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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2011)
www . THESkANNER . COM N OVEMBER 2, 2011 P ORTLAND , O REgON V OLuME XXXIII, N O . 53 25 CENTS i nSiDe Obama Jobs Bill page 4 Homebuying Fair page 5 Rissa Riss C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow Occupy Lacks Diversity? page 6 SUN SHINES HErE Supporters want Wall Street Movement to look at racism issues See occuPy on page 3 inDeX News ..............2,3,9,10 Opinion ..................4,5 A & E ......................6,7 Food..........................8 Bids/Classifieds ........11 PHoTo By Julie keefe W hen walking through the Occupy Portland camp, there is a notice- able lack of people of color. Supporters of all races have tried to get underrepresented parts of the Portland com- munity involved, as well as address their specific concerns and the underlying ten- sions that have been lost in media narra- tives. But have they been successful? Adrian Adel, a supporter of the move- ment, says she has seen a disgruntled con- sensus among many people of color in the Portland community. “Low income people and communities of color have been screaming this for years,” she says. “I saw a woman holding a sign that said ‘Save the Middle Class’. But we’ve been in a recession for 200 years. We’ve been eating top ramen.” Occupy Portland, as well as the larger Occupy Movement, has addressed broader issues of income inequality and lack of jobs. Many of the signs around the camp chal- lenge things like corruption in politics, the military industrial complex and the nearly 275 percent income increase for the top one percent in the last 28 years. However, there is little signage mention- ing problems like gentrification and provid- ing students with culturally relevant educa- tion. “No one here has addressed racism,” says Jessie Sponberg, another supporter of Occupy Portland. “But it’s super impor- tant.” He participated in a rally at Lloyd Center, designed to recruit more people to come down to the camp but says it wasn’t suc- cessful because people looked at the Occupiers as if they were trying to sell them something. Occupy Portland is planning to have peo- ple gather downtown to withdraw their money from large commercial banks start- ing Tuesday. Denise Millholen, who got involved in the Occupy Movement during a The Sunshine Division received a donation of 25,000 pounds of holiday hams last week, The hams will help the nonprofit feed hundreds of struggling families. Portland Police started Sunshine Division in 1923, and many officers volunteer with the agency. See our story on Page 10. Domestic Violence: Men Are Victims Too Myths about masculinity can stand in the way of treatment By Helen Silvis of The Skanner News L emont Boyd looks like somebody you wouldn’t want to mess with. Better known to his fans as L Pro, the Portland-based rapper is big and strong, well able to defend him- self. But L Pro’s ability to feel compassion for the weak and wounded, and his commitment to protecting the women and children in his life, had him excusing bad behavior. It nearly cost him his life. This was years ago, and L Pro says he’s way healthier now. He’s rapping again and engaged to a new woman, a graduate psychology student he says is “very very sweet.” Life is full of promise now. Yet L Pro will never forget the day when the woman he loved threw a knife at his face. The blade sliced into his face open- ing a diagonal wound from his mouth up toward his cheek. It left him with a visible scar he will always carry, and with invisible mental trauma that he has worked to heal. Even after the attack, L Pro did not see himself as a victim. “She was arrested and went to jail while I was at the hospital,” he says. “I was still making excuses for her stabbing me the way she did. ‘It was something in her childhood. She’s depressed. She has mental health issues...’ I did not want to see her go to prison. I wanted her to get mental health treat- ment. “I wanted to see good in this person. And I wanted to put my family back together.” L Pro agreed to talk about the attack because he wants to dis- pel the myths that say only women can be victims of domestic violence. Men don’t report violence against them, he says. It’s something men don’t talk about, or even recognize because it doesn’t match our ideas about masculinity. The National Crime Victimization study has found that 15 percent of intimate part- See violence on page 3 County Bans Toxic Plastics in Baby Items Vote signals end-run around lobbyists, Republicans in legislature lisa loving of The Skanner News M ultnomah County Board of Supervisors Thursday, convening as the County Board of Health, voted to ban reusable drinks containers made with the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) – often found in baby bottles, sippy cups, and reusable water bottles. Studies have linked BPA to health prob- lems in African American and low-income babies, toddlers and pregnant women, docu- menting health effects including higher infant mortality rates, low birth weight, and hyperactivity in girls. A study published last year in the journal Nature also listed BPA-triggered problems with poor ovarian function and mammary gland development, earlier age of puberty onset and more. “African American mothers are breast- feeding at lower rates and are more likely to use formula,” said Sonia Manhas, manager of the county’s Office of Public Health and Advocacy, at yesterday’s meeting. “The most important pathway for infants to be exposed to BPA is through plastic baby bot- See BPA on page 3
