December 6, 2017
Page 13
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O PINION
Rent Control, Gun Control and Impeachment
What would
Nelson
Mandela do?
male capitalists and their me-
dia brethren) would insist in the
UK, for example, that to abolish
slavery would be to destroy the
jobs of thousands of UK workers,
dependent on the slave trade for
their industrial output and pay-
by l ew C hurCh
The excellent editorial cartoon checks.
Likewise, suffragettes and an-
and commentary about gun con-
trol (Preventing Gun Deaths and ti-apartheid activists later on were
Protecting Gun Rights, Portland
Observer, Nov. 15 issue) high-
lights the need to not lose heart
when advocating for what the
mainstream media tends to char-
acterize as “impossible” goals.
At Portland State, our activ-
ist coalition has been discussing
strategy and tactics with this in
mind for three issues: Rent con-
trol, gun control and impeach-
ment. We believe each of these
is vital, and more importantly,
achievable sooner, not later.
The Italian Marxist organizer
Antonio Gramsci once said, “The
challenge for modernity is to live
life without illusions and without
becoming disillusioned.” In terms
of political issues in which the
powers that be insist “will never told by those in power that giving
change,” we at PSU have found it the vote to women and black folk
useful to ask, what would Nelson would destroy the smarter, more
accomplished white male power
Mandela do?
I was one of the organizers of structure that creates wealth for
five pickets in Portland in support lesser folks.
Today, when it comes to the
of the American Friends Ser-
vice Committee’s anti-apartheid issues of rent control, gun con-
Coke boycott, before the white trol and impeaching Trump -- ac-
minority, racist government was tivists hear doomsday scenarios
overthrown in Pretoria. Some of from those with something to
us at PSU (now elders) believed lose by such changes.
In Oregon, rent control was
that when the suffragette move-
ment, and when the anti-slavery blocked in Salem earlier this year
movement initially got started, by a blue dog Democrat and land-
the powers that be (usually white lord state senator, Rod Monroe.
“Rent raisin’” Rod is now being
challenged by two Democrats in
the May Primary.
Portland Gray Panthers, based
at PSU, is happy to endorse
Kayse Jama of Unite Oregon to
replace Monroe. The incumbent
would be wise to follow the ex-
ample set by Portland City Coun-
cil member (and millionaire) Dan
Do we think housing and
public safety (freedom from gun
violence) are important enough
issues to launch grassroots, mass
movements, like the anti-apart-
heid, anti-slavery and pro-suf-
frage movements?
Does the
success of those decades-long
organizing movements give hope
(rather than despair?) to those of
What would rent control, gun control and
impeachment look like? With enough grassroots
support, these things are totally possible. After 27
years in jail in South Africa to secure voting rights
for black folks, and then to become that country’s
first black president -- many of us believe that
Nelson Mandela would say if you organize long
enough, and with strategy, tactics and a timeline --
you can win.
Saltzman -- by simply announc-
ing he is retiring, Let Jama go to
work for tenants, for immigrants,
for people of color, for workers
and the poor in our state capital.
In terms of gun control, I
was able to write a funded grant
(generously supported by the
northwest’s McKenzie River
Gathering) for a pro-gun control
conference at PSU. I believe that
Australia and European countries
have acted to stop gun violence.
As we know, the NRA, the Re-
publicans and Trump -- are refus-
ing to do so.
us who believe that rent control
and gun control alike are sorely
needed today?
But what about impeaching
the current occupant of our White
House? Are the offenses against
our country and the world tanta-
mount to ‘high crimes and mis-
demeanors’? Moreover, like rent
control in Oregon and gun control
in Estados Unidos -- is impeach-
ment a ‘feasible’ and desirable
goal? We believe it is.
Collusion with Russia is trea-
son. Trump still wants to “lock”
Hillary up, at his rallies a year af-
ter she won the popular vote by
almost 3,000,000 votes. Trump
brags about grabbing women by
their privates, trashes Gold Star
families and John McCain, de-
spises Black Lives Matter and
Colin Kapernaek, and says there
are “good Nazis” and good pro-
testors on both sides of the racist
marches at Charlottesville.
Trump says Judge Roy Moore
is a GOP stalwart, but Senator
Franken is sketchy. Trump also
adds that NFL players who pro-
test racism “should be fired.”
Trump’s right wing practices mir-
ror his TV celebrity, game show
rhetoric.
What would rent control, gun
control and impeachment look
like? With enough grassroots
support, these things are totally
possible. After 27 years in jail
in South Africa to secure voting
rights for black folks, and then to
become that country’s first black
president -- many of us believe
that Nelson Mandela would say
if you organize long enough, and
with strategy, tactics and a time-
line -- you can win.
Rent control can be legal in
Oregon, not just New York City
or San Francisco or Berlin. Gun
control can be legal in the world’s
“best democracy.” And, we can
eject a fascist, racist, sexist prof-
iteer from what belongs to the
people, in a democracy, our White
House in Washington, D.C.
Lew Church is coordinator
of Portland Gray Panthers and
founding publisher and editor of
two Portland State activist pa-
pers, the PSU Reargard and PSU
Agitator.
Invest in Treatment, Mental Health and Better Medicine
The pain behind
opioid abuse
J ill r iCharDson
Donald Trump re-
cently declared the
opioid epidemic a
national public health
emergency. At first
I thought, is this the
first time I approve of
something Trump has done?
Alas, no. And here’s why: Nine
years ago, I lost my brother to a
heroin overdose.
My brother and I each grew up
suffering trauma, and it profound-
ly affected each of our lives. For
my brother’s part, he dealt with his
unbearable pain by using drugs.
He died before he could get help.
by
In my case, I shut down, lost
my imagination, cut off my ability
to feel both emotions and physical
sensations, and lost my ability to
have close intimate relation-
ships with others, whether
platonic or romantic. I’ve
suffered daily migraines for
23 years now.
I went to doctor after
doctor for my migraines,
tried 20 different prescrip-
tion drugs, mental health counsel-
ing, Botox injections, and more.
There are just two drugs that
help my migraines: opioids and
medical marijuana.
Until recently, my only option
was the opioids, which I get le-
gally from a doctor’s prescription.
This is how many people get ad-
dicted.
My tolerance to opioids grows
quickly. I try to use them less than
once a month in order to avoid
needing higher doses to quell the
pain. At most I use them once a
week, but even then, I start need-
ing higher doses quickly just to
make the pain stop.
Since I’m in pain every day, I
can see how someone could get
hooked. If I had popped a pill
every time I had a migraine in-
stead of rationing out my meds, I
could’ve been one of the unlucky
ones too.
Fortunately, I’ve gotten med-
ical marijuana in the last few
months, and it’s changed my life.
I use it legally and responsibly. I
don’t drive or work while using it.
Now I can get pain relief as need-
ed without worrying about form-
ing a life-ending addiction.
My brother used marijuana too,
but he lacked the option to use it
legally. Instead, he was arrested
for it, which didn’t improve things
for him.
In my decades of going to pri-
mary care doctors, neurologists,
and even psychologists, nobody
noticed my trauma. My brother
suffered on his own too.
If we want to get serious about
the opioid epidemic, we need to
increase the availability of mental
health help in a big way. We should
have more counselors in schools,
and we should train teachers to
be more sensitive to and aware of
children suffering from trauma,
and doctors to be more aware of
it in patients.
Importantly, we should also de-
criminalize marijuana throughout
the nation and get serious about
medical research on the drug.
When the alternative for many is
opioids, there’s simply no excuse
to maintain the prohibition on pot.
Meanwhile, we must keep
funding Medicaid, so that the most
vulnerable Americans have access
to medical care too — including
addiction treatment, which barely
one in 10 addicts gets.
But what does Trump say?
Build his wall.
Trump’s right about the prob-
lem, but dead wrong about the
solution.
OtherWords columnist Jill
Richardson is the author of Recipe
for America: Why Our Food Sys-
tem Is Broken and What We Can
Do to Fix It.