JimMoshfMd
H l QDU JO > OMHED l l ® OM.'EE MAY SPECIALS (prices good t i l l June 1) Any haircut Any perm (cut not included) Any color $12 Featuring products by Redken & Sebastian Fashion accessories by The Shady Lady Photos <8 Artwork by Portland's best HAIR DESIGNS by Joe Quirk Tuesday thru Friday noon-9 617 S.E. Morrison 239 -4677 appo in tmen ts p re fe r re d bu t no t a lways necessary 2
CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY THE CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY abso lutely fre e ---------- C*O*N T*E»N'T»S Under the Volcano Alexis Duprosis.......................... 5 “ Right to Life” Carlin Chasman.......................... 6 Earthly Horrors Enrico Martignoni...................... 9 A Day in the Life Rick Myers............................... 10 An Interview with Tim Walt Curtis........ ....................... 15 Catholic Dirty Tricks Warren Hinckle........................ 19 Mickey Comes to T ow n .............. 24 The Work of Isaac Shamsud-Din. 26 A Tyrant is Overthrown Rick Rub in................................ 27 A Fish Story Bill Bakke................ 28 A Night at the Horse Opera Musicmaster'............................ 32 Blazermyopia Lenny D e e ............ M Wet Whistle Walt Curtis.............. 38 A Taste of Celsi............................ 39 Stumptown Grooves Steve C ah ill.............................. 41 A Storefront History Anne Gerety.............................. 44 Pangene on S to re fron t................ 46 The Clinton St. Quarterly is published free to the public by Clinton St. Center for the Arts, Inc., 2522 S.E. Clinton St., Portland, OR. Clinton St. Quarterly 1980 © Clinton St. Quarterly 1980 vol. 2, no. 1 spring 1980 Change It or Lose It The media is full of bravado about Oregon being the most liveable state in the union. Well kiddies, it’s time to look behind the smokescreen and realize we’re losing our beloved state to a bunch of avaricious desperadoes bent on making a quick buck no matter what the cost. The heart of our city is being anesthetized to make way for the newest plastic-fantastic chrome and holler. To help stop Cadillac- Fairview and Save Our Liveable Downtown, stop by the Looking Glass Books, grab a petition or two and get your friends and neighbors to sign. Tired of putting your hard-earned bucks to work for utility companies that cakewalk in and out of rate hearings with increases to cover their bureaucratic bunglings and lack of foresight? Public Utility Districts would save us a bundle. Unfortunately, the utilities are going to use that bundle to spread fear of economic chaos. To give the utility execs an early retirement, call 287-8918. Did you know that most of the animals in the vicinity of 3 Mile Island have miscarried or had stillborn babies since the accident of last year. Or that the Harrisburg infant mortality went up 600% in the four months after the radiation leaks? Find out this and more Saturday May 17th at a rally for a Non-Nuclear Future — noon — at Waterfront Park. Forelaws On Board and Citizens Allied for Responsible Energy (CARE) will be there with petitions to get measures on the November ballot that would ban construction of new nuke plants, prohibit the sale of power from existing plants — effectively shutting down Trojan — and call for a federal repository for nuclear waste before further construction could be considered. Along with experts like Dr. Ernest Sternglass and Lon Topaz — Ex Director of Oregon Dept, of Energy we’ll also get a chance to rock with a Muse musician and roll with Sheila and the Boogiemen. A helluva way to spend a Saturday afternoon. S*T*A*F*F Editors Emeritus: Eric Edwards Joe Uris Bev Walton Co-Editors Lenny Dee Joel Weinstein Design & Production: Joel Weinstein with Kim Honer Enrico Martignoni Eric Edwards Proof Reader: Steve Cackley A d Sales: Kathy Livingston David Milholland Contributing Artists: Jim Blashfield Alan Brewster David Celsi Barry Curtis Bob Gardiner Kim Honer Tad Leflar Henk Pander Pangene Isaac Shamsud-Din Will Spray Elaine White Jack Sanders Ancil Nance Steve Sandstrom If the Presidential race gives you a serious case of the blahs with its cold war warriors feverishly trying to wrap themselves in the flag, the Eastside Congressional candidacy of Ron Wyden is providing progressives with a vehicle to express a hoped-for new direction in American life. His accomplishments on the local level augur well for anyone trying to tilt the levers of power in an egalitarian direction. Ron successfully led the initiative battle to allow licensed technicians to make and sell dentures to the public, resulting in major savings for senior citizens. He helped simplify the private health insurance policies offered to the elderly in this state and created a new toll-free line for nursing home patients, families and friends to use in calling the State Health Division for information and complaints about nursing homes. Those successes plus his opposition to decontrol of oil and natural gas have garnered Wyden important support from the Machinist and Teamster locals in the city, who are desperate to slow down the rate of inflation that is eating away at the pocket-books of their members. Wyden’s grassroots accomplishments may not be easy to duplicate in the halls of Congress where the problems are huge and the entrenched powers even larger. However, he should be given the chance to go to bat for our interests. President Carter’s high-interest sham of an inflation plan is deliberately decimating the home building industry, which is crucial to Oregon’s economy. In one year new housing starts have dropped 80^0 in the five-county metropolitan area, causing a loss of $15 million in local revenue. As a consequence the Oregon timber industry is going to pot. The CSQ believes that the State of Oregon should go to pot as an answer to Carter’s economic policies, which are causing increased unemployment throughout the state. In California last year marijuana cultivation grossed over $1 billion, becoming that state’s largest cash crop. There is an initiative on the 1980 California ballot to remove penalties for the private cultivation of marijuana. We should not let our neighbors to the south get the jump on this primo market. The Oregon green could be more than just our state color. The Editors Top editorial cartoon by Tad Leflar, bottom by Steve Sandstrom
TIREDOFGET-RICH-QUICKSCHEMES? GROWMOLD COLTURES IN YOUR OWN HOME IN YOUR SPARE TIME! without major capital investment That’s right! A few years ago I was hard put to keep up with the rent and car payments. Today, huge mansions can be found in Bel Air, and brightly colored boats in the Bahamas. Betamax, Cuisin- art, cases of orange sherbet — they all exist! Actual objects, that’s right! You may be asking, “What’s this guy got that I don’t?” The answer? NOTHING. EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: KNOWLEDGE. And that’s what I am going to share with you right now. HARVEST OF GOLD Look around. Start with the living room sofa. Go ahead, pull up the cushions. What do you see? Popcorn? Buttons? Animal hair? A few broken parts off children’s toys? That’s probably not the half of it. Sure, you could gather all these things together and start a notions store in Lents ... but what’s the use? There’s more fertile ground elsewhere. Have you or a loved one ever had venereal disease? What did they treat it with ... Coca Cola? Hardly. Penicillin! That’s what they used! Two hundred years ago no one had ever heard of Madame Curie. Today, penicillin products are a major industry from Maine to Palm Springs. And where does penicillin come from? Mold! That’s right! Now you can grow common household mold in the privacy of your own kitchen or bedroom. That’s what I did for years without once realizing the goldmine that was around me. Look around again. If you’re like me, and millions are, there’s an old cup of coffee sitting down in that space between the bed and the wall, along with a couple of Parades, a red sock, and God knows what else. Pull that cup out of there! There’s something in it, right? Turn it upside down. Go ahead. Does anything spill out? No! That’s because it’s encrusted. Encrusted mold! And it’s alive and waiting for you to harvest it! WHAT’S THE GIMMICK? wait a minute,” you say. “ I thought you said I could start earning big bucks now without a major capital investment. Coffee costs over three dollars a pound. What’s the deal?” Sharp thinking. We’ve thought of that, and that’s why we’re offering to you, for a limited time only, our special introductory MOLD STARTERKIT only $1495 JUST UNWRAP ANDINSERT Kit includes: catalyst agent, osmotic action sac. fibre suspension member, two all- metal connectors, manual submersion tab, and special easy-fold cover component, complete with partial instructions. You supply the water and the Mel-mac, we do the rest. Why go to all of the trouble and expense of searching the newspapers, selecting and buying a used car (perhaps involving a trip to the bank or credit union), opening the door, inserting the key, closing the door, starting the car, and driving it to the store, only to wait in line for up to fifteen minutes simply to buy an overpriced pound of coffee? What about the trip home? The red lights? Freezing rain? The possibility o f running over a dog or some other small animal? UNAS PREGUNTAS By now you may have a few questions. Shoot. Q: Is Mel-mac the only dinnerware that I can use as a containment vessel? A: No. Any kind of hot ' drink cup will do, be it fine china or the handmade pottery that’s so very popular these days. Even styrofoam can be used, although it tends to leak after a while and get all over the phone bill. Q: So what do I do after I’ve combined the catalyst with hot boiled water? A: Nothing! That’s the beauty of it! Just stick the cup over by the remnants 1 of that burned macaroni casserole that’s been soaking for three weeks, sit back, and wait for the profits to roll in. It’s really as simple as that. No fuss, no bother. Q: Sounds like a breeze, but you haven’t said anything about marketing. Isn’t that a big part of running a successful business? A: Sure. But with the MOLD STARTER KIT, success is as near as your phone. Once you’ve set the kit working, check on it every few days, adding a little water i f necessary. Then, when your culture has reached maturity, just go to the phone book and look up the names of pharmaceutical houses, medical laboratories, and the like. Call them up. Describe to them in detail what you’ve got in the bottom o f your cup. In nine out of ten cases it’s as simple as that. If within the first week, a major pharmaceutical house hasn’t signed a long term supplier’s contract with you, go directly to the market you want to reach. Stop by the neighborhood pharmacy with your cup. Wear nice clothes. If the pharmacist is not interested the first time, come back every day several times and show him what’s in your cup. Call him up ' at home if necessary. Disguise your voice. Talk through an old rag. Record your voice on a taperecorder and play it back over the phone at a different speed. You can make good thunder effects by twisting a large piece of sheet metal. Rain is accomplished by dropping BBs in an old pie tin! Don’t stop there. ALRIGHT, YOU’VE CONVINCEDME. I WANT TOSTARTAMOLD CULTURE BUSINESS IN MYOWNHOMEAND BEGINCHANGINGMY FUTURENOW. SPECIAL OFFER SAY GOODBYETO SARTORIAL FURY If you act now, we’ll send you, absolutely free, this remarkable HIGHFASHION BOWTIE Available in two-tone blue, brown or squid STAYS INPLAGE EVENWHILEYOU SLEEP ORSHOWER It’s true. There's no need to continually relive the embarrassment of having your bow tie come off while making love or grooming the pups. Our patented serrated neck inserts are made from high impact steel (the kind they use to make baby strollers) so they won’t work loose. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please send me my MOLD STARTER KIT and HIGH FASHION BOW TIE. I enclose $14.95 plus $1.00 to cover the cost of shipping. Name _ Height Address Weight □ Check here if you want $1.00 to go to the Presidential Election Fund □ Why? What do you mean? THE FUTURE IS NOW ENTERPRISES Baltimore, Maryland 4 Ad by Jim Blashfield
CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY U*N*D*E»B T*H*E V*O»L*C*A*N*O “Before him, the volcanoes, precipitous, seemed to have drawn nearer. They towered up over the jungle into the lowering sky — massive interests moving up in the background.” Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry We are now living under the volcano — not the one we always thought was the one, but that conical mountain to the north that I daresay many Portland residents couldn’t have identified two weeks ago. Did you really know which was Mt. Adams? Do you now? A rend in the earth’s firmament quickly becomes news, easily digestible and disposable, we are lulled to sleep, there is business as usual on the morn. Eighty to 100 quakes per day rock the volcano, but our 50-mile remove keeps us calm. An intense earthquake occurs 300 miles southwest, on the heels of St. Helens’ first rumblings, yet it is termed unrelated. This is such a raw and recent volcanic region that Indian legends describe the battles of the mountains. Lava flowed and molten material was thrown immense distances. Yet from a slight distance; our region becomes a small point on the globe. Today’s incredible technology lets us see the earth’s skin from the moon, from Mars, from any distance . . . that cracked parchment, as crisscrossed with veins, fissures and evidence of chaotic history as the back of your own hand. Our beloved Trojan — clearly a disposable commodity — lies on multiple fault lines and some 35 miles away from St. Helens, yet it is not shut down. Anything that might happen there would be unrelated. Who’s kidding whom? We’ve become so bound to the present that even Vietnam’s lesson has been forgotten. Nicaragua, Iran, South Africa erupt . . . crisis . . . sabre rattling . . . people saying, “ Where the hell is that?” and “ Let’s get ’em!” . . . our lives bandied about in war game scenarios, electioneering, and the search for a cure for our national malaise and the latest recession. Our history, so proudly hailed, so little examined, tells of prolonged U.S. occupation of Nicaragua since the 1850s, of U.S. and British involvement in Iran and South Africa that far predates the present personalities, however despicable they may be or seem. We momentarily need to look past the criminal behavior of a Pinochet, a Kissinger, or an Idi Amin. The dominant New World, Eastern and Western cultures, have been relentlessly imperialistic and colonialist. And all overextended themselves perilously as new forces came into play. Greed knows no limits. The frontier colonies bore the brunt of oppression and thus were all the more ready to revolt as opportunities arose. Cortez’ conquest of Tenochtitlan was only accomplished with the aid of thousands of flatlanders eager to unseat their Aztec overlords. The British Empire was as far reaching as any in history, though relatively short-lived, compared to its noteworthy predecessors . . . the sun never sets clearly couched in the present tense. Seen today as civilized and vaguely noble, it was plundering, viciously racist, and was overthrown everywhere local forces could rise to the occasion. As the heir apparent, a fate sealed by the A-bomb, we extended our New World duchy into the far corners of the globe, screaming all the time about Soviet aggrandizement. We stumbled into unimagined power and drew on our Latin American experience to develop the repressive apparatus necessary to ensure the flow of raw materials and those tropical commodities (i.e ., coffee, bananas, cocaine and cocoa) we’ve come to expect and demand. -We seated and unseated military men (Somoza, Park, the Greek generals), dynastic pretenders (the Shah, Hussein) and a string of cheap hustlers (Marcos, Batista) who could temporarily withstand the infrequent press and congressional scrutiny incumbent with the jobs they played for us. As years and decades passed, their link to the people from which they sprang — we always sought local talent — became more tenuous, the repressive apparatus more apparent and local resistance inevitable. The violence endemic in the Shah’s Iran or under the “ democratically elected” military regime in Guatemala, with over 1,000 political deaths annually for the past 15 years, becomes a crisis, and thus newsworthy, only when U.S. interests are threatened or the local government is close to toppling. Our freedoms and standard of living have been resting overlong on the shoulders of oppressed people worldwide. Unless the military and corporate foreign policy the U.S. has long pursued is checked and modified, no “ leader” can save us from a decline like that of the empires who’ve gone before us. Let’s learn more of the volcanoes that surround us before the eruptions . . . they’re “ moving up .” A lexis Duprosis THE CATBIRD SEAT 1231 SWWASHINGTON PORTLAND. OR 97205 OPB4 222-5817 9 30-9 30 MON - FRI 10:00-5 30 SAT BOOKS FOR THE 1200-5 00 SUN OMNIVOROUS READER THIS AD GOOD FOR 20% OFF ON ANY BOOK NO DISCOUNT ON TEXTBOOKS, MAGAZINES. OR SPECIAL ORDERS 4118 N.E. FREMONT* PORTLAND* 282-8627* OPEN TVES.-SUN. » Portland's largest selection of women's books & records A WOMAN'S PLACE free lending library; information & referral 2349 SE Ankeny 236-3609 A COLLECTIVELY-RUN FEMINIST BOOKSTORE 5
Illustration by Henk 6
CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY Abortion continues to be one of the hottest issues of our national life seven years after the Supreme Court declared it to be legal, a matter between a woman and her physician. It is one of those issues that is always there, usually simmering just below the surface, and then bursting to our attention every election year, when pro- and anti-abortion forces loudly marshall their forces. It is an issue of many parts, and it bristles with fevered rhetoric on all levels and sides, right down to how each side labels itself: it’s “ pro choice” vs. “ pro life.” Behind the emotional cries and pitches lie very real political considerations, however, especially since the so-called “ pro-life” forces have declared—and in some cases have demonstrated—that they can make or make or break a candidate on the single issue of abortion. A look at some of the pro-life groups operating in Oregon, and the tactics they employ in what can only be characterized as their holy crusade, is important as the election year deepens. Abortion has been legal since 1973, but in 1976 the Hyde Amendment effectively cut off funding for over 99 percent of welfare women by restricting payment only to cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother. On Jan. 15 of this year, U.S. District Court Judge John Dooling ruled as unconstitutional the denial of Medicaid funding for abortions. This means that the federal government and all states participating in the Medicaid program are again required to provide funds for “ abortions that are necessary in the professional judgment of the pregnant woman’s attending physician, exercised in the light of all factors, physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age, relevant to the health-related well-being of the pregnant woman.” An appeal by the Justice Department is expected to be decided by the Supreme Court sometime this spring. In his 328-page decision, much of it devoted to an exhaustive account of the destructive effects of unwanted pregnancy, Dooling demonstrates that the purpose of the Hyde Amendment never was to save the taxpayers money. Rather, it was a ploy by antiabortion Congressmen who were frustrated in their attempt to pass a Constitutional amendment overriding the 1973 Supreme Court’s decision. Its purpose was quite simply to circumvent the Court’s ruling and prevent as many abortions as possible. Part of Dooling’s decision asserts that the tactics of the right-to-lifers gain them attention and influence far out of proportion to their numbers. A 1978 Cambridge Survey Poll reports that in Oregon, for example, 81 percent of those polled agreed that “ the decision to have an abortion is up to a woman and her doctor.” The popularity of such a sentiment doesn’t stop Right-to-Life of Oregon and other “ pro-life” groups from vigorously fighting abortion’s legalized status. Right to Life/Oregon and Birthright are mainstream groups; they are in the phone book. Life Amendment Political Action Committee of Oregon (LAPAC/O) is not hard to identify. Shield of Roses is also easy to find; its members may be seen every Saturday morning, picketing Lovejoy Specialty Hospital. Another Lovejoy picketing group, Bridge the Gap, has not been active since its leader was arrested for disturbing the peace. (They appeared at Lovejoy one Saturday in bloody surgical gowns with plastic bags of baby doll parts and dolls impaled on swords.) Ideologically, these groups vary only in the intensity of their rhetoric. The very name “ pro-life” indicates the self-righteous belief that their view is the only moral view. By definition, they are the upholders of humanity, while all others are mass murderers. This explains the popularity of one of their favorite and most vicious bits of rhetoric—the “ parallel” between Nazi Germany and America today, the spectre of “ legalized, mass extermination of persons who have been defined out of the human race.” This is the idea put forth by William C. Brennan in his book, Medical Holocausts. Speaking at a Right to Life/Oregon conference last fall, Brennan pointed out that the terminology of the Holocaust and the terminology of the pro-abortion movement are strikingly similar. “ Proabortionists don’t use the term ‘kill.’ They use ‘evacuation of the product of conception.’ In Nazi Germany, the word killing was rarely used. More often, it was ‘evacuation of the ghettoes,’ ” he says. Every political pro-life group is happy to trot out a version of this “ correlation,” since it epitomizes the sensational twist they put on their arguments. Bea McLellan of LAPAC/O expresses concern that “ our country could turn into another Nazi Germany,” pointing out, “ Jews like to talk about six million murdered during the Holocaust, but that number has already been equaled by babies murdered through abortion.” Anti-abortionists’ ideas about sex, women, and authority can also be seen as being similar to Hitler’s. Under the Nazis, abortion was a serious crime, in some cases punishable by death. According to Ellen Willis, a New York feminist writing for The Village Voice, the comparison is also anti-Semitic; not only does it trivialize and co-opt the slaughter of Jews, it does so in the name of the very “ Christian values” chiefly responsible for anti-Jewish persecution. But the basis for the pro-lifers’ fervor, the idea that abortion is murder, can be put in many ways. Lynda Harrington, president of Right to Life/Oregon, is a pleasant, soft- spoken mother of two who sincerely believes that all other human rights are subordinate to the so-called right to life. “ I’m not opposed to women having determination over their lives,” she says, “ but a woman has already exercised her sexual freedom when she conceives.” Harrington is a member of “ Feminists for Life,” a small group of activists who oppose abortion in the name of radical pacifism. “ As I became involved in the feminist movement, I became concerned that although women are discriminated against, there’s a group that is even more a target of discrimination by the fact that their very lives are being threatened,” she explains. Voice writer Willis considers this liberal wing of pro-lifers a “ study in self-contradiction: in attacking what they see as the violence of abortion, they condone and encourage violence against women.” She cites the violence which forced childbearing does to a woman’s body and spirit, and its contribution to other kinds of violence: deaths from illegal abortion; the systematic oppression of mothers and women in general; the poverty, neglect, and battering of unwanted children. She continues, “ Radicals supposedly believe in attacking a problem at its roots. Yet surely it is obvious that restrictive laws do not keep women from seeking abortions; they just create an illicit, dangerous industry. The only way to drastically reduce the number of abo rtions.. .is to invent safer, more reliable contraceptives, ensure universal access to all birth control methods, eliminate sexual ignorance and guilt, and change the social and economic conditions that make motherhood a trap .” Unlike LAPAC/O, Right to Life/ Oregon cannot endorse candidates because of its tax status. It is active in political channels by identifying and educating the public as to which candidates are pro-life, however. Prolifers advocate single-issue voting, a tactic which gives them a lot of political clout. This is justified because, as Harrington says, “ A politician who’s not capable of understanding that the protection of human life is a fundamental principle of good government is not qualified to hold elective office.” Founded in Oregon in 1969, Right to Life/Oregon is a state affiliate of the National Right to Life Organization which claims 11 million members. The state branch is loosely organized —Harrington could not say how many members they have, but their newsletter, Life Light, has a circulation of under 10,000. She says that the state organization is entirely supported by donations from its members, however. The National Right to Life Political Action Committee, which is required to report its funding sources, on the other hand, is heavily supported by the Catholic Church. Right to Life’s stated purpose is to “ educate the public to the realities of abortion,” but much of their activities and literature are more misguided than educational. One of their most recent activities was a picket of Planned Parenthood, an organization which has long been the target of anti-abortion sentiment because, says Harrington, of their “ major involvement in the abortion industry: they own and operate 27 abortion clinics and are the number one promoters of abortion on demand.” She added that Planned Parenthood does not provide alternatives to abortion or address fetal development. Joan Binninger, public affairs coordinator of Planned Parenthood, responds to these comments: “ It’s hard to answer this sort of distortion. For one thing, these groups fail to realize that Planned Parenthood has done more than any other organization to prevent the need for abortion. We do operate 27 abortion clinics, out of a total of 189 national affiliates. These were set up in areas which did not previously have any abortion facilities, or where the price of an abortion was so high as to restrict women from obtaining them. The charge that we advocate only abortion as an alternative to pregnancy is simply untrue. We offer complete pregnancy counseling, and abortion is just one of the options women may choose. We also offer pre-natal counseling and do many referrals to agencies such as Birthright which help women to carry their pregnancies to term when that is their choice. Binninger added that counselors do not routinely discuss fetal development unless the woman asks about it. “ If she does ask, we take that as a signal that she’s unsure and are very careful to talk to her in depth about her other alternatives to abortion.” The flyer which Right to Life handed out during their picket stated, “ Planned Parenthood has abused your tax dollars for years.” It cited various statistics—the 14 to 20 percent rise of illegitimacy annually in Oregon, the 14,000 legal abortions GOD, SEX & the “RIGHT TOLIFE” 7
performed yearly in this state, and Oregon State Health Division statistics that one of every five Oregon teenagers is likely to have V.D. by g radua tion—as indications that Planned Parenthood is wasting tax money and not doing its job. But deeper than this, it implies the real reason many pro-lifers oppose Planned Parenthood: they regard it as a symbol of sexual freedom, the core of decadence, of which abortion is just an offshoot. Illegitimacy, abortion, V.D. and sex education in the schools are all symptoms of the sin of sexual freedom. By lumping them together, and condemning all, pro-lifers use an extremely powerful tactic: they tap the vast store of sexual guilt which lies beneath our society’s veneer of sexual liberalism. This is the idea Willis puts forth in a recent Voice article: “ Patriarchal culture, with its deeply antisexual ideology, has existed for some 5,000 years; the radical idea that people have a right to sexual freedom and happiness has been a significant social force for maybe a century; in this country, the changes we think of as the “ sexual revolution” have all taken place within the past two decades. . . . It is hardly surprising that even among sophisticated liberals, people’s emotions do not necessarily coincide with their enlightened ideas. And sophisticated liberals who nonetheless believe on some level that the desire for sex without consequences (i.e., children) is self-indulgent, and that the ability to control one’s passion is a test of character, are likely to be apologetic about their support for abortion rights.” Willis has identified one of the pro- choice movement’s biggest problems, that a lot of people who intellectually abhor everything the anti-abortionists stand for are emotionally intimidated by their argument. Whether a fetus is a person with the same rights as those born is a moral question which has been argued by theologians for centuries, and no consensus has ever been reached. Yet, by condemning abortion as murder, pro-lifers are taking one possible interpretation— their own—and refusing to allow others the freedom of their own conscientious decision, while claiming to uphold the highest standards of respect for human life. Another tactic used by pro-life groups is the harassment of young women as they are entering abortion clinics. Right to Life no longer does what they term “ street counseling,” claims Harrington, since once they “ raised the consciousness of people in the state, other groups came in and look over.” In fact. Right to Life supports and condones these activities. The March issue of Life Light has an article urging people to join Lovejoy pickets. The most visible of the “ other” groups is Shield of Roses, a handful of Catholics which faith- fully pickets Lovejoy Surgical Hospital and Specialty Clinic every Saturday morning. Usually the demonstration is fairly low key—some hold signs like, “ Do not turn a lively womb quickly into an empty tomb,” some pass out anti-abortion literature, and the majority stand with their rosaries, praying for the women within. They have been known to grab women— and Lovejoy staff—but this is not common. They do not seem particularly malevolent, and talking to them in a different setting one could see them merely as concerned citizens who have been given a bad image by the press. “ They call us psychological terrorists,” complained one Shield of Roses member. They may be concerned citizens, but their concern has been twisted and deformed by religious fervor. It is unlikely they clearly perceive what they are doing, both to the “ respectability” of the pro-life movement and especially to the women they are so earnestly trying to save. Here are some statements made by various members of the group. About the pro-choice demonstrators who stand on the porch at Lovejoy to offer support to the women going in: “ It’s an abortion club—in order to belong, you have to kill your own baby first.” “ We’re pro-choice, too—a woman makes the choice to get into bed in the first place. After that, she has to take the consequences. Fornication before marriage is a sin.” They are worried about the “ abortion mentality,” which could lead to mothers using a “ death pill” and deciding which children to kill. “ If you can make a law to kill someone, you can make it to kill anyone,” said one member. Another thought that the trouble lies with our educational system. “ Chastity, human decency, self-control are omitted from their education. Children are not taught that the sexual function has a purpose, which is to generate new life. They are learning the pleasure without the function. The satanist book is required reading in some schools, and they teach courses in witchcraft in colleges.” Equally as heated as their rhetoric is their attempt to “ educate” the women women who walk into Lovejoy to the realities of abortion. “ They don’t grab women by the arm and tell them they’re murdering their babies so much anymore,” says Tim Schuck, d ire c to r of Lovejoy Surgical Hospital, “ but they still say to women, ‘Can we talk to you; you still have time to change your mind.’ For a woman who has already made a difficult decision to have an abortion, that’s just as abusive.” When asked if Shield of Roses considered their activities harassment, one member said, “ If they feel harassed, then their conscience must be bothering them. They wouldn’t get shook up if they didn’t know they were doing something wrong.” The pickets’ literature is also a study in thunderous dissociation. One piece suggested the legalization of rape as an answer to those who thought abortion should be allowed in cases of rape. Another used the metaphor of an ambushed soldier as an allegory for abortion: “ He was torn asunder from his bunker, and placed piecemeal in a receptacle for disposal. It was his mother who betrayed him. She led the present-day Gestapo right to the opening of his hiding place. “ Who would ever think it could happen in America? The explosion of a bomb, the roar of a gun, or even the whimper of a baby’s cry never reaches my ears during this war. Instead, 1 hear the slicing of the knife as it cuts through flesh, the gurgling of the suction machine and the murmur of the technicians doing their bloody job. This is World War II, the abortion war.” After two such pages, the pamphlet purports to describe the movie, The Road to Decadence, directed by our Supreme Court, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, S1ECUS, Rockefeller, Fr. Drinan, Sen. Packwood, Bill Baird, Sarah W eddington , Steinem , Abzug, Friedan, Kirkendahl, Calderone, Klass, Schuck, etc. . . . Beware of the cunning ones who always like to cry wolf. It can very well be a smoke screen to hide their real intentions. They use our freedoms to take away our freedom. Isn’t that the cunning of Lucifer?” There is another pro-life group which actually performs services to the community. Birthright was organized in 1971 as an alternative to abortion for those women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term. It is a non-profit, volunteer- staffed and donation-supported counseling and support agency which is particularly helpful for unwed mothers. Located in a slightly modified house on NE Halsey, Birthright has comfortably large reception and counseling rooms, racks of baby clothes and supplies upstairs, and baby furniture in the basement. These things are loaned free to women who need them, along with free pregnancy tests, medical care, and counseling. According to Pat Hicks, assistant director of volunteers, the biggest 'problem most of these women have is financial. “ We have many resources to refer these women to: adoption counseling, agencies for school, jobs and financial help in any way we can. We also have a support group. But most important, we just try to let these women know that here they will have a friend who will help and not judge them.” Birthright is completely nonpolitical and non-sectarian, although they sometimes receive special donations from various churches. Abortion is not suggested as an alternative for pregnant women who use their services. “We are a pro-life agency, so we would not counsel for abortions,” Hicks explains. Birthright exists as a resource for women who choose not to have abortions. Many pregnancy counseling services such as Planned Parenthood, Lovejoy, and the Women’s Health Clinic refer women who are sure they don’t want abortions. But for women who are unsure, Birthright could not claim to be an objective counseling service. A look at their literature reveals their anti-abortion bias. There are some pamphlets on the dangers of abortion and others chronicling the various stages of fetal development (they use “ children of the womb” and other such euphemisms). There are personal histories of women who have undergone abortions and suffered physical and psychological problems ever after. One pamphlet describes the different abortion procedures in graphic detail. “ Suction Curretage. A powerful vacuum tube with a sharp-edged tip is inserted into the womb and the baby inside is sucked out in shreds.” Interestingly, this, the most common by far of abortion procedures, is given little coverage. Instead, the literature concentrates on the saline infusion methods and hysterotomy, both of which are rarely used, last-minute measures taken in the final stages of pregnancy. Throughout the pamphlet are tidbits of information designed to provoke emotional response to the horror of abortion. For a confused, uncertain woman faced with an unwanted pregnancy, such a brochure could be unnerving and debilitating, certainly not a proper state of mind for a woman to make a rational decision in her best interests. If this isn’t enough, there are photographs of babies in garbage sacks and bloody masses of tissue with discernible arms and legs. The pro-life movement appears to be composed of a wide range of activities and purposes, but every group shares a basic tenet and a common goal: abortion is murder, and all abortion—except that performed to save a mother’s life—should be outlawed. The most outspoken of the anti-abortionists also share a style, zealous and sensational, that gives them a high degree of visibility. Pro- choice forces, concerned about a volatile, nationally coordinated campaign for what is really a minority position, are organizing to make their views a factor in the elective and legislative process. For example, the Oregon National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) has put together Impact ’80, one of whose activities is a political skills workshop to show people how they can contribute to the campaigns of pro-choice candidates. In this way, they hope to show that their views are politically viable, not to be drowned out by the fanaticism of an anti-abortion minority. THE Greek Olives Sandwiches ^Mediterranean an unusual place featuring Greek Wines Souvaki Imported Beers Half-pound Hamburgers Pool Foosball Backgammon Open for Lunch at 11:00 am Happy Hour 4 pm to 7 pm 1650 W . Burnside 222-1507 8
CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY li ii m ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii im ii ii ii ii ii m ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii m ii ii ii ii ii m “The war planes don’t stop all day long. There are hundreds o f human beings who die daily. The bodies are food fo r the vultures. I f bullets don’t kill us we die from epidemic disease, villages completely destroyed... The genocide will be soon. Cambodia? Viet-Nam? Afghanistan? Eritrea? Biafra?... Have you ever heard of Timor? The Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that 200,000 people have died there. Since 1975 this island, north of Australia, has been under siege by the Indonesian military. The East Timorese have been bombed, napalmed, and massacred; they have experienced rape, murder and great starvation: “The mountains shake with the bombardment. The earth talks with the blood o f the people, who die miserably... ” As heinous an act as this genocide is, it is being ignored by tne ‘free press’ the world over. There is no shortage of coverage of the situation in Cambodia or that in Afghanistan. Coverage of these ‘communist problems’ is to a large degree embellished. It is with relish that these accounts of human suffering and the denial of human rights are reported, published and then devoured by a public which must face the whims of the monopolized press. And how myopic our labeling of Cambodia as a ‘communist problem’; had Dr. Kissinger’s ‘shock therapy’ never been applied the Khmer Rouge would still be in the mountains, like their Thai and Malay counterparts. 200,000 East Timorese can testify to the mortifying effects of Dr. K’s elixir. Administered by the Indonesian army, air force, and navy, this medicine appears as saturation bombing, napaiming, and defoliation, not to mention looting, rape, torture, and starvation. Between East Timor and the island of Atauro lie the Ombai-Wetar Narrows, a waterway deep enough so that passing submarines need not surface. Use of this waterway Indonesian troops in East Timor. There was no reply. In its 1977 report on human rights that State Departshortens the passage from Guam to the Indian Ocean Diego Garcia outpost by 8-10 days. The prospect of a progressive government in control of the Narrows chilled the Pentagon’s spine. In Djakarta, the day before the Indonesians invaded East Timor, Kissinger told reporters that the US would not recognize the republic of East Timor. The Indonesian attempt to “ stabilize” East Timor continues to this day. Operations in East Timor show a remarkable similarity to other theati of US policy. Now in its 5th year, the task of protecting the East Timorese from 600 fierce Marxist guerillas, is taking 30 Indonesian lives and $500,000 daily not to mention over 100 Timorese lives a day. The US supplies 90% of Indonesian arms, has had advisors stationed in Timor and US pilots have reportedly been flying missions there. In 1977 a majority of members of the Australian Parliament petitioned President Carter to comment publically on the atrocities committed by ment did not even mention East Timor. This was corrected the following year when one paragraph mentioned that the killings took place before the Indonesian invasion! For its willingness to be a partner in US nuclear strategy Indonesia has been placed on Carter’s not-to-be-criticized list. Breaking a blockade in effect since 1975, one doctor and 2 nurses from the Red Cross were allowed into Timor last October. They report that the starvation there is comparable to that in Biafra or Cambodia. A massive military operation in April ’78 destroyed the subsistence economy which has supported the Timorese for millenia. Saturation bombing of the agricultural zones forced people to flee. Now, unable to cultivate, they can only wait for the next raid or the onset of the gnawing pangs of hunger, malnutrition, and the subsequent starvation. No one is taking notice of the annihilation o f a simple mountain people. Russian dissidents are front page news as are ‘communist’ atrocities in Cambodia. We are at the brink of WW III when Russia consolidates its hold on a satelite, yet the genocide of the East Timorese is ignored. On our behalf a sub-fascist client state is perpetrating genocide. 600,000 people remain out of a population which only a few years ago looked forward to independence after 400 years of Portugese rule. Can 8-10 days saved by a submarine possibly be worth 200,000 lives? In only a few moments every silo in the world could be emptied, our nuclear navy wouldn’t even be out of port, and one of the few places that wouldn’t have been bombed is already uninhabitable. Australian MP Michael Hodgman has written: For us... to bury our heads in the sand and turn our backs on what is alleged to have occurred, would be a gross act o f moral cowardice...future generations would have to bear the same shame and disgrace which fell upon those citizens o f nazi Germany who turned a blind eye to Auschwitz... The ghosts o f the dead will haunt each and every one o f us who seeks solace in silent acquiescence. How true this is of our Congress, Government and press whose complicity in the annihilation of the East Timorese is seen in increased arm sales to the Indonesians, votes against resolutions supporting the human rights of the East Timorese at the UN, and the refusal to recognize the gravity of the situation. One quarter of the population of East Timor has been murdered in the last 4/2 years. How many more will be killed before the world takes notice? For further information: Southeast Asia Resource Center, P.O.B. 4000- D, Berkeley, CA 94704; The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism, Chomsky and Herman, Enrico Martignoni LONG GOODBYE MAY CALENDAR 1 Alost 3 Metropolitan Jug Band 7 Titanics 8 Malchicks-, w/Young Canadians IO Metropolitan Jug Band 14 Sheila and the Boogiemen 15 Alost 16 TheBoloons 17 Malchicks 21 Sheila and the ' Boogiemen 22 The Racoons 23-24 The Odds 30 ,31 The Odds Tuesdays: Stand-up’ comedy with the Night People plus poetry Sundays: Michael Hurley Playback Theater Wed-Thur: In Consort - stand-up comedy F r iS a t : Mark Allen Players, Tin Pan Alley Musical Review Sundays: Famous French Postcards, Victorian dance review Long Goodbye 3 0 0 NW O h 228-1008 hammered dulcimers ♦ appalachtan 1 flutes ♦ gu itars* m an^o lt^s ♦ banjo piccolos ♦ unusual folk instrumerv books and recoMs of iraditiohal c tl t id rs ♦ recorders y f i c ^ e s ♦ whistles of many varieties id. ■o' Gther folk musics. ARTICHOKE MUSIC 10:30-5:30♦ monday-saturday *722 northwest 21st ♦ 248-0356 NOW SERVING LUNCH AND DINNER 725 N.W. 21st Ave. Portland, Ore. 97209 Robert Hanson Jill Looijenga Personalized Services Haircutting Permanent Waving Coloring Styling for Men and Women Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m. ■9 p.m. for appointments 1 222-7025 9 Logo by Barry Curtis
CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY ▲MY IN T H LIFb by Steve Myers The first sound I hear in the morning is the jangling of the housemother’s keys in the kitchen door. Sometimes it’s something else like the night man coughing or shuffling cards. But usually, like today, it’s the housemother coming on duty. That means the day is about to start for real. Shit. I can’t get up for about another half hour, but it’s useless to try to get back to sleep. I wish 1 wasn’t here. More than any other time of the day, now is when it’s worst for me. Even though nothing bad is happening yet. I can’t figure that out. Why should I be miserable when I can just roll over and shut my eyes if I want to and think of anything 1 want. Try to remember that dream before I forget. It’s already gone. It’s not gone. It’s about Lindy and me as usual. But that only makes me feel worse. I’ve got to get out of here. Before this place really gets to me and I lose control somehow and start screaming or swinging at anything that moves. Then I’d never get out. Forget it. Roll over and pull up the covers and pretty soon everything starts rolling and I don’t have to think at all. During the rest of the day, when things are happening, the worst I feel like is goofing off or arguing with staff or maybe getting in a fight. But now it gets almost unbearable, and I could scream or almost cry. I wonder who the night man is tonight. What is it, Thursday. That means it should be the regular night man. Yep. Not that creep who works relief. He comes on shouting and pulling off covers like some sergeant in the army or something like that. This guy’s mellower, but if he gets pissed off at you, you’ve had it. He’ll bug you all morning until he leaves, and you’re bound to go off at him and get a pile of bad comments in the grade book. 12:00 Midnight Almost got to sleep before the night man came on duty. Now it’ll be another 15 minutes or so until things quiet down again. Keys jangling in side. Pull the covers tighter, but don’t act like I’m awake. Standard B.S. between, the night man and the 4-12 man about how damn cold it is outside, car trouble. Let’s see what the 4-12 says about us. Pretty good group, with the usual couple of exceptions. Got a bit rowdy after showers but no real problems, Good. He could have said worse, but he’s right: it wasn’t as bad as it sometimes gets. Night man reading the logbook says, “ Looks like we’re getting back from D-l tomorrow. Shit. Things were almost getting under control around here.” “ Could be he’s learned his lesson this time.” “ Could be. Didn’t seem to work last time, though, did it?” “ We can always hope. If he screws up again just ship him out again. No more bullshit.” “ No more bullshit is right. Group’s been pretty good tonight. With the usual couple exceptions. No real problems, though. It’s all written down in the logbook and the gradebook.” । “ I ’ll have plenty of time to read about it. What’s our count?” “ It’s in the logbook. Thirty-one. Thirty-two, with one in D - l .” “ How they expect us to do anything with this many kids is beyond me.” “ Shit, this ain’t nothin’. You shoulda been here a few years ago when we had girls on campus. Kids sleeping on the floor, kids out of control. Lucky we didn’t have a riot, it was that bad.” “ Could be. Thirty-two still seems like too many to me. I thought the union was supposed to get us an extra staff when the count went over thirty.” “ And two when it goes over forty. Sure. I’ll believe it when I see i t .” “ Yeah. Better make my count.” You can learn a lot listening to ’ staff when they don’t know you’re listening. Night man turns up the lights a little, walks down the aisle counting out loud going past me: “ Sixteen, seventeen.. . ” Gets to the door at the end of the dorm, gives it a shake to make sure it’s locked, comes back counting the other side. Hope he remembers to turn the lights back down. Another blast of cold as the 4-12 leaves. You’d think they could use the kitchen door; it’s closer to their cars. Night man comes back to the desk, sits down without turning the lights down. Hope somebody else asks him. Shuffles his papers, gets up and turns the lights down. Now maybe I can get some sleep. 3:00 AM Another blast of cold air and noise. The security man is relieving the night man for his break. Must have slept through the first one. Why do they have to make so much noise when they come in? Night man goes to the staff flats to take a leak. I could snap my fingers and get permission to get up so I could take one myself. Except it seems I’ve got a harden. 1 could do something about that, but I’d better not get caught. You can get sent to detention just for beating off. Sexual conduct, alone or with others. I’ve never heard of it happening, though, unless it’s out in the open during the day. They caught one guy in the flats last week in another cottage and sent him out. He had pornographic pictures with him, too, which is contraband. They could have got him just for that. I guess I’d better just let it go. All I have to do is remember where I am and it usually goes away. 6:00 AM 1 hate it when he touches me. That’s what started it all that time I went off. Came that close to punching him out. It happened later, after breakfast, but that’s when it all started. I was laying here just like I am now, pretending to sleep, and he comes along and calls my name along with the others who hadn’t got up yet. I don’t move, so he grabs me by the shoulder, not hard but gentle like, and shakes it. Boy. Lucky the covers Compared to What ^ ^ ^ L a rg e s t selection in the No for Men and Women 217 N.W. Couch St. Oldtown 248-9069 U-Frame We-Frame Custom Denise & Jan (formerly of Frame Factory) io % o f f 1 WITH THIS Metal Framing $.09 an inch Compare Our Prices P lease! Mon. - Sat. 11-7 Fri. 11-9 Sun. 12-6 219 N.W. Couch Creole cooking at its finest gumbo — hush puppies — shrimp creole unique southern breakfast treats Breakfast Lunch 8-11 ^ ‘4 439 N.W. Broadway 224-6808 Original Works Limited Editions 10 Illustration by Kim Honer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz