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Page 2...The Portland O b sen er...November 13,1991
AIDS Education Needed Now More Than Ever
T o the E d ito r:
should reach puberty w ith o u t a th o r­
ough understanding o f A ID S and how
to avoid contracting H IV disease. The
same goes fo r every sexually active
pass fo r gang in itia tio n s , p a rtic u la rly
I am the D ire c to r fo r the Oregon
M in o rity A ID S C o a litio n . I can’ t say
enough about the pride 1 feel fo r what
E a rvin “ M a g ic ” Johnson has done. I
am sorry that he has contracted H IV
disease but I am g ra te fu l fo r the co u r­
age he has show n and the com m itm ent
he has made to fig h t against the spread
o f the A ID S viru s I ju s t hope that in d i­
vid u a ls, fa m ilie s, churches, businesses
and governm ent w ill be moved to step
up th e ir level o f awareness and in v o lv e ­
ment. Across the country the num ber o f
A ID S cases in v o lv in g wom en o f co lo r
is risin g faster than any other group.
The number o f AID S cases among hetero­
sexuals is steadily risin g . In A fric a and
Asia the overwhelming majority o f A ID S
transmissions have been through hetero­
sexual contact. There is o n ly one sure
w ay to avoid contracting the virus and
that is abstinence. Short o f that the best
we can do is practice safer sex through
the use o f latex condoms and avoidance
o f unsafe behaviors.
So far the statistics fo r Oregon do
not m irro r the national trend and that is
precisely the reason o u r e ffo rts to edu­
cate ourselves and the young people o f
our co m m u n ity must in te n sify. Just lik e
gang activ ity exploded among young
people in P ortland, so w ill A ID S unless
we do m ore We have already had a rise
in the prevalence o f syp h ilis w h ic h can
o n ly be explained by the continued
practice o f having unprotected sex.Given
some o f the depraved behaviors that
those in v o lv in g gang rapes o f young
wom en, it w o u ld o n ly lake one o r tw o
in d iv id u a ls w ith A ID S to in fe ct a large
num ber o f people. C onsidering the high
num ber o f men w ho return to o u r co m ­
m u n ity from prison we should be extra
concerned about an A ID S explosion.
Remember, you can carry and transm it
the virus fo r years before it attacks yo u r
system. L e t me be clear that A ID S can
and w ill strike anybody. I d o n ’ t care
how w o n d erfu l, clean and in te llig e n t
someone is; i f they have ever had unpro­
tected sex before you, they co u ld be
u n kn o w in g ly ca rryin g the v iru s and, as
far as they are concerned, you co u ld be
o f those w h o have reached the advanced
stages. W e also need to help those w ho
are in the early stages liv e a life style
w h ic h w ill delay the onset o f the fatal
stages.
W e at O M A C have been w o rkin g
fo r three years to educate and protect
o u r co m m u n ity from a serous outbreak
too. W h ile trust should be a fundam en­
tal part o f any rela tio n sh ip , nowadays
m isplaced trust can be fatal. T h in k about
and we are about to em bark on a p ro ­
gram aimed at assisting in d iv id u a ls and
fa m ilie s already affected by the virus.
W e need your help fin a n c ia lly and in
the fact that every unplanned pregnancy
represents the p o s s ib ility that H IV was
transm itted.
I cannot emphasize enough the value
o f testing. A s we have found w ith can­
cer, early diagnosis can make the d iffe r ­
volunteer tim e. W e need each and every
one o f us to show a little o f the courage
M agic Johnson has shown to stop the
spread o f H IV and other sexually trans­
mitted diseases in our com m unity. Please
contact us at 274-1305 o r 293-5870 to
ence between m onths and years o f life .
As we already k n o w , A fric a n -A m e ric a n
access to and u tiliz a tio n o f m edical serv­
ices is lim ite d . T h is makes us less lik e ly
to know that som ething is w rong and
more lik e ly to be ve ry sick before we
seek help.
I personally believe that the preva­
lence o f H IV disease and A ID S in our
c o m m u n ity is dangerously underesti­
mated. W e can no longer gam ble w ith
o u r future. N o c h ild in o u r c o m m u n ity
Police Need Policing
T o the E d ito r:
It is good that Portland Police C h ie f
T om Potter is supportive o f his daugh­
te r’ s rig h t to be an out lesbian, as any
good father should be. He is fu lfillin g
his re sp o n sib ility as a p u b lic o ffic ia l by
defending the rights o f lesbians and
gays, despite c ritic is m and harassment.
But the gay comm unity should not forget
about p o lice abuse o f gays sim p ly be­
cause one h ig h ly visib le policem an is
supporting gay rights. B lacks and other
gays o f co lo r are d oubly lik e ly targets
adult.
A s part o f that education, we must
include w o rk in g to help those w ho have
contracted the A ID S virus. W e must
w o rk to elim in a te cruel and id io tic a tti­
tudes towards those ca rryin g the virus
and start developing strategies fo r care
fo r such abuse.
N ow should the gay c o m m u n ity
forget about the governm ent’ s phoney
w a r on drugs, w h ich is really a w ar by
the p o lice on the B la ck co m m u n ity.
W e s till need a c o m m u n ity -c o n tro lle d
C itiz e n s ’ P olice R eview Board w ith
the a u th o rity to oversee p o lice behav­
io r and to correct abuses. The h ig h ly
p u b licize d C o m m u n ity P o lic in g p ro ­
gram , in w h ic h co m m u n ity leaders
support p o lice p o lic y , is no substitute
fo r, and is the opposite o f citize n -co n -
m ake a c o n trib u tio n o r schedule a pres­
entation to your organization. W e are
also very w illin g to organize w orkshops
fo r training people w ith in y o u r org a n i­
zation to do H IV /A ID S education. Thank
you.
Yolanda A . R ussell-A lexander
Program D ire c to r
Oregon M in o rity A ID S C o a litio n
p e r s p e c tiv e s
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I Was Right About Eternal Vigilance
T h is past September and O ctober I
had a regular little invasion o f news
reporters here at m y study and research
center on Northeast A lberta Street. T w o
o f them were fro m the O regonian, one
fro m a P ortland a lte rn a tive paper and
another fro m O akland.
S u rp risin g ly, they d id not come to
in te rvie w me about the long years o f
research I ’ ve done in the fie ld o f A f r i­
can and A fric a n A m e rica n c o n trib u ­
tions to the science, technology and
infrastructure o f the w w / J - n o t ju st
A m erica. W h a t they were about was
the a cq u isitio n o f data about the p o si­
tio n and a c tivitie s o f blacks in this
co m m u n ity at the tim e o f P E A R L
H A R B O R . N a tio n w id e , the m edia are
developing in-depth accounts o f the
W o rld W a r I I naval catastrophe that
b rought A m e rica into the largest and
m ost destructive o f in te rn a tio n a l con­
flic ts .
I say “ s u rp ris in g ly ” because when
the reporters firs t ca lle d fo r a ppoint­
ments, I was quite sure they wanted to
ta lk about m y aforem entioned study
area; especially since I have w ritte n so
m uch in defense o f the Portland School
D is tric t’ s ‘ ‘ Baseline Essays. ’ ’ That and
the fa ct o f m y early p a rticip a tio n in the
y Citizens
developm ent o f this m aterial fo r sup­
tro l o f the p o lice . W e need a C itiz e n s ’
P olice R eview Board, independent o f
the M a y o r’ s O ffic e and the p o lice , run
by the grass roots co m m u n ity.
The high crim e rates fo r Portland
indicate that Portlanders also need less
m oney spent on the p olice and m ore
m oney spent on jobs and social serv­
ices, the o n ly real so lution to street
crim e.
S incerely,
A drienne W e lle r
Portland R adical W om en
by Professor M c K in le y B u rt
plem enting the c u rric u lu m in respect to
the c o n trib u tio n o f m in o ritie s to the
w o rld ’ s culture. T hough I m ay have
been som ewhat disappointed w ith the
o rig in a l m ission o f those visito rs from
the m edia, things may w o rk o u t quite
w e ll.
A s usual, v isito rs are startled to
fin d room s o f b o o k-lin e d shelves w ith
cla ssifica tio n s o f various areas o f his­
to ry , science, art, m athem atics, re li­
gio n , so cio lo g y, n a vig atio n , m apping,
education, language, sem antics, busi-
ness, geography, literature, philosophy,
hermeneutics, archeology, environment,
p o litic s and so fo rth . A nd then there are
the innum erable reference volum es:
E nglish dictionaries, foreign language
d ictionaries, thesauruses, encyclope­
dias, atlases, style manuals, technical
w rite r’ s guides, medical and engineer­
ing handbooks, university-museum and
governm ental archive sources, local,
national and foreign h isto rica l socie­
ties, foundation data banks, com puter
and telecom m unication protocols and
so on ad in fin itu m (you ca n ’ t run dow n
to the lib ra ry every day and get any­
th in g done).
A n d then, o f course, i f you are a
real researcher there are the m u ltim e ­
dia tools and hardware fro m copiers
and projectors to fax machine and 800
lin e . A ls o , there are a hundred note-
boods o f m y ow n w ritin g s , theories and
speculation. N o w , you can understand
w h y I w rote here e a rlie r o f the appreci­
ated aid fro m a Beaverton electronics
firm in co m p u te rizin g m y data bank
u n til I can a ffo rd m y ow n advanced
equipm ent (w henever that w ill be).
O b vio u sly, I have advanced considera­
b ly in m y a b ilitie s to docum ent and
v e rify m in o rity co n trib u tio n s during
the 22 years since 1 w rote “ B lack In ­
ventors O f A m e rica .”
I say that because after one re­
porter had finished lo o kin g around in ­
credulously and discovering that a ll ol
this m aterial and e ffo rt was about the
discovery and docum entation o f black
c o n trib u tio n s—a chosen life w o rk —he
proved confounded because earlier w hen
he and his peers were fo llo w in g up on
the n a tio n w id e Baseline Essay co n tro ­
versy nobody had mentioned m y name;
and as it often turns o u t several o f these
people were M Y BEST F R IE N D S !
U n fo rtu n a te ly, this is n o t an uncom ­
mon occurence among our group where
there is a prospect o f media attention,
fees, contract m onies o r prestige.
Needless to say 1 d id not take the
o p p o rtu n ity to indulge in any vitupera­
tive condem nation o f several people
w ho in the past have demonstrated a
degree o f e nvy, jealousy o r g re e d -o r
who have been reported by their friends
to have blocked me out o f re ce ivin g a
contract or a grant. M o st re ce n tly I was
described, “ D O E S N ’T H A V E T H E
D O C U M E N T A T IO N
OR
RE­
S O U R C E S .” Can you believe that?
B elieve it, fo r this type o f u g ly conduct
hidden behind benign sm iles and in ­
quiries about one’ s health has been the
destruction o f m any a valuable project
o r c o n trib u to r in o u r co m m u n ity.
N o, I w o u ld not a llo w m y s e lf to be
led in to any k in d o f m edia circus w hich
can o nly mean the d enigration o f the
participants and the distraction o f the
public from the basic issue at h a n d -in
the pa rticu la r case, the advancement
and support o f docum entation o f the
Baseline Essays. W e have ju s t seen a
catastrophic exam ple o f w hat can hap­
pen when A fric a n A m ericans a llo w
themselves to be placed in a situation
where they p u b lic ly attack each other
(The Seante hearings on the Supreme
C o u rt n o m in a tio n ).
W h ile i t ’ s lough to fund a ll o f the
thousands o f d ollars fo r research each
year out o f m y S O C IA L S E C U R IT Y
C H E C K , losing m y temper w ould serve ,
no purpose. I ’ d rather m y readers and
the parents to ask the teachers, p rin c i­
pals and o ther organization to start
requesting my services again. Thank
you!
T o contact me, phone 284-7080,
Fax 284-0484
Measure 5 Was a Hoax
T o the E d ito r:
M easure 5 was a hoax. I t moved
the tax burden fro m the u tilitie s to the
hom eowners. Even w ith o u t the arro­
gant and outrageous raising o f assess­
ments to force homeowners to pay more,
Measure 5 was a cruel tric k . It played
on people’ s ju s tifie d frustrations about
high taxes to put m ore money into the
pockets o f the b ig u tilitie s .
N o w w e have a tax lim ita tio n
measure p u t fo rw a rd by the Oregon
C itize n s A llia n c e , and endorsed by Don
M c In tire , the rig h t w inger w ho in it i­
ated measure 5. It also w ill not lo w e r
taxes fo r m ost O regonians, but it is
designed to gather support from angry
taxpayers fo r O C A and its hom ophobic,
racist and sexist policies.
L e t’ s not be fo o le d again. W h a t is
needed is a b ill that s p e c ific a lly shifts
the tax burden fro m the in d iv id u a l
homeowners and wage earners to the
large corporations, to the u tilitie s , to the
owners w ith large property h o ld in g s -in
short, tax the ric h ! T h is is an obvious
idea that has never been trie d . L e t’ s do
it.
L e t’ s also defeat the Oregon C it i­
zens A llia n c e ’ s numerous peinions to
destroy the lesbian and gay co m m u n ity.
In H ille r’ s G erm any the population was
goated Jews, C atholics, radicals, g y p ­
sies and gays in order to le t K rupps and
other large industrialists o f f the hood fo r
being responsible fo r the deteriorating
econom y. T h e y blam ed Jews and other
m in o rity groups instead o f the p ro fit
system. H atred, fear and persecution o f
tarteted groups was not the answer then.
It is n o t the answer n o w . R adical W om en
believes the answer to in e q ua lity and
p o ve rty is true, dem ocratic socialism .
Perhaps you agree, perhaps you don’ t.
B u t one th in g we can h o p e fu lly agree
o n —i t is tim e to tax the rich !
frightened and angry because the econ­
om y was c ru m b lin g . The N azis scape-
R adical W om en
e ^ o rtlan h (©hseriwr
!
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Reinvestments inthe Community
Elder Abuse is Real
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in a situation that may lead to Elder Abuse.
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W hy does E lder Abuse O ccur?
Elder Abuse can begin with seem­
ingly normal conflicts and negative
interactions that can gradually build up
to abusive situations. Usually, in a situ­
ation where abuse occurs, one person is
providing for the other in some way,
while the other is reliant upon that
person for much or all of their care.
Elder Abuse may occur for a vari­
ety of reasons, but the most common
contributing factors are:
■ Stress created by the care needs
of the elder.
■ Inadequate financial resources
■ Isolation and lack of emotional
support for elders and their care
givers
■ Existing family problems and
dynamics
It’s important to remember that
abuse can occur in any situation. The
abuser may be a relative, caregiver.
spouse, a neighbor, or even a salesper­
son.
W hat does the Law say about Elder
Abuse?
In the United States, all states except
two (North Dakota and Pennsylvania)
. have laws against elder abuse. In Ore­
gon, there are laws specifically focused
on abuse of persons 65 or older, injury.
neglect, or failure to care for residents
of any age in nursing homes, and pro­
tective service to anyone over 18 who
is aged, blind, or disabled.
W ho is required by Law to rep o rt
E lder Abuse?
Oregon Law requires that the fol­
lowing people report elder abuse; em ­
ployees of:
■ Mental Health Programs
■ Oregon Human Resources De­
partment
■ County Health Department
■ Senior Centers
■ Nursing Facilities
■ Hospitals
■ Public Officials Working with
Elderly
a Physical and Occupational
Therapists
a Information and Referral Work­
ers
a Outreach Workers
a Legal Counselros for Nursing
Home Residents
a Nurses
a Social Workers
a Physicians
a Police Officers
In addition, the following private
citizens are required to report elder
abuse:
a Clergy Members
a Relatives of Nursing Home Resi­
dents
W hat is Elder Abuse?
Elder Abuse may be physical or
psychological. Elder abuse may be
committed by a younger caregiver or
household member upon an older friend
or relation, or may occur between two
older people who live together. Elder
abuse can occur even when there is
genuine love and affection between the
people involved. Forms of elder abuse
may be physical, emotional, financial
or a combination of all three.
E lder abuse may take many forms,
including:
■ hilling or slapping
■ withholding food/medication
■ unnecessary use of physical re­
straints
■ yelling or insulting threats of
violence
■ misuse of funds
a theft
a fraud
It may be difficult to tell whether
Elder Abuse is occurring, and even
more difficult to get the people in the
situation to talk about it. It may be
hidden by isolation or disguised by
what seems io he a pleasant home set­
ting.
W hat should 1 do if 1 Suspect or
Know that Elder Abuse Is
O ccurlng?
Call your local Area Agency on
Aging, or your local 1 aw Enforcement
Agency. In Multnomah County, call
the Aging Services Division at 248-
3646, TDD #248 3683
1
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