Excerpted from an
<a href="http://www.portlandmercury.com/2001-03-29/feature.HTML"
target="new">article in the Portland Mercury</a>
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<img src="http://www.portlandmercury.com/2001-03-29/pull2-1.jpg"
align="right"

<h1>BEST CHOREOGRAPHY OF A PROTEST</h1>

 Our first nominee in the category for Best Choreography of a
 Protest goes to the men from Dignity Village. 
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 In 1981, the city devised an anti-camping ban that encouraged
 police to keep the homeless endlessly moving along. Since then,
 the police (encouraged by our own Mayor Katz) have played a
 tired game of Tom and Jerry with the homeless, chasing them
 from one bad situation to another. Last fall, after being chased
 from underneath the Broadway Bridge, a group of 30 or so
 homeless men organized a shopping cart parade. Their carts
 rattling through Old Town gave a figurative middle finger to
 Mayor Katz, and a symbolic "Up yours!" to the Chief of Police.
 The men have since re-settled on the fringe of the coveted Pearl
 District, underneath the concrete off-ramp for I-405. Christening
 their new home Dignity Village, these men and women easily
 earn the nomination for Best Choreography of a Protest! 
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 Our second group of nominees arrived on the Portland scene in
 November 1999: A group calling themselves the Radical
 Cheerleaders began showing up at local protests wearing
 pieced-together uniforms and shouting vitriolic cheers. Last
 summer, in response to visits to local high schools by the
 Reverend Fred Phelps--a Nebraska-based anti-gay leader--the
 cheerleaders marched in the Gay Pride Parade. At the May Day
 march, three of their members were arrested. Their most recent
 sighting? Outside the Roseland Theater, where young fans lined
 up to see the controversial group, the Bloodhound Gang.
 Protesting the racist and sexist lyrics of the group, the
 Cheerleaders sprightly chanted, "Stop! Resist the Hate! Don't
 participate!" and "U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi, you ugly!"
 Some of the fans responded with their own chants; for example,
 "show us your tits!" and "fuck you, faggots!" 
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 Our final nominee has been a mysterious force in Portland for
 years. Like politically concerned tooth fairies, the Lesbian
 Avengers use the cloak of darkness in order to chalk the
 sidewalks near PSU campus with gay-friendly messages and
 pictures. And though they may have been quiet recently, the
 Lesbian Avengers made several rousing appearances shouting
 down supporters of the Machiavellian Measure 9. 
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 Now, the envelope, please. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands
 together for the winners of Best Choreography of a Protest the
 Radical Cheerleaders!