From: bcapps@agora.rain.com (Brent Capps)
Subject: We now resume our regularly scheduled hate crimes
Organization: Open Communications Forum
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 07:23:07 GMT

No guarantees of spelling, agora's been hiccuping rather violently lately.

1. ST. MATTHEWS RCC DESECRATED AGAIN

   Vandals again broke into St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church in
   Hillsboro at 2 am Sunday night and spraypainted anti-gay,
   anti-Semitic and anti-Hispanic slogans in the sanctuary before
   starting a fire.  An assistant pastor sleeping in a bedroom
   escaped without injury when the fire alarm went off.

   The fire destroyed a desk, the curtains, and papers in a downstairs
   office before being extinguished.

   Services continued Sunday morning with the slogans clearly visible
   only a few feet from where the assistant pastor spoke.  He declined
   to comment on the graffiti, which included slogans such as "Kill
   gays", "Yes on 9, and the words "Jews + Spics + Gays" crossed out.
   Instead he conducted the regularly planned sermon -- urging a no
   vote on measure 9.

2. VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN OREGON GOES UNREPORTED BY MAINSTREAM PRESS

   As bad as things are here in Portland, they're nothing compared to
   what's been going on in Southern Oregon.  Mentioned nowhere in the
   Oregonian, and mentioned only briefly by a single Portland TV station,
   was the story of an openly gay Southern Oregon man who returned from
   a weekend trip to discover that his trailer home had machine gunned
   while he was gone.  He had been receiving death threats for some time
   previously.

   About 3 weeks ago in Coos Bay, a restaurant that had put up an anti-9
   sign had one of its employees severely beaten by unknown assailants.

   Then there are the seemingly endless reports coming out of Springfield.

   What annoys me is that none of this is getting covered in the Portland
   press except in passing.  Even the break-in at St. Matthews only 
   got significant coverage after it occured for the second time.

3. ANNE FRANK IN THE WORLD AND MEASURE 9

   The AFitW exhibit currently touring Portland is sponsoring a musical
   tribute that will run from October 22 through 29.  This is a serious
   and moving piece which ends with the actors exiting the stage one by
   one to be engulfed by an offstage mob screaming "Sieg Heil".
   It's a powerful ending that the cast has had a great deal of trouble
   getting through.

   During curtain call, the members of the offstage "mob" appear, all of
   whom will be gay men wearing pink triangles.  I will be one of them.

4. PGMC AND PLC TO TOUR SOUTHERN OREGON BEGINNING THIS WEEKEND

   The Portland Gay Men's Chorus and the Portland Lesbian Choir will be
   touring in Klamath Falls and Coos Bay this weekend.  For those of you
   who aren't particularly familiar with Oregon, both are very small towns
   in the very heart of the OCA's base.  The local police have warned
   members of the choruses not to walk alone and to carry whistles at
   all times.  Security is a major concern.  We have been told to expect
   a confrontation.

   Although this trip is officially nonpolitical, being sponsored as it is 
   by the State Health Department HIV Services, it coincides with a major
   effort by local churches in Klamath Falls and Coos Bay to speak out
   against Measure 9.  We in the PGMC and PLC have been overwhelmed with
   the gratitude and courage shown by our local hosts, who are beside
   themselves with excitement that we would travel all the way down there 
   to sing for them, as well as by the love and support we've received
   from our brother and sister choruses across the United States.
   An emergency message went out across the Gay and Lesbian Association
   of Choruses network that the PGMC was flat broke (we missed payroll
   last month) and the responses have come in from choruses as far away
   as New Mexico, the Delaware Valley, St. Louis -- even the little
   Asheville, North Carolina Gay Men's Chorus (12 singers!) has helped
   us in our hour of need.

   I can't adequately express how much your thoughts and support has
   meant to us.  Tears of gratitude were flowing at our final
   rehearsal tonight.  Anyone on the net wishing to let the chorus
   know how you feel should send me private e-mail and I will see to
   it that they make it into the next chorus newsletter due to be
   distributed October 19th.

   On October 24th both choruses will travel to Springfield in a
   benefit concert for No on 9.

-- 
Brent Capps                          | 
bcapps@agora.rain.com (gay stuff)    | I can't view my employer from here
bcapps@atlastele.com (telecom stuff) |