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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2000)
September 20, 2000 Page A4 (The ^tlortlanb (Observer Articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of ^Opinion ^ d o r tla tth (Tlje P o rtla n d (J!)bgeruer ■HM M M I (© b s e ru e r Being Intolerant of Intolerance USPS 959-680 Established 1970 E d it o r P C in h ie f , Bs u b l is h e r P resident , N ational U rban L eagle Charles H. Washington E d i t o One might almost have felt some sympathy for82-year-old Richard Gimt Butler, looking frail and tired, as he stood outside the Idaho State courthouse in Coeur d ’ Alene late last week. After all, it’s quite a blow at any age to be hit with a $6.3-million civil judgement handed up by a jury against the organization you’ve built up over several decades. Be cause o f that verdict, Butler stands to lose his organization’s 20-acre property in nearby Hayden Lake and. vowed one o f the attorneys who sued him, “ every desk type writer and com puter” in it. Yes, one might feel at least a r Larry J. Jackson, Sr. B u s in e s s M anager Gary Ann Taylor A sst . P ublisher Michael Leighton C opy E H ic h B. P rice d it o r Joy Ramos 4747 NE Martin Luther King, twinge o f sympathy-were it not for the fact that Richard Gimt Butler, whose followers call him “Pastor” Butler, is the founder and guiding figure ofthe Aryan Nations, one o f the most dangerous o f the white- racist extremist groups which has sheltered and inspired numerous racists who have committed vio lent bank robberies and murders, has long been called "the elder statesman o f American hate.” One o f those who knows most Butler and the Aryan Nations is Morris S. Dees, Jr., a co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The nonprofit center, which is based in Birmingham, Alabama and has long been a stalwart crusader against groups and individuals who preach bigotry and violence, brought the suit. We can take heart that one jury o f Americans "in a rural courtroom in the back country o f Idaho" fol lowed the law and refuted intoler ance. 'Zero Tolerance Spells Disaster The Reverend Jesse Jackson, Founder and President o f the Rain- bow /Push C oalition, recently re sponded to news o f the arrests of several High school students in Decatur, Illinois. The Youth were among the group that was expelled last fall for fighting at a football game, prompting inter vention by Reverend Jackson and Governor Ryan. “The incident leading to these ar rests is tragic,” said Reverend Jack- son. “It is clear that these youth are troubled, it is unfortunate that inter vention did not occur earlier in their lives. Far too many o f our youth are lost and live in the margins without adequate support from the commu- » nity or the school system. Rather than lend the support and guidance necessary to help them become self- sufficient adults, countless school districts are shutting them out and pushing them further toward a pat tern o f self-destructive behavior that lands them in trouble with the law.” “ These arrests have absolutely nothing to do with the issues that led to our involvement in Decatur last year," maintained Reverend Jack- son. “We fully believe that individu als should face the consequences for their behavior. However, the rules should be clear, the playing field should be even, and the punishment should fit the crime.” None o f these principles were be ing upheld by the Decatur school board last year. Zero tolerance poli cies that our children, whose future opportunities are at stake, make them doubly harmful. Comparing the case o f the Decatur students to that o f recently fired In d ia n a b a sk e tb a ll co ach B obby Knight, Reverend Jackson said, “We are sending a mixed message to our kids. For a high school student, it is often ' one strike and you’re out. ’ But Bobby Knight gets ten strikes and overtime." ‘Zero tolerance’ is really is a mis nomer for the treatment he received - the university tolerated years o f vio lent behavior and abusive conduct. Had the Decatur youth received half the support Knight has, it’s un likely we would be discussing this issue today. called for by Al Sharpton. We are committed to Burger King ’ s corporate diversity philoso phy and its five key provisions for striving toward diversity and eco nomic parity in the areas o f em ployment, franchises, marketing and advertising, procurement and philanthropy. For example, Burger King has demonstrated its commitment to forming strategic alliances with a number o f minority companies. This includes its 18-year partner ship with the Uniworld Group, the largest African American advertis ing agency in the United States and its 11-year partnership with Bromley, Aguilar - its Hispanic - advertising agency o f record. Additionally, in 1991 Burger King Corporation and the Minor- ity Franchise Association formed a Diversity Action Council. The DAC was formed to extend eco nomic and business development provisions. For the last 26 years, the Minor ity Franchise asso ciation has worked in partnership with Burger King Corporation to stimulate eco nomic growth and development in ourcommunities. It is our strong belief that the people o f these communities in cluding our employees, our com munity-based business partners, our suppliers and their families will most harshly feel the effects o f a national boycott. It is only with the ongonig support o f our loyal cus tomers that we can continue to make positive contributions to the communities that we serve. Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1 Letters to the editor: 503-288-0033 Latinos, Latinas outraged over Portland INS Fax 503-288-0015 news@portlandobserver.com septattandphaeiver.com ads@portlandobserver.com P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 3 1 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year Genaccion is a group ofover 80 professional young Latinos and Latinas who have come together to promote leadership and effect social change in Portland. We are outraged at the treat ment o f Guo Liming by INS and support any requests or call to action from the Asian Community on her behalf. On August 25 th, the Oregonian reported the story o f Chinese businesswomen, Guo Liming. Ms. Liming was forced to comply with a strip search because the INS throughout her citizens o f Non European background experiences whenever they come into contact with the INS Department in Port land. It is becoming increasingly clear that communities o f color re ceive severe treatment by Portland INS officials. A n exam ple o f The heavy handed tactics used by INS were demonstrated on Guo Liming’s humiliating experience o f being strip searched, jailed for two nights and her business partners and the Chinese Consulate not being con tacted, as is local policy. This a clear violation o f her hu man rights. We applaud the efforts o f Gov ernor John Kitzhaber and Repre sentatives D avid Wu, Darlene Hooley, Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio in their request for the resignation o f INS Portland Dis trict Director, David Beebe. Minority-Owned Burger Kings’ Against Boycott The following is a statement by Burger KingCorporation’s Minor ity Franchise Association in re sponse to the national boycott initiated by La-Van Hawkins: There are 1,173 minority-owned Burger King Corporation reassur ance nationwide - 15 percent o f 7,830 franchised-owned Burger King Corporation is a 26-year-old national organization made up o f 75 minority franchisees. "As a group, we are united in our opposition to the national boy cott o f Burger King restaurants as on 4 w ith To better serve a growing population and its increased reliance on modems, wireless phones, fax machines, and pagers, the phone companies o f Oregon have added a new 971 area code to the 503 area. This kind of change is not just occurring in Oregon, but throughout the country. And because the new codes differ in format from previous codes that contained cither a ‘ 1’ or a *0’ in the second digit, you should check all specialized Central Office-based systems for compatibility. Some of these systems may require reprogramming or upgrading. Cellular phones must be reprogrammed by your cellular service provider. To test your equipment, call the new Oregon area code test line at 1-800-000*0000. If you have any difficulty dialing the new area code, please call your operator to assist you in placing your call. T h e O regon T elecom m u nication s A sso cia tio n and Y our Local T eleco m m u n ica tio n s P rovid ers 1 V k
