusiastic about the
upcoming new year?
by Arnold Pitre
Leonard Wade
Warehouseman
It's the beginning of the New
Year and everyone should be at
least thankful. It's good to be alive.
I enjoy my wife and five kids, and I
am thankful for them. I have good
friends that I can relate to and visit;
I'm thankful for that. There are peo­
ple that are depressed, but it de­
pends on each individual s situation.
If they just thank God that they are
alive, and believe in helping others;
if they can, things won't be so de­
pressing. I do not dislike anyone,
I give respect to everyone. And I
feel good about myself.
People
nowadays should stick together and
respect one another, especially we
Black people; and then we can go a
long way and be enthusiastic about
the future.
Terrell Horsley
Waiter
Yes . . . People set New Year's
resolutions, and try to keep them,
and that gives people something to
work towards. As a young person, I
look forward to the New Year, lam
thankful to be here. I can see where
older people may not be so enthu­
siastic about the New Year. It re­
minds them that they are getting
older, and that may be depressing
to them.
Reporting to Begin on
Adolescent Suicide Attem pt
At the urging of social workers,
the 1987 session of the Oregon Legi­
slature passed the law regarding sui­
cide attempts by individuals under
the age of 18. The intent of the law
is to provide a referral for subse­
quent intervention or counseling to
the teenager who has acted to take
his or her life. The law also specifies
that the treating hospital will report
demographic and statistical infor­
mation to the Health Division begin­
ning January 1,1988.
The Oregon Health Division an­
nounced that a proposed rule for re­
porting suicide attempts by adole­
scents has been filed with the Sec­
retary of State. The rules outline
procedural requirements for hospi­
tals to meet certain requirements
contained in the Oregon Revised
Statutes.
The Center for Health Statistics
was designated by the administra­
tor of the Health Division to be the
recipient of the reportable informa­
tion. Data items that will be collec­
ted include: sex. age, race, date of
attempt, method of attempt, place
of attempt, resident city, blood al­
cohol level if available, resident
county, previous known attempts,
education, hospital of treatment, in­
patient or out-patient status and if
the teen was living with both
parents.
It is hard to predict how many
reports will be received since review
of studies done by others suggest
anywhere from 7 to 200 attempts
for every suicide. In 1986 there
were 20 deaths due to suicide for
individuals younger than 18, which
could mean anywhere from 140 to
4,000 reports may be received du­
ring 1988.
The reports should yield very use­
ful data, because the number of at
tempts is unknown at this point.
This is not just a problem in Oregon.
Interest has been expressed in Ore­
gon's data by many national health
groups, since no other states are
known to be collecting this infor­
mation under mandatory reporting
procedures.
How You Get AIDS
Pre-Engineering
Scholarships Awarded
services (HIV testing).
Next Week "The Succeptible Host": This is the conclusion of the series
Why we are succeptible. and what we can do to strengthen our immunp.
NY - Kay R. Whitmore (R), president and executive director of
Eastman Kodak Company, supports the valuable link betweentechnological
education for minority youth and the health of American industry as he con-
' X , e 5 students IL ,o R) Theresa Fuen.es, Mrchae, Gispe... and De,,*e
systems.
N E W YO R K
New Year's Changes
After working in the North-Northeast area for the past two years, Dr.
Steven Bailey will be moving to his Northwest Clinic on a full-time basis
The Cascade Naturopathic Clinic will now become a new clinic run by Dr.'
DeVane. The three were among nine high school seniors to receive 987
Pre-Engineering Scholarship Awards from the National Action Counci or
Minorities in Engineering (NACME).
The awards were presented at FORUM '87, NACME', seventh annual
nationwide conference, held in Philadelphia, PA. The event drew a record
450 leaders of American industry, education, government and minority
organizations to address the challenging issues confronting the minority
engineering effort. As NACME's newly elected chairman, Mr. Whitmore wil
Gregory Donnavan.
"W hile I enjoyed the people and work that I did at the Cascade Clinic;
I simply had to consolidate into one clinic," stated Dr. Bailey in a recent
Portland Observer interview. "I will still be accessible to most of my
patients and will maintain a low-income clinic at my Northwest location.
Dr. Bailey will maintain his column "Healthwatch in the Portland Ob
server. His clinic, the Northwest Naturopathic Clinic, is located at 2606
N.W. Vaughn St., at the foot of the Fremont Bridge. He can also be heafrrt
Mondays at 9:00 a m. on KBOO, 90.7 FM.
preside over FORUM ’88, June 1 3, in Houston, TX.
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