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Mayor Sam Adams descended into the halls of the Q-Center to announce the newest steps the city and Portland Police are taking to promote safety for the queer community. Joined by Police Chief Mike Reese and Q-Center’s Executive Director Kendall Clawson, this marked another meeting, in the string of many since the events of Memorial day weekend to discuss safety. Police Chief Mike Reese describes measures the […]   Gay Bashers have bad hair day, retaliate downtown KGW.com has released photos of five people arrested by the police for a I personally think they are just jealous of us well groomed queers because they are obviously all having a VERY BAD HAIR DAY. (well, the one with almost no hair isn’t doing *too* bad.) Maybe we need to start hair-profiling people..? Continue reading »   Last year's Dyke March Confused by the various information circulating about the Portland Dyke March. Did you hit up their official Dyke March site only to notice that the information is from 2008? So here’s the deal, yo.The Portland Dyke March will be happening again this year, after a change and leadership and the sort-of split from the Trans March that (mostly) became the Gender (Free) For All March last year. Last year, many of the organizers of the Trans March decided that a march was needed that celebrated gender freedom as opposed to strictly trans rights, and even though there are many trans dykes, the march felt “tacked on” to the Dyke March. Continue reading »   Rai Villanueva will help kick off Pride with Thursday's gay ass Diesel party Recently added events starred like so* Truthfully, I think I’ve been putting off the Pride 2010 calendar because there’s do damn much to do that I’m overwhelmed. So let’s take this piece by piece. First, there’s plenty to do before we even get to the weekend. Workin’ stiffs, of which I now be one, gird your loins and take one for the team. It’s gonna be a busy week. Tonight Pride Pub quiz – Did you know that it’s the 40th anniversary of the first Pride parade commemorating the June 1969 Stonewall riots? That’s why June is Pride month kids. Do you know about Harvey Milk day and Anita Bryant, Lon Mabon and the OCA? Have you ever been to the Lesbian Herstory Archives? Well, gear up your uber gay trivia because this pub quiz is gonna be both fun and educational. I’m putting on my hot librarian glasses cuz the competition is gonna be stiff… *Gay Pride Kickoff Gay Skate! Continue reading »  QUIPS . Queerly informed patrol system? Maybe Erik Estrada will be there too A new hate crime reporting system will be announced, according to a press release sent out yesterday by Oregon State Attorney General John Kroger. The full breadth of the new initiative will be announced in a press conference scheduled to be held at 1030-1130 am today. We’re unlikely to be able to attend due […]   Portland, OR: Not quite this gay, but getting there Edit: I just realized this article was from Jan 6th, 2010, not June 6th, 2010 as I previously reported. My apologies for this error. –Perry The Portland Tribune has claimed in an article that our fair city is getting gayer, quoting statistics stating that despite our lack of a “gay ghetto”, Oregon has the “third-highest proportion of same-sex couples in the nation” and “Portland has the 11th-highest number of same-sex couples among all U.S. cities”. The stats rest only on same-sex couples, but we all know that those are indicative of a whole lotta single ladies (and gents). I could’ve told you PDX is getting gayer by the day without expensive surveys and statistical analysis…just look at the amount of queer dance parties, especially at Pride! More info and stats after the jump. Continue reading »   Stop hate crime While none of the qPDX.com staff were able to attend last night’s community forum due to conflicts in our schedules, we’re excited to see that the event, organized by JustOut columnist Daniel Borgen and Stephen Cassell, was well attended, and that Portland Mayor Sam Adams was there to hear concerns from the community first hand. According to coverage by JustOut, one of the main concerns of the forum is the difference between actual homo/transphobic incidents that we all experience, and the rate at which they are reported to the police. At this juncture, I want to share a little story with you about gay bashing, about violence, about police reporting, and about why it matters. Continue reading »   Jennifer Cohen of the Circus Project The Circus Project seems like a great organization. A non-profit which utilizes the unique power of art to transcend social barriers and inspire personal transformation, they put on world-class aerial performances and provide expert training, all the while funding outreach to homeless and at-risk youth in the Portland metro area. But it seems, despite prior approval (which I don’t personally think is necessary) The Rose Festival coordinators threatened to cancel “Duende,” after audiences complained about a kiss between two women. While the show does go on the times have been changed in order not to ruffle the feathers of “family friendly” audiences. So please take a moment to read this letter and show your support in any way you see fit, be it attending a show, writing to the Rose Fest or otherwise taking up space as a big ol’ gaymo in this town. Continue reading »   Katey Pants for Diesel Femme. Photo by Kina Williams Community member, DJ, and femme fashionista Katey Pants has never been a qPDX contributor per se but this is at least the second time I’ve asked to borrow her erudite thoughts that she has publicly posted in other forums. Girl’s got a lot to say and I hope we all have a lot to say back. Take it away KP! In August, 2009, city officials in Multnomah County Oregon declared August 1st-8th Transgendered-Americans Week. In conjunction, organizers held a Gender-Free –For-All rally in Portland. I was not part of the organizing of the rally but an attendee. I also consider many of the organizers to be close allies and some friends. The march started with a celebration of the enactment of the Transgendered-Americans Week and a number of speeches, made predominantly by Portland politicians. From there our short and permitted march went through a neighborhood in NE Portland, led and surrounded by police. Continue reading » |
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Queers, Community, Safety: Lets take care of ourselves and each other
Katey Pants
Another essay from the astute Katey Pants:
The past month there has been a crisis of safety in the queer community. Gay bashings, rampant rumors of Nazi gangs patrolling our community, and the Westboro Baptist Churches arrogance in claiming space in our communities. The response to this violence from police and politicians in Portland has offered us- at best- bureaucratic solutions to fundamental structural problems. However, I want to posit a different view of safety, care, and community outside of state and police solutions. I hope to provide some philosophical reasoning behind this and also present concrete things that are happening in Portland and throughout the country where people everyday are creating alternatives to police to keep themselves and their communities safe.
A Moral and Practical Argument Against Calling The Police:
Continue reading »