Opinion
Generations Are In Jeopardy
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
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T
he generational gap is not
something you can point to,
or put your finger on and
feel, but it is real and it is impair-
ing our community and our socie-
ty in exceptionally detrimental
ways.
Portland is providential! And
no, this is not some residual praise
of our city that is left over from
my last thoughts about us needing
to speak about our city in a better
light. I really do mean it when I
say this place is fortunate. And
yes, I have an explanation. Like to
hear it? Here it goes!
We’ve got sage wisdom and
council right here amongst us —
and one such advisor is a well-
known, well-dressed and well-
respected fellow by the name of
Elder Rob Richardson. Elder
Richardson deserves credit for a
host of efforts, but two particular-
ly strike me as noteworthy: the
sheer number of people and fami-
lies this man has touched and
helped in the city of Portland AND
a saying that often precedes him
but is almost always credited back
to him — “there was a time when
a boy was afraid to walk through a
pack of men. Now a man is afraid
to walk through a pack of boys!”
And that saying, those two sen-
tences sum up an ailment that is
putrid and vile, real and raw and
insupportable in our communities.
But it did not become that way
overnight, nor was it at the hands
of a person, or a people. Our fault
— if we have any to bear — is that
we just haven’t reminded each
other recently enough that we need
US -- ALL OF US! I so want to
approach the historical, cultural
and socioeconomic (equity) pieces
that have contributed to this dilem-
ma, but…well…another day.
However, I am willing to ride a
wager on the line that says we just
need to re-appreciate (I am author-
ized to make up words on
Tuesdays) who we are, what we
are and most critically, what we
are to one another. Look at it like
this — which of us would fib
enough to declare that we never
assumed the posture in life that
says, “I’ve done it all by myself, I
am doing it by myself, and no one
has ever done anything for me,” or
some version of that with more or
less verbal contusions? By and
large, most adolescents carry a
detached perspective that smells
like arrogance exponentiated;
blame it on the part of their brain
that hasn’t developed yet.
And somewhere around there is
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Fighting Pancreatic Cancer
_________________
Pancreatic cancer has the lowest
survival rate of all the cancers tracked
by the American Cancer Society and
the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
that still has a five-year survival rate
in the single digits (6%). There are no
early detection tools and no effective
treatments. Despite these facts, the
federal government has no long-term
comprehensive research strategy to
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where this really corrosive cycle
starts — I feel like I’m all alone,
figuring life out without the neces-
sary connections and support.
Most who have matured would
But the emotion of feeling
abandoned is as real as the
perception that it is. And a human
feeling detached is a simple way to
create contention
say that those times in life where
you have to depend on you and
only you are times that make you a
better person — lonely struggle
can build resiliency.
But the emotion of feeling aban-
doned is as real as the perception
that it is. And a human feeling
detached is a simple way to create
contention. That contention looks
like disregard, which feels like
disrespect and all of a sudden the
same supportive adult is seen as
the disconnector or disposer. So
what if I am one of Portland’s
thousands of teenagers? Some
view me as a threat, to others I am
a pest, and to some I am anomaly
— to be studied, figured out,
researched and experimented on
(never forget Tuskegee!!!).
Whichever concoction of emo-
tions I feel based on what I do and
don’t receive from those ahead of
me shapes how I feel about me and
how I feel about them. Left to my
own devices, that concoction does
(and often has) grown into disdain
and real active disrespect and defi-
ance. Now, if any were wondering
why kids and young people don’t
listen to the adults around them —
this is not the only reason but it is
a big one!!!
But they weren’t left alone. No,
not our children! Not always, but
often that is the response from the
adults and elders. We gave you
more than we had, and can’t help
but to wonder if that was the fault.
Are these spoiled, self-absorbed,
superficial snot-noses going to tell
me how they will be raised? Ok,
combat pancreatic cancer.
_________________
State
Rob
Ingram
that might be harsh, but how many
of us got the “because I told you
so!” and thought how cold to
respond in that manner? Even bet-
ter yet, how many of us got the “do
as I say, not as I do” contradiction?
I got it, but I didn’t “get” it; still
don’t!
Oh, and then there is the issue of
silent reprimand and retribution:
when some feel as though they’ve
not been treated with the reverence
and veneration that they feel they
deserve. And no one should argue
who is deserving and who is not;
because you will inadvertently be
right eventually. I would dare not
mention who, where or when (as
that might be a lot of remember-
ing) but I’ve seen with my own
pair of eyes how some who have
made it; have “arrived” will inten-
tionally remove themselves from
those coming up as a way of
reprisal.
It makes sense to take the car
keys, the cell phone, even the right
to entertainment — but to remove
you??? The only thing that is like-
ly to teach me is how to punish
others with my absence or how to
“properly” avoid situations and
people that I feel are not doing
enough homage paying and/ or
brown-nosing.
It just bears mentioning that
adults understand childhood
(hopefully), while children can’t
understand adulthood, and that
somewhere in all of that, it
becomes their fault — whoever
they are. We’re in serious trouble
here people! This rant is only a
sliver of the real dialogue. In fact,
the sins run so deep I’m not sure it
is worth it to try to unpack and rec-
tify them.
In some ways, it might just be
better to apologize, make amends,
and move forward rather than try
to address the finger-pointing (you
know what they say about the one
pointing at them — AND the three
pointing back at you…). I have no
clue whose fault it is, and nor do I
really care. Will it ever really mat-
ter and what will it get us if we can
identify the culprit(s) and call
them out? Shall we waterboard
them?
Well you might be one of the
ones getting dunked then, and
probably didn’t do any of it inten-
tionally. While we’re finger-
pointing, complaining and calling
for crucifixions, the gap between
the generations is widening.
Invariably, if and when it gets as
wide as the Columbia River we’ll
have a task on our hands trying to
bridge it. And I’m not sure what
we can expect out of our society if
we won’t work together.
In a way, it seems fitting that this
was written the same week that Gil
Scott Heron passed away. Gil was
a revolutionary in the purest sense
of the word. He believed in the
best of us, and gave us music to be
the soundtrack to those efforts. He
knew where our problems and
demons lied, even though he
struggled to keep a grasp on his
own. Gil laid classic tracks about
the struggle, and the issues, but the
words that rang truest for me were
about us, and how we needed to do
better by one another. He hit us
with those notes over and over,
obviously because we weren’t get-
ting it.
Watching his life was somewhat
prophetic if you mirror it with the
growth of the Black community.
First we learned about ourselves,
then we took action to do some-
thing about, only to fall victim to
addiction and abuse, and eventual-
ly sustained until our demise. And
what’s worse? We never reached
our full potential! We never found
those ways to share our experi-
ences, our thoughts, our lessons
with those coming behind us who
needed them, and still need them,
to this day.
While I can’t give you the con-
text Gil was in when he wrote the
lyrics, I can tell you that they fit.
“I know you’ve been hurt by
someone else. I can tell by the way
you carry yourself. But if you’ll
let me, here’s what I’ll do — I’ll
take care of you,” so noble and
pure, if only we could live those
words. And finally, one more
from my good friend and mentor
Rob Richardson: “Hurt people
hurt other people.” We’re out of
options, and we can’t do it alone.
It is time for us to come together in
real ways, let our guard down and
remind each other — I love you, I
need you, I AM YOU!
Bridge the gap!
Letters to the Editor
________________________
Name
_________________
T HE S KANNER
N EWS
Page 4 The Portland Skanner June 15, 2011
We would never tolerate breast can-
cer or prostate cancer killing nearing
40,000 each year without putting seri-
ous money behind finding an early
diagnostic test and a reliable treat-
ment. We would never turn a blind
eye to a murderer who killed 40,000
people every year. We would never
ignore someone stepping onto US soil
and killing 40,000 of its citizens with-
out going after the perpetrator. Why
then do we allow pancreatic cancer to
have the last word in SO many lives
each year? It's time to level the play-
ing field of cancer research and give
pancreatic cancer research its overdue
attention. Now.
The best way to fight this disease
and change the status quo is to pass
the Pancreatic Cancer Research &
Education Act (S. 362/H.R. 733). The
bill would require the NCI to develop
a long-term comprehensive strategic
plan to combat the disease.
Unfortunately, our very own mem-
bers of Congress have not yet signed
on to this critical legislation.
I would encourage everyone to join
me and thousands of other pancreatic
cancer advocates from across the
country on June 14 for a National
Call-In to Congress asking that they
co-sponsor the Pancreatic Cancer
Research & Education Act. Go to
www.knowitfightitendit.org to learn
more.
Together, we can make a difference
in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Evette Bechtold
Portland