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October 28, 1992...The Portland Observer...Page 3
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Letter To The Editor
Dear Editor:
I must take this opportunity to
voiced strong exception to Ms. Vesia
Loving’ s October 7,1992 Letter to the
Editor regarding Measure 9. Specifi
cally her views concerning the issue o f
legalized discrim ination against homo
sexuals not fittin g into her observations
o f the Black experience. This is a most
peculiar argument.
For years and years and years I
have heard the “ C hristian” comm unity
use biblical scriptures to condemn the
religious and cultural practices o f Jews,
N ative A m e rican s, H om osexuals,
women, etc., etc. It is particularly dis
tressful when a member o f one op
pressed group becomes the oppressor
o f another. The feel o f power over
others is indeed provocative and seduc
tive, I suppose.
How very pretentious o f Ms. L o v
ing to state that as a person she does “ not
believe in hate crimes against anyone”
w hile asserting the argument that “ ho
mosexuality is abnormal, is im m oral, is
perverse, is an abomination and a sex
sin along w ith adultery, fornication and
God despises. N ow this is a fine ex
ample o f a p itifu lly befuddled conten
tion based upon one’ s w ild ly distress
imaginings o f what homosexual fo lk
are. As a scholar 1 have come to under
stand ignorance, though I do not think
o f it as virtue, I have come to respect it
in the context o f what it is (i.e. perhaps
one doesn’ t have access to the kn o w l
edge). Thus I often tolerate and suffer
through the ignorance o f others. On the
other hand pretentiousness is a human
condition I have little regard or temper
ance fo r (i.e. one has acquired the know l
edge, but refuses to use it). I have
become impatient w ith the pomposity
o f pretentious persons and lately the
noisiness o f their aggressive untruths
surely vexes my spirit.
As an individual w ho is a Jewish-
white-female and the mother o f a ho
mosexual daughter, I no longer desire
the feigned affection o f those “ Chris
tian” persons who remain blinded by
their own choices and ambitions, namely
to feel good about being prejudice.
Obviously Ms. L oving does not know
my daughter, even more I suspect by
her themes that would damn a whole
com m unity she really knows very little
o f the people who inhabit that comm u
nity. Ms. L o v in g ’ s prejudices have
blinded her as to what virtues may exist
there. It is not an accident that the same
case o f arrogance has been used in the
B la ck-W h ite c u ltu ra l arrangement,
moreover as arc haic as it seems it works.
W e s till lead separate lives.
I urge readers to examine Measure
9’ sargumentcarefully,particularly from
whence it comes. The reality is and may
have always been, that homosexual
persons inhabit our w orld. Moreover
and sim ilarly, Jews, fem inist. Native
and African Americans, as well as many,
many diverse cultural others do too.
Furthermore, try as they m ight, nothing
Western, W hite, Christian males have
done to us (e.g. slavery, torture, raping,
internments, etc., etc.) has changed that
reality. I w ill not pretend to be what
T o The Editor
Measure 9 is not discrim ination
against any one. It is however, d iscrim i
nating against Perversion, Gay, Les
bian, homosexuality, im m orality, and
in fid e lity. God w ill not go along w ith
Sin and ministers. Pastors, Priests, and
Rabbi, that vote no on measure 9, are
voting against “ God” , and woe be unto
see homosexuality is nothing new.
God is voting YES on measure 9.
Please do not vote against God.
God made women because it is not
good fo r man to be alone. Genesis 2:18.
them.
In Matthew, we read, where our
Lord said, “ then w ill I profess unto
them I never knew you, depart from me
ye that w ork inequity.
So church going citizen, i f your
Pastor or overseer is voting no on 9,
then I say according to the word o f God
you are attending the wrong place o f
produce life.
The only thing two men can pro
duce is “ acquired immune deficiency
syndrome,” better known as A ID S , and
that is destructive, and not productively
worship.
Those that vote no on measure 9
are voting for SIN and God hates sin.
God does not hate sinners because
he sent his only Son to die on the old
rugged cross, so a ll o f us could be
forgiven o f our sins, church leaders that
go along w ith any kind o f sin fo r any
reason are those that Christ spoke o f as
being sheep in wolves clothing.
A ll true Americans, as w ell as a ll
true Christians are voting yes on mea
sure 9, because it is the “ Am erican”
thing to do. I t is true and God supports
the truth.
B ib lica lly speaking it is impos
sible to believe in god and vote no on
measure 9.
G o d d e stro ye d Sodom and
Gomorrah because o f homosexuality
that was centuries ago, so you can plainly
Letter To The Editor:
I want to relate a conversation I
overheard at a restaurant in Eugene
when I was in town fo r the day last
week. The more I ’ ve thought about this,
the more upset I ’ ve become so I want to
share it:
I overheard tw o men having a con
versation about some strategy to pass
Measure 9 her in Oregon. I couldn t tell
from the conversation whether the
“ strategy” was a local one, regional or
statewide.
These tw o individuals were ta lk
ing condescendingly about Oregon voters
and how all one had to do to sway people
was to put stuff in w riting-no matter i f it’s
truc-and people w ill believe i t
They talked about some brochure
or newspaper-type newsletter that is in
the works that w ill be blanketed on
every person’ s doorstep in the few days
See Genesis 2:24.
So it is natural for a M A N and a
W O M A N to make love, they have the
“ where” w ith a ll to be productive and
good.
Many people think that measure 9
discriminates or is intending to work
against c iv il rights or Blacks, or Jews.
And none o f that is true. In closing
measure 9 is against a group that wants
“ S P E C IA L” rights.
A ll “ Americans” are protected un
der our constitution as long as they obey
the Law o f God and the law o f the land.
And do not need anymore protection
than that.
Bank robbers, dope pushers, pimps,
prostitutes and yes murders, all do these
things by choice. Gay, lesbian, and
homosexuals live their life by choice.
So i f they get special rights give a ll who
choose to live outside the law o f God
and the law o f the land the same rights.
A ll o f the above life styles create
crim e and anybody that believes Port
land is suffering from crim inal activity
today, you haven’ t seen anything i f
measure 9 goes down to defeat.
V oting No on measure 9 is truly
before the election. The paper w ill have
incredible propaganda and lies about
how homosexuals m olest children,
about how much the country pays in
medical costs for A id s—and how the
high cost o f medical b ills is all the fault
o f homosexual activities.
They talked about making the sta
tistics look really bad, but not too out
rageous, about how they w on’ t have to
state where the statistics come fr o m -
and again, because by people seeing it
in print they’ ll believe it.
Up to this point, I thought that the
backers o f Measure 9, whether the O CA
or whoever, righteously believe the stuff
they sa y-th at they believe these things
to be true.
To hear these guys casually, over
lunch, talking about the w illfu l ma
nipulation o f voters by out and out false
propaganda was appalling. They talked
T o The Editor
B ill M cCoy clearly merits re-election as your State
Senator fo r North and Northeast Portland. Let me tell you w hy :
B ill M cCoy has a solid record o f public service. As a
productive veteran o f the legislature he has represented your
area effectively and positively. His knowledge and wisdom
are a valuable asset in Salem.
B ill M cCoy is proud to be a Democrat, and his record
shows it. He is not afraid to stand up and fig h t against
oppression, bigotry and self-serving corporate interests.
I strongly recommend B ill M cCoy as your State Senator
B ill Bradbury
Senate M ajority Leader
some groups would have me be and it is
o f great pride that my daughter lives by
the truth o f what she is. Proponents o f
Measure 9 have rendered truth an anti
quated notion. H istorically it has been
pleasing to such persons when fear tem
porarily wins out. Fear, ignorance and
pretention have interpreted diversity as
problematic, hence we have had the
Jewish problem , the Black problem , the
Native problem, etc., etc. o f course,
dare 1 say it, Christians themselves,
once upon a time, were a “ problem.” In
hindsight, I think even most Christian
people would agree that the proposed
“ solutions” to all these human “ prob
lems” is a chapter many would like to
forget. Ms. Loving m ight like to forget,
fortunately for her, some o f us are s till
around to remind her.
In Sisterhood,
Pamella E. Settlegoode
P.S. Here’ s a little academic e x
periment for those who believe as Ms.
Loving seems to that “ ...the homosexual
problem as it is being related to dis
crim ination against black people...w ill
never bring the deprivation, the inhu
mane treatment that blacks have suf
fered since slavery.” When in a public
place (e.g. a bus, a downtown sidewalk,
a store, etc.) simply hold the hand o f a
same sexed person, it can be one’ s
related teenaged child. Then wait, ob
serve, see what happens. The result o f
this social experiment w on ’ t lake long.
You w ill feel it, but be cautious for it
w ill be a strong reaction, be forever
careful. Alas, perhaps now you w ill be
on to it!
Letter To The Editor
Thank You! for your excellent
headline article, “ African-Am ericans
Voting No on 9, A New Political A c
tion Committee” , in this week’ s issue!
Since the O CA seems to be using a
“ Big L ie ” technique (the technique
made famous by A d o lf H itler in his rise
to power), it is especially important
that responsible people expose the truth
behind the O C A propaganda, as your
article did.
Many o f the falsehoods now being
spread by the O C A have already been
p u b licly refuted. For instance, the
People o f Faith Against Bigotry are
responding to the O C A ’ s mis-use o f
B iblical texts, right now. (O f course,
we know that tw isting Christian B ib li
cal quotations out o f context, to try and
ju s tify hatred, fear, and discrimination
is not new. It is as old as the slave
holders in our South who tried to con
vince each other that the Bible justifie d
slavery.) A lso , the O C A ’ s id io tic
charges against public school teachers
were refuted in a recent editorial in the
Oregonian. (Bigots using the public
schools as a battleground for their pet
hates is not new, either, as any o f us
who lived during the era o f segregated
schools can testify.)
I am amazed, however, to see that
one aspect o f the O C A ’s hate cam
paign has been nearly overlooked in
the media. The aspect that nearly ev
eryone seems to have overlooked is
this: the O C A ’ s perversion o f the term
“ no special rights” . This term (as twisted
by the O C A) has become the biggest lie
invitin g terrible crime to our streets, so
much so, crime today w ill be like “ Sun
day School” games.
Measure 9 is no at all against color,
it’ s against sinful crim e against nature.
Measure 9 is not discrim inating against
color classification, but against in fid e l
ity and perversion. Homosexuals must
go back into the closet and lock the
door. Dope is already destroying our
country, by crime and youth suicide.
President Lincoln said, “ o f a ll o f
the armies from all o f the countries in
the w orld, none can step across the
water and destroy “ Am erica,” he went
on to say, i f “ Am erica” is ever de
stroyed in w ill happen from w ith in .”
Oregon does not need any more
problems; all people need to do, is give
their lives to Christ. This country was
founded on the Bible. Now I say i f you
do not like America for what it is, has
been, and what the founding father
prayed fo r it to be. Then my advice to all
who do not like it, should leave it.
Am erica and Portland has done
very w ell w ithout homosexuals being
protected from their sinful deeds, a ll o f
these years, I feel we should let it be, let
it be, let it be. Vote yes on measure 9
then and only then w ill your vote shine’ ,
and the ligh t w ill be so bright u ntil it
w ill blin d the homosexuals as it d id to
them at Sodom and Gomorrah. I am a
true “ American C hristian” thats why
I ’ m voting YES on measure 9.
James L . Washinton, Sr. EM E
Region #1 Commander
United States Veterans, Inc.
about how, by making sure people get
these pamphlets and/ or newspaper
like newsletter rig h t before the elec-
tio n - it w on’ t give anyone else tim e to
respond w ith the facts.
This strategy is about contempt for
the voters o f Oregon. To say that we
believe everything we read, that we’ re
too g ullible to think fo r ourselves and
th a t we w o u ld take as “ tr u th ”
somebody’ s statistics that don’ t even
bother to cite their sources-that’ s in
sulting.
To my fellow Oregonians, I ask
you, when this strategy is carried out,
when you receive this “ inform ation” on
your doorstep right before the Novem
ber c le c tio n -p le a se remember this
scheme and look for the trulh -m ayb c
re-read the Voters Pamphlet that w ill
have both sides represented.
Sharon A m ity
Dear People o f Oregon:
1 hear that the Question 9 proponents have been showing
you videos o f the San Francisco Gay Pride March to alarm
you abut gay people. This is like someone showing me
pictures o f your neighborhood on Halloween and saying “
Look at these despicable people! They paint their children’s
faces and send them out in the street to beg!
I ’ m a lesbian, and I live an ordinary, quiet life w ith my
life-partner. We go to w ork and pay the b ills like everyone
else. Please don’ t let the bigots persuade you to vote to make
the lives o f people like me more d iffic u lt.
Betsy W right,
Cp ringficld, M A
basic human rights most Americans
take fo r granted), the O C A has twiste J
this term “ no Special rights” to im p ly
that our homosexual citizens get (or
want) some special break that others do
not. Nothing could be farther from the
o f all.
W hile it is true that homosexual
Americans, as a group, have No “ spe
cial rights” in our society (in fact,
homosexuals in our culture face such a
burden o f hatred, prejudice, and fear
that they’ ve often been denied the most
truth!
But this is how the Big Lie tech
nique works: I f enough people hear a
big lie often enough, many o f them w ill
begin to assume that it is true. Many
Oregonians have started to fa ll fo r this
by now, assuming, “ W e ll, gee w hiz, I
guess homosexuals must be getting
some kinda special rights they shouldn’t,
just because I ’ ve heard that so much.”
This is truly frightening; -esp e
cially when we read B a llo t Measure 9
and realize that, in fact, it would legal
ize Special Discrim ination against ho
mosexual Americans (or anyone else
even suspected o f not-hating homo
sexual Americans (or anyone else even
suspected o f not-hating homosexual
Americans!), —special discrim ination
that has never existed in our nation
that homosexuals currently have spe
cial rights which this measure w ill
remove. Homosexuals do not have spe
cial rights. Quite the contrary, they
have no rights based on their sexual
orientation. I f measure 9 fails that re
mains the same. I f measure 9 passes it
w ill single out homosexuals as a class
o f abnormal and perverse persons, not
worthy o f basic human rights.
Proponents o f this measure say
they must stop the “ gay agenda” . They
use fear and fuel divisiveness and ha
tred by conjuring up red herrings such
Letter To The Editor
The issue o f b allot measure 9 is not
a moral argument o f “ gay vs. straight,
“ or o f “ rig h t vs. wrong,” but o f “ igno
rance vs. science.” W E o f the vast
m ajority o f the social science, educa
tional, and medical communities be
lieve that sexual orientation is deter
mined by birth, rather than a matter o f
fluctuations o f hormone levels. It is
hypocritical fo r society to accept the
variations in m usical, artistic, verbal,
mathematical, and other types o f ge-
n iu s -y e t single out sexual orientation,
which develops ju s t as naturally, and
reject it based on ill-founded m orality
and cultural bias. Sexual orientation is
as normal as any other behavioral bias
associated w ith brain tissue develop
choice.
M ost o f us have been taught that
females have two X-chromosomes and
that males have one X - and one Y -
chromosome. T his sim ply is not true: it
is the presence o f testosterone in the
uterus during the early stage o f fetal
development that causes males to de
velop. I f a rtificial testosterone is present
during pregnancy, fetuses that are X X
w ill develop as males even though they
genetically are females. When women
prone to spontaneous* abortion were
treated w ith testosterone injections in
the 1940s, many X X fetuses that o rd i
narily would have become females,
instead became males.
Dr. G. Domer, a German clinical
researcher, has publicized that if, dur
ing a certain stage o f gestation, testos
terone levels fa ll below a certain point,
the male child is lik e ly to be bom
homosexual. By giving injections dur
ing this period, he claims that he can
prevent homosex uality from occurring.
O f course, many persons regard such
genetic engineering as unnatural, and
believe that nature (or God) intended a
percentage o f humans to be homosexu
als, as appears to have been the case
since the dawn o f history.
M ale hormone levels norm ally
fluctuate in the uterus during gestation,
affecting not only sexual orientation
but many abilities and behaviors in
cluding intelligence and artistic and
musical talent. The human brain devel
ops over a period o f nearly 30 weeks,
during which time some tissues be
come masculinized and others become
fem ininized, depending on complex
better th ink again. M any people in
Germany (who later died in Nazi con
centration camps) o rig in a lly dismissed
H itle r as a “ harmless nut” . The B ig Lie
campaign o f the O C A is not harmless,
either. N ot since the vicious Jim Crow
laws were ended in the South, have
Americans been asked to actually pass
a law m andating sp e cia l d is c r im i
n a tio n against any g ro u p o f A m e ri
before!
I wonder how many Americans
remember that this is how H itle r got his
foot in the door, in Germany, - b y advo
cating the dame kind o f special dis
crimination against homosexuals there?
Many, many Germans who did not see
through H itle r’ s B ig L ie technique, later
paid fo r it w ith their lives. Once H itler
and the Nazis got their foot in the door
by whipping up fear against homosexu
als in Germany, they soon turned on
nearly everyone else; eventually k ill
ing over 6 m illio n Christians, Jews,
labor leaders, members o f opposition
political parties, disabled people, Gyp
sies, and everyone else they could find
who did not fit their twisted fantasy o f
an” Aryan master race” .
I f we are te llin g ourselves, “ It
couldn’ t happen here.” mavbe we had
Letter To The Editor:
As the election day nears and vari
ous p olitical races become more intense
I would like to address what appears to
be the most intense, shrill, emotional
and for many, fearsome measures on the
Oregon ballot-measure 9.
Proponents o f this measure say ho
mosexuality is sinful because the bible
labels it so. The bible also condemns the
fo llo w in g behaviors: fornication, adul
tery, masturbation and divorce. Is sinful
behavior a matter for a constitutional
amendment? I f so should fornication,
adultery, masturbation and divorce also
be addressed in the constitution?
proponents o f this measure say they
are sim ply assuring that homosexuals
w ill not have special rights. They im ply
•
as affirm ative action. This is nonsense
and cleverly distracts us from the
agenda o f the extreme Christian right.
This extremely conservative socio-eco
nomic agenda would put lots o f regu-
m ent
In 1984, Science Magazine re
ported the result o f an experiment in
which females, straight males and ho
mosexual males were injected w ith es
trogens. After four days, theLeutinizing
Hormone levels (a pituitary response)
were 200 percent above normal in fe
males; 88 percent above normal in
straight males; and 138 percent above
normal in gay males, strongly suggest
ing there is a physiological difference.
(Gladue, Green & Heilman, 1984: Neu
roendocrine Response to Estrogen and
Sexual Orientation. Science, 225:1496-
98.)
The O C A does not wish to be con
fused w ith facts. Because their amend
ment would require the public schools
teach that homosexuality is “ abnormal,
wrong, unnatural and perverse,” scien
tific research would be censored in
schools. The vast m ajority o f the scien
tific com m unity believes that homo
sexuality is a norm ally occurring phe
nomenon in a predictable percentage o f
any human population or culture, past
or present; and that it is no more a moral
issue than having blue eyes instead o f
brown.
It would be a dark day fo r Orego
nians to establish their place in history
by legislating that not only should its
youth be kept in ignorance, but that a
significant percentage o f its population
should be treated as pariahs, and made
to feci guilty over what to them is quite
natural. To cause our children emo
tional problems, rather than to facilitate
the development o f their artistic, musi-
cans.
As an American o f color, w ith A f
rican Am erican ancestry, I am espe
cially frightened by what I see coming
behind B allot Measure 9, i f it passes. As
an Am erican who is old enough to
remember the K K K lynchings o f my
childhood; old enough to remember
watching one o f my own relatives die
that way; I know that No One deliber
ately creates a wave o f irrational fear,
hate, prejudice, and falsehoods, as the
O C A 'is doing now. except fo r one
reason: to ride it to power. M any ruth
less people used the hate-mongering
and the terror tactics o f the K K K for
their own purposes, to ride to p o litica l
power. A d o lf H itle r shrewdly chose to
attack the most defenseless m inority
group in Germany —homosexuals— to
grab power and beg in his reign o f terror.
Now the O C A is asking our help, to let
them do the same thing.
I f we let the O C A get their fo o t in
the door now, none o f us w ill be safe
from the hatred and persecution that
they seek to unleash upon us. L e t’ s stop
the B ig L ie campaign o f the O C A in its
tracks! W hile there may always be some
twisted people out there who w ill try to
ride to power on hatred and fear, we do
N ot have to let them get their foot in the
door here. L et’s show the w orld that
Oregonians are bigger than the hate-
mongering o f the O C A!
Sincerely,
Tashina Chris Spalding
lation on personal activity and remove
most regulation from big business and
corporations.
Measure 9 is not a referendum on
homosexuality. It is opposed by many
persons who disapprove o f homosexual
behavior. Measure 9 is to determine i f
the constitution o f this state should be
amended to single out a group o f people
as abnormal and perverse. Justremem-
ber that voting No On 9 maintains the
status quo. Yes on 9 changes the consti
tution and opens a Pandora’ s box o f
God knows how many issues which
w ill take years to settle in the courts, not
to mention in our communities.
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Sincerely,
M ary Jo L ackaff
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cal, literary, and other talents w ould be
a tragic waste! When ignorance and
bigotry become bedfellows, more in
form ation is needed-not less!
Sincerely,
Carl H. Berggren, M .A.
Historical/Personal Data
Follow ing college, I was sent by
the Department o f Labor to train for
w ork w ith cultural and racial m inorities
during Watts in 1965. Subsequently, I
have spent much o f my professional life
w orking in vocational rehabilitation o f
disabled veterans; have taught psychol
ogy and related subjects at five o f
Oregon’s community college campuses;
have served as the founding Executive
D irector for M id-Oregon A ID S (acom-
m unity volunteer agency serving to
provide education in the Salem area, as
w ell as coordinate help services for
persons w ith A ID S ;) and was one o f the
three community organization leaders
whose testimony before the emergency
Board o f the Oregon State Legislature
led to their establishing t ie Oregon
A ID S Task Force. I served on the o rig i
nal Oregon AIDS Task Force o f the
Health Department in w orking to fo r
mulate state pol ic ies regarding the han -
dling o f H IV , in areas o f health, insur
ance, education, and a ll other critica l
areas (which policies were adopted by
Gov. Goldschmidt). I am also parent to
a lovely daughter who just got her de
gree in biochemistry from Lew is &
Clark.
Prior to the above, m y original
vocational aspiration was to become an
Assemblies o f God m inister, which I
abandoned fo llo w in g three years at an
east coast evangelical college and tw o
years o f theological studies at a de
nominational school, the reason? I could
not countenance the effects fo r their
institutionalized fear o f knowledge,
coupled w ith widespread m isinform a
tion, upon the hearts and minds o f o th
erwise well-meaning and devout per
sons.
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