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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2015)
News Boots Common Core Opt-Out continued from page 1 That case resulted in a landmark legal decision against racist leader Tom Metzger that effectively shut down White Aryan Resistance (WAR), a major skinhead organization. Seaman likens skinheads to the swastika, which was a sacred symbol that meant “good fortune” in Sanskrit. After being associated with the Nazi movement in Germany, the symbol has been stigmatized and has effectively lost its original meaning. “Are they so attached to that particular model that they don’t wish to recognize the 40 years after it?” Seaman asked. “I don’t think it is salvageable.” To Seaman, the association between the early, peaceful skinheads is disingenuous as well. Some of the other skin- head-associated boots were normal looking footwear from the late 60s, but not the “weapon of choice” tower boot. The scuffed-up look of the boot for sale now shows the steel toe cap, as if the leather on top has been worn away after repeated kickings. “If you bring it back and say it’s the ‘weapon of choice’ then you are actually encouraging illegal behavior,” Sea- man said. “I don’t think we should be aiding people to express themselves violently.” Seaman’s letter, reads, in part: PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Some of the other skinhead- associated boots were normal looking footwear from the late 60s, but not the “weapon of choice” tower boot Garfield high School history teacher Jesse hagopian speaks at a press conference on April 8 at Seattle NAACP headquarters, linking the #BlacklivesMatter movement to the growing number of students who are opting out of the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) standardized tests. The Seattle NAACP endorsed a boycott of the tests. I’m writing you now to ask you to cease making and mar- keting this boot design. Also, delete any reference to skinheads in your marketing and shoebox brochure for the 10-eye 1490 Boot. Over four decades of skinheads’ violent, racist, criminal behavior is a festering wound on our world as it struggles to affirm the dignity and humanity of everyone. I can under- stand your desire to advertise your goods to an increasingly diverse, cosmopolitan world of youth; however, you should not want to be condoning and abetting ugly racial violence, illegal and offensive as it is. And your shoe insert does just that. When I google, “skin head boots” this 6-eye Steel Toe Boot comes up. Stop making hate fashionable. Fulton continued from page 1 this time with a focus on the youth. Speaking without a script, Fulton stressed the need for people to exercise their power in the justice system beyond simply march- ing in the streets. “If I take the hoodie out of the equation what do we have left?” Fulton posed before answering her own question. “We have the color of his skin.” Jefferson High School student Llondyn Elliot read a poem for Fulton about the plight — and strength — of Black youth in America, which drew a standing ovation from the crowd. Middle schoolers from Chief Joseph/Ock- ley Green’s Mock Trial class also spoke. ‘I am a human being, but at the same time I’m a mom; my heart still aches’ The teens detailed their re-creation of Zim- merman’s murder trial before Oregon Appeals Court Judge Darleen Ortega last fall; the judge found him guilty of murder. “We didn’t feel like celebrating because there was still no justice,” said one of the students. The teenagers also read of a list of demands for the adults, calling on them to teach the history of racism — and how to dismantle it; to educate students on their legal rights; and to mentor them. Fulton offered warnings to the youth about the images they put out on social media. “That social media page talks about you and who you are.” Fulton said. “It’s about image. It’s about how you carry yourself, it’s about how you speak, it’s about your education, it’s about your goals and what you want to do, so make sure they are rep- resentative of who you are, and what you of other cities, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston and Portland, Maine, have expressed interest. Billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations announced last week that it would give five jurisdictions up to $200,000 each to help them copy it. spring. “Now that we know it works, I think the interest in this is going to just explode,” said Gabriel Sayegh, managing director of poli- cy and campaigns at the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, which is affiliated with Soros. want to become,” she said. Fulton closed the community meeting by answering questions from the crowd. When asked if she’d forgiven Zimmer- man yet, she says she hasn’t, but feels she will in “her own time.” “I am a human being,” she said. “But at the same time I’m a mom; my heart still aches. “I’m just not there yet.” Martin would have been 20 years old this year, and Fulton says instead of marking his death day she celebrates his birthday. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com lEAD continued from page 1 nationwide, as some cities are doing. “This is a big deal — bigger reductions than are seen in almost any criminal justice interventions,” Lisa Daugaard, policy direc- tor at King County’s Public Defender Association, wrote in an email. “This makes the case for ‘system as usual’ processing (even with drug courts) very weak.” Unlike with many drug courts or other programs, participants aren’t threatened with jail time or with being kicked out if they relapse. As he loitered outside a payday lending store Tuesday, Lopton, 24, said he’s excited to try it. “Over the past six months, people have been talking about it, about how they got into treatment because of LEAD, how they got a new apartment because of LEAD,” he said. “If it’s something to help me get off the streets, to help me make better steps to a better future, I’m down — I’m so down.” For years, communities have been seek- ing alternatives to the revolving-door justice of the drug war. Santa Fe, New Mex- ico, launched a program modeled on Seattle’s a year ago, and Albany, New York, plans to start its version next year. Dozens Unlike with many drug courts or other programs, participants aren’t threatened with jail time or with being kicked out if they relapse In Seattle, which led the way in providing housing where chronic alcoholics can drink, saving millions on emergency response and hospital costs, police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, city officials and community groups came together to launch the pro- gram. Open Society, the Ford Foundation and others provided a budget of $800,000 a year for four years. The city matched the annual contributions over the past two years and is trying to figure out how to pay to expand it. A cost-benefit analysis is due later this Between October 2011 and July 2014, Seattle police helped 203 people enroll, the study said. Most had just been arrested; oth- ers were suspected of recent drug or prostitution activity. Instead of being booked, they were referred to a case manag- er. Many were provided motel rooms, groceries, clothing, drug treatment and job training. Some were placed in yoga classes or given art supplies — “any service that could clear whatever roadblocks are in the way for somebody to make behavioral changes,” Daugaard said. Police determined eligibility: no serious violent crimes in the past, no exploiting minors in a drug-dealing enterprise, no drug dealing for profit above a subsistence level, among other criteria. In the control group were 115 people who would have qualified but weren’t offered the chance because they were arrested on certain police shifts or outside the neighbor- hoods covered by the program. When Misti Barrickman enrolled, she had been homeless for seven years, shoplifting, prostituting herself or begging to support her heroin and crack addictions. Her first thought was to scam the program: “I thought, they’re giving me a motel room and groceries? What else can I get from these people?” She relapsed several times, she said, but her case manager never judged her. Eventu- ally, something changed, and she quit for good about two years ago. She’s now in her second year at community college. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com April 15, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
