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<Tltc p o r (Lutò ^ ìlb s r o w ir ------------------ ------------------------------ — í_____
■WTxy A r e B l a c k M e n A f r a i d O f T h e r a p y
B y M itc h e ll E. G ibson , M .D .,
P.C.
Carl is a 47-year-old Black attor
ney. He is married, has two beautiful
children, and a net worth of well over
$3 million. Tonight, after work, Carl
plans to go home, have dinner with
his family, make love to his wife,
then retire to his study where he will
place a revolver to his head and end
hislife. N oone will know why he did
it.
In 1994, over 2,000 Black men
killed themselves. The vast majority
of them did not seek potentially life
saving psychotherapy or talk to any
one about the stresses which led to
Christmas Seals
Help Fight a
Growing Killer
The American Long Associa
tion o f Oregon is launching its an
nual Christmas Seal Campaign with
a special emphasis this year on
asthma, a common lung disease
that can result in a sudden inability
to breathe.
Tw oO regon teenage girls tragi
cally made news when they died
from asthma attacks in the last year.
such a desperate act. Traditionally,
Black males have made up a very
small percentage of the outpatient
populations of most mental health
practices. Yet, the stresses on the
African-American male in the United
States are enormous They include
high unemployment, high divorce
rates, high rales of incarceration, a
homicide rate 20 times the national
average and shortened life-expect
ancy (64.6 years). With all these pres
sures, why then do Black men shy
away from getting therapy?
As a Black male psychiatrist I
have seen first hand both sides of the
issues which plague the Black male.
In Oregon, more than 55,000 chil
dren and 100,000 adults suffer from
asthma. Asthma deaths are rising
nationwide. T hat’s why this year’s
Christmas Seals Campaign is dedi
cated to preventing needless asthma
deaths.
When you seal the envelopes of
your holiday cards with Christmas
Seals and make a contribution to
the Lung Association, you show
your support in the fight against
asthma and other lung disease. The
Christmas Seal Campaign is the
Lung Association’s largest source
o f fund
In my practice, it is a rare occurrence
to see a Black male voluntarily come
into therapy for any reason. How
ever, when they do, it is often with
much fear and trepidation. The fact
that I am a Black male helps to some
degree, but the same issues continue
to surface as reasons for their general
resistance and fear.
The multitude of environmental
and social stressors which are unique
to the American Black male have
served over the decades to effec
tively launch a massive assault on
our collective conscious and uncon
scious mind energies. The system
which is ostensibly designed to pro
C rim in al-m atters related to d o
m estic v io le n c e and a n ti-h a ra s s
m ent p e titio n s are already heard
in D istrict C o u rt, w hile civil p ro
c e e d in g s and the p ro te c tio n o r
d e rs are the re sp o n s ib ility of
S u p e rio r C o u rt. “T his sep aratio n
in ju ris d ic tio n has created h a rd
sh ip s for v ic tim s, cau sed in e ffi
cie n t du p licatio n o f case p ro c e ss
ing, and h in d e re d o ffe n d e r a c
c o u n ta b ility ,” F ritz le r c o m
m ented.
Judge R obert L. H arris, P re
s id in g Ju d g e o f the S u p e rio r
C ourt, a g rees. “T his c o o p e ra tiv e
arran g em en t betw een the c o u rts
w ill p rovide b e tte r p ro tectio n for
the v ic tim s o f d o m e stic v io
le n c e ,” he sta te d , ad d in g “ it will
re su lt in c rim in a l and civ il d o
m estic v io le n c e m atters being
h an dled in a c o o rd in a te d fash-
As the annual stop-smoking cam
paign rages, the Tobacco Interven
tion Network is rallying health pro
fessionals around a new message:
“Snuff Out Spit Tobacco!”
Network director Ken Manske
makes it clear, “Smokeless tobacco
can kill.”
Some 12 million people, many of
them youngsters, are regular users of
smokeless, or “spit” tobacco. Each
year, 8,000 Americans die of oral can
cer that is primarily tobacco-related.
ion. We thank the D istric t C ourt
for th e ir le a d e rsh ip and p a rtic i
p ation in this e f f o r t.”
In o rd e r to deal w ith ju r is d ic
tional issues, the D istric t C ourt
Ju d g es in v o lv ed in th is program
will becom e S uperior C ourt C o m
m issio n e rs and be p ro v id ed w ith
sp ecial train in g .
This is also a first step in cre a t
ing a dedicated dom estic violence
court, a concept approved by D is
trict Court Judges earlier this year.
They hope to provide around-the-
clock service handled much like
s e a r c h w a r r a n ts , s a y s Ju d g e
Fritzler. "W hen an officer sees and
incidence of dom estic abuse, he or
she will be sw orn in by the judge
and be able to deliver the protec
tion order right on the spot. I think
it’s going to be a great public ser
vice,” he added.
City Launches Redesigned Web Site
T h e C ity o f V a n c o u v e r ’ s
aw ard -w in n in g In te rn e t site has
a new lo o k . T h e r e c e n t l y
launched, re d e sig n e d site fe a
tures a new n av ig atio n bar and
crisp new g rap h ics.
The n av ig atio n bar, ru n n in g
dow n the left side o f m ost p ages,
p ro v id es a site m ap w ith e asy -to -
follow c o n n e c tio n s am ong the
s ite ’s p rim ary pages.
T hese p ag es prov id e in fo rm a
tion on V an co u v er h isto ry , city
governm ent and d ep artm en ts, the
local c o m m u n ity , n e ig h b o rh o o d
pro g ram s, c u rre n t jo b o p e n in g s.
C ity C o u n c il a g e n d a s, re c e n t
new s re le a se s and lin k s to o th e r
g o v ern m en t and agency sites.
T o p ic s o f o th e r p a g e s on
Council Meetings
Changed
The regular meeting of the Vancouver
City Council set for Monday, Dec. I has
been canceled due to a lack of quorum.
Future council meetings arc scheduled as
follows:
Consent meeting Monday,
Dec. 8, at 6 p.m.
Regular meeting Monday,
Dec. 15, at 7 p.m.
Consent meeting, Monday,
Dec. 22, at 6 p.m.
Consentmectings cover routine items
voted on by a single motion. Typical
items include payment of bills, awarding
contracts and fust reading of ordinances
Regular meetings usually include a citi
zen comment period and public hear
ings. Council meetings ;ire conducted in
Vancouver City Hall, 210 E. 13th St.
Agendas are available before die counci I
meetings or on the city’s home page a,
www.ci.vancouver.waus.
V a n c o u v e r’s w eb site — w hich
to ta ls m ore than 100 in dividual
pages — in clu d e: the C ity C h a r
ter, health and safety in fo rm a
tio n , p arks and re c re atio n p ro
g ram s, city go v ern m en t phone
d irecto ry , annexation, cable fra n
ch ise a g re e m e n t, citizen boards
a n d c o m m is s io n s , th e G e n .
G e o rg e C. M a rsh a ll P ro g ram ,
Jack M urdock A viation C e n te r
and V an c o u v e r N eighbors n e w s
letter.
“W h a t’s N ew ” and " E tc e te ra ”
se c tio n s on the hom e page p ro
vide links to pag es on tim ely and
o th e r p a r tic u la r ly in te r e s tin g
co m m u n ity to p ics.
V a n c o u v e r's hom e page has
re c e n tly a v e ra g e d o v e r 1,300
loo often been based on bitter past
experience, either vicarious or di
rect.
Faced w ith these pressu res and
the p e rc e p tio n that m ed ical/p sy -
c h iatric h elp could lead to fu r
ther loss o f co n tro l over o n e ’s
life and w ell-b e in g , the A m e ri
can B lack m ale m ore often than
not will ch o o se to avoid the c o n
flict all to g e th e r and take m atters
into his ow n hands if n ecessary.
S u c h an a p p r o a c h c o u ld be
view ed as a form o f fatal n a rc is
sism w hich could u ltim ately a l
low a problem to grow to u n n e c
essa rily large p ro p o rtio n s.
However, when faced with his
torically ambiguous and often am
bivalent support systems, narcissis
tic self-preservation and self-deter
mined action is a logical alternative.
In other words, “I can do bad by
m y self’ seems to be a reasonable
point of view when faced with unrea
sonable options.
In the hands of an experienced,
com petent, p ractitio n er p sy ch o
therapy can have remarkably posi
tive life-changing effects. I have wit
nessed this from the perspective of
my own therapy and from the per
spective of doing therapy with thou
sands of clients.
S n u f f - O u t S p it: T o b a c c o
Courts Consolidate Domestic
Violence Cases
B eg in n in g Ja n u ary 1, 1998,
C la rk C o u n ty D is tr ic t C o u rt
Judges w ill begin h an d lin g d o
m estic v io len ce P ro te c tio n O r
ders p re v io u sly issu ed o n ly by
the S u p erio r C ourt.
I t’s all p art o f a m ove to c o n
so lid ate se rv ic e s, e lim in a te c o n
flictin g o rd e rs, and p ro v id e re s i
dents w ith one p lace to get help,
according to D istrict C ourt Judge
Randy F ritz le r. "T h is a g reem en t
re p resen ts a true c o lla b o ra tiv e
effo rt betw een the C o u rts to a d
dress a p erceived need for g reater
e ffic ie n cy and b e tte r se rv ic e to
the p u b lic ,” he said.
B ecause ju d g e s w ill be m ore
fa m ilia r w ith the p a rtic ip a n ts in
each case, they w ill be ab le to
m ake b e tte r d e c isio n s ab o u t c u s
tody, v isita tio n , se n te n c in g and
treatm ent
tect and defend Black men from this
assault has at times been the instru
ment of many unspeakable legally
sanctioned acts i.e.; public lynching,
police brutally, racially discrimina
tory public policies (Jim Crow laws)
and a spate of experiments (i.e. Miss
Evers’ Boys). This often fatal irony
has left a indelible mark on the most
basic survival instincts of every Black
male in America. In effect, each and
every time a Black male interfaces
with the system, i.e. through the
courts, the police, and the medical
system, at some level he believes that
his life and well being will be endan
gered. Unfortunately, this fear has all
v isito rs per w eek, a num ber that
co n tin u e s to clim b. M ost p o p u
lar pag es are Jo b O p p o rtu n itie s,
A b o u t V a n c o u v e r, N e ig h b o r
hoods and V a n co u v er H istory.
In August, the city’s Internet site
received an Award of Excellence in
the ninth annual APEX completion
for communication professionals.
A PE X a w ard s rec o g n iz e e x
c e lle n c e in g rap h ic d e sig n , e d i
torial c o n te n t and overall c o m
m u n ic a tio n s a c h ie v e m e n t. In
S ep te m b e r, the site received a
S ilv e r Savvy A w ard, p resented
by th e N a tio n a l C ity -C o u n ty
C o m m u n ic a tio n s and M arketing
A sso ciatio n .
V isit V a n c o u v e r’s w eb site at:
w w w .c i.v a n c o u v c r.w a .u s/.
More than 30,(XX) new oral cancer
cases are reported yearly, with painful
and horribly disfiguringconsequences.
Thousands more lives are lost to can
cer of the throat, larynx or stomach,
directly attributable to spit tobacco.
"It’s not enough to tell smokers to
quit,” says Manske. “If we really
want to prevent tobacco-related
deaths, w e’ve got to get spit tobacco
users, as well as smokers, off the
tobacco habit.”
His recommendation? Get spit
tobacco users to switch to harmless
Mint Snuff(TM), asafe, non-tobacco,
food-grade alternative specifically
designed to help people quit chew
ing tobacco. Mint Snuff comes in the
same round tins and in the same form
(finely ground mint chew or pack
aged in little teabag- like pouches) as
the tobacco product, so it satisfies all
the social needs and habits of the spit
tobacco user. “The difference,” he
emphasizes, "is that mint is totally
safe... while tobacco kills.”
The Oregon Mint Snuff Company,
a Network supporter, has contrib
uted 100,000 cans of Mint Snuff to
dental health professionals nation
wide, to help in tobacco cessation
intervention. Free samples are avail
able at 1-800-EAT-MINT (1-800-
328-6468) or www.mintsnuff.com.
The Tobacco Intervention Net
work is comprised of over 9,000
dentists, hygienists, dental assistants
and other oral health professionals,
both civilian and military
W a n te d
The P ortland Police B ureau,
in c o o p e r a tio n w ith C rim e
S to p p ers, is asking for yo u r
help in locating and a p p re h e n d
ing G erald Lee C h itten d en . A
felony no bail arrest w arran t,
ch arging C h ittenden w ith R o b
bery in the F irst D egree, is on
file in M ultnom ah C ounty.
G erald Lee C h itte n d e n is a
2 9 -y ear-o ld w hile m ale (DOB
January 4, 1968). He is a p
proxim ately 5 ’04 to 5 ’06 tall
and w eighs 130 to 135 pounds,
w ith brow n hair and green or
hazel eyes. He is p ro b a b ly c u r
ren tly w orking so m e w h e re in
the P o rtla n d /V a n c o u v e r a rea at
an auto re p a ir-ty p e fa c ility .
If you have any in fo rm a tio n
re g a rd in g th is c a se , ca ll the
C rim e S toppers Program . C rim e
S to p p ers is o ffe rin g a c ash re
w ard o f up to $ 1,000 for in fo r
m ation, rep o rted to C rim e S to p
pers, w hich leads to an a rre st in
this case or any unsolved felony
c rim e , and yo u can re m a in
anonym ous. C all C rim e S to p
pers at (5 0 3 ) 823-H E L P .
Suspects Arrested After 43 Min. Pursuit
Portland Police Officers arrested
four subjects involved in a series of
motor vehicle thefts involving Jeep
Grand Cherokees. The arrest in
volved a 43 minute police pursuit
which ended in a vehicular crash on
West Union Road in Washington
County.
At approximately 10:50 a.m. on
December 12, 1997, officers from
the Auto Theft Task Force (ATTF)
of the Portland Police Bureau ob
served a stolen silver 1997 Jeep
Grand Cherokee traveling in the
area of SE Foster and SE Powell.
Officers attempted to stop the ve
hicle and its four passengers. A
vehicle pursuit ensued which trav-
eled west bound through SE Port
land, crossing the Ross Island Bridge,
south into SW Portland, ending in a
crash in rural W ashington County.
The stolen jeep struck a Plymouth
van driven by a woman attempting to
make a left and turn into a residential
neighborhood. The woman suffered
minor injuries and was transported
to a nearby hospital. The driver of the
jeep suffered more serious injuries
and was transported to Emanuel
Hospital. No one else was injured.
The four subjects are believed to
be members of a group which has
been involved in a series of motor
vehicle theft scams. The suspects in
the thefts represent themselves as
professionals who falsely rent the
vehicles from local area car rental
businesses. The vehicles rentals are
then billed to other local area busi
nesses. At least six Jeep Grand
Cherokees have been falsely ob
tained in the past two months.
The pursuit involved members
of the Portland Police Bureau,
Washington County Sheriff’s O f
fice, Multnomah County Sheriff’s
Office and the Oregon State Po
lice. Speed during the pursuit
ranged between 25-70 miles per
hour.
A rrested and charged: Jack
Landrew Brown white male, DOB
October 04, 1965.
PGE's Ed Bunn.
On call,
on the move
around the clock
As part of PGE's Eagle repair and
restoration crew, Ed brings his truck
home and is always ready to roll—
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Aided by the latest communication
technology, he's usually first on the scene
of a power outage or electrical emergency.
Ed is there for you, helping bring power
to North, Northwest and Northeast
Portland—safely and reliably.
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