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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 2014)
September 17, 2014 ®*!* $Iort lanb (Dbseruer Page 7 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. W? welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Vital Role to Care for the Good of Sexuality not harmful by M ichael S chuenemeyer It is n 't th a t we aren't getting an edu cation about sexual ity; the question is who is doing the educat ing. Although parents and caregivers are and should be the primary sexu ality educators for our children, we learn about sexuality from other sources, too. Media and advertising is one such source. The marketers of the world are likely counting on members of the religious com munity to quash age appropriate, comprehensive sexuality educa tion, so that the values in their ads can effectively shape how we make decisions. In fact, increasingly market ers use sexually charged ads with images that communicate messages about self-worth, body image and what is impor tant in relationships. How ever, the more educated you and I are about sex and sexuality, the more dif ficult it is for marketers to successfully exploit and distort our sense o f self, body and relationships for the sake of making a sale. Growing up in a Christian home, I was taught that sexual ity is a good gift from God. I've always had the sense that my sexuality is a good and integral part of who I am. As a sexuality educator of the Our Whole Lives curriculum , I believe we are called to enrich our lives by ex pressing our sexuality in ways that enhance human wholeness and fulfillment, and express love, commitment, delight and plea- sure. To take good care of this good gift, each of us needs to have accurate information about sexu ality and to be grounded in the healthy values of self-worth, sexual health, and what it means to be responsible, just and inclu sive. Developing a healthy sexuality cannot happen in a vacuum. We cannot expect to acquire accurate information, develop strong val ues and have the capacity make healthy and responsible decisions by being complacent. To do so is to put the good gift of sexuality into the hands of those who are more concerned about selling theirprod- ucts than what creates health and wholeness. Faith leaders and faith com munities have a vital role to play by encouraging the creation of safe spaces for people of all ages to engage in age appropri ate, com prehensive sexuality education. K now ledge about human sexuality is helpful, not harmful. Every individual has the right to accurate inform ation about sexuality and to have their questions answered. A few years ago a colleague and I met informally with a hand ful of researchers and officials at the World Health Organiza tion in Geneva, Switzerland to talk about comprehensive sexu ality education. We shared our vision and experience in doing this work in our houses of wor ship and other settings. We talked about the guidelines for age ap propriate sexuality education developed by the Sexuality In formation and Education Coun cil of the United States. It didn't take long before they were talk ing about themselves and their children. Some in that meeting indi- cated they had had to figure it out for themselves; a journey they often found lonely, difficult and fraught with misinformation. That was not what they wanted for their children, but in spite of their own medical training, they were keenly in tune with the challenges of providing good and accurate inform ation to their children, desiring to instill in them the values for making good, healthy and responsibly deci sions. That is what com prehen sive sexuality education is all about - honoring and valuing the good gift our sexuality, and equip ping one another with the infor mation we need to make healthy decisions that impact our entire lives. Michael Schuenemeyer is executive fo r H ealth and Wholeness Advocacy in Jus tice Ministries fo r the United Church o f Christ. These Machines Senselessly Endanger Your Health Ì U T” 4"* The Leaf Blower Divide by S arah A nderson When new neigh bors moved in next door, I didn’t hold off long before broaching the Big Question. E ven though we live in Washington, D.C., this had nothing to do with politics. For me, neighborly har mony hinges on where folks stand on this divide: leaf blower vs. rake. You see, I’m one o f those otherwise calm individuals who goes totally bonkers at the sound of a leaf blower. It would be different if this infernal racket served some useful purpose. When I go to the dentist, the drill doesn’t make my blood boil. I accept that without it, my teeth would rot. When a leaf blower cranks up, I can find no logical justifica tion for my suffering. In a recent article for AlterNet, former Con su m er R ep o rts e d ito r C liff Weathers presents a frightening litany of their multiple hazards. “Leaf blowers don’t just blow nurrt" _!•_• «• away leaves ~_11___ and lawn clippings, Weathers wrote. “Their 180- to 200-mph air output blasts away topsoil, microbial life forms, ani mal waste, allergic fungi, spores, herbicides, pesti cides, and even heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, and lead.” That’s gross and scary, but the worst part is what • - companies have worked to block anti-leaf blower efforts. A fa vorite tactic: Make it seem like opponents are all extremely rich, and possibly even racist. With low-income Latinos making up a large share of landscaping work ers, these are sensitive charges. It’s true that wealthy white enclaves were among the first to ban blow ers. In C alifornia, ers cites a competition the Los Angeles Department of Power and W ater organized that pitted a grandmother with a rake and broom against a professional landscaper with a leaf blower. Granny gave him a run for his money. Detailed analysis of the em ployment impacts of blower bans is hard to find and enforcement toxic cocktail of engine emissions and dust particulates can exacerbate allergies and asthma in children and adults, and aggravate acute pulmonary disorders. - Cllff A lte rs former Consumer Reports editor these gizmos do to your health. “This toxic cocktail of engine emissions and dust particulates can exacerbate allergies and asthma in children and adults, and aggravate acute pulmonary disorders,” Weathers explained. The American Lung Asso ciation says we should all steer clear of gasoline-powered blow ers, the most popular type. So why are they still in use? For decades now, manufac turers and many landscaping Carmel and Beverly Hills made the move back in the 1970s. But in most of the country, the higher- income set continues to drive dem and for these dangerous beasts. Industry lobbyists downplay the risks while claiming that regu lations will lead to higher costs and fewer jobs. But good old non-motorized tools are cheaper than leaf blowers and, according to several tests, nearly as fast. In his AlterNet article, Weath- median in Florida and Texas. Nationwide, the areas with the highest concentration of land scaping and groundskeeping jobs include some of the hoity-toitiest holiday and retirement spots. No. 1: N a n tu c k e t Isla n d and M artha’s Vineyard, where the Obama family vacationed this year. If a critical mass of these communities banned leaf blow ers, it would transform the land scaping industry away from re liance on m achines that are senselessly endangering health and welfare — especially for the workers who operate them. In response to my Big Ques tion, our new neighbors laughed and assured me I didn’t need to worry about which side they were on. This was a relief. But in a city that restricts leaf blower hours but hasn’t banned them, I ’ m still dreading the fall season. As in past years, I’ll probably hear three or four machines blast ing within a few blocks of my yard, while I — quietly raking— try to maintain my sanity. is tough. But it’s clear that in California, where about 20 cit ies, including Los Angeles, have banned blowers, the landscap ing industry has hardly collapsed. About 103,000 Californians are employed in this industry, and landscapers make up a larger share of the workforce there than in other big states like Texas, N ew Y ork, and Illin o is. OtherWords columnist Sa California’s median wage in this rah Anderson directs the Glo business is $ 13.75 per hour, more bal Economy Project at the than 20 percent higher than the Institute fo r Policy Studies .
