STUPID ARTICLES I am stunned that the EW editors would choose to print not just one, but two poor quality reports on the Magaña case, both written by Alan Pittman. "Blow Job" (6/10) reads like some teenage boy's attempt to write a dirty story. It may have been clever for the prosecutor to prepare jurors for the thousand repeats of that phrase, but Pittman's choice to use it as a theme served only to be painfully hilarious. It was possibly quite degrading to the many survivors/victims of sexual assault. I once volunteered three years as a crisis counselor at Rape Crisis Network. I also taught for three years at The Child Center in Springfield, which provides treatment for severely disturbed children, many of whom have been sexually abused. In all the intake reports I have read, and in reading news articles, survivor stories, etc., people have always used professional language in describing the actions and/or body parts. It is only appropriate to use trashy slang in a direct quote. In Pittman's second attempt, "Rape by Cop" (6/17), he cleaned it up a bit, but still missed the boat in my opinion. It reads like a hasty attempt to save his job. And he still doesn't get the language issue. "Butt" may be less innocuous and less graphic than "blow job," but it is still trashy slang for a body area. And why does the reader, or anyone need to know about Magaña's erectile dysfunction? Mr. Pittman, I suggest you do some homework before your third attempt. On the other hand, you could take it to the extreme — throw in a little more degrading terminology, maybe a few Viagra jokes and you might just have success at the entertainingly stupid articles that are typically printed in EW. Amy Gaudia, Eugene   CRIMINAL ASSUMPTION Why I do not shop at St Vincent De Paul Society of Lane County: They fingerprint you if you write a check for purchases. I find this act intolerable. After a long discussion with them about this policy, and their admittance that they have lost customers over this policy, none of the offered rationales for this act hold water. I, therefore, choose to support other nonprofit societies that do not assume you might be a criminal when paying by check for purchases. Darlene Schanfald, Eugene   RESPECT PERFORMERS I also attended the May 26 Jolie Holland show and would like to offer a different perspective of the situation (letters, "Be Good Jolie," 6/17). Being a performer is not always an easy job and there are off days. The fan in question requested Be Good Tanyas songs a few times. Jolie tried to politely ignore her. When performers have carefully constructed a set it can be incredibly frustrating to be asked to perform songs from a band they are no longer with. Paying any amount of money to see a show should not entitle the audience to ownership of a musician's creativity. I certainly do not condone telling anyone to fuck off. However, we are not privy to the experiences of the performer that led to this faux pas. There are the frustrations of bad sound, the exhaustion of weeks of traveling and performing that take an enormous toll. I thoroughly enjoyed Jolie's performance and would love to see her again. I would encourage anyone who has not experienced her to do so. She is a wonderfully talented artist, who deserves another chance to make an impression. Sierra Nyokka, Eugene   SLOW DOWN GROWTH Our economic needs conflict with the needs of the environment. This is necessarily so, as we use the environment for most of our economic growth (more people consuming more resources). We depend upon many plants and animals, water, oil, clean air and many other resources — all coming from the environment — to grow our economy. Unfortunately for us, there are limits to how much we can take from the environment, and how much we can pollute it. We are already stressing some of those limits, yet continue to support growth as if there's no end to it. There is no end to our wants and desires though! If we continue to take more and more from the environment, we will take too much and pollute too much to continue our growth. We are quickly heading in that direction and when we reach that point, it will be bad for us. It's already bad for many other species, as human growth is causing their extinction rate to rapidly increase. Economic growth is unsustainable, and we are already reaching limits to more growth. While some people benefit from growth, most suffer. Like cancer, it seems we don't know when to stop. Doesn't it make more sense to not take it all now, and seek a long-term plan that works for the environment and the human race? Never-ending economic growth is not the long-term plan, despite what those who benefit the most from it tell us. Patrick Bronson, Eugene   FAITH VS. FACTS It's obvious that the Republicans have the Democrats beat when it comes to the present government in D.C. Simplicity is the key. Republicanism today is a faith- and trust-based philosophy. There is and was faith that a 135,000 man army can invade, subdue and control a country of only 45 million or so Muslims. Faith that tax cuts, primarily affecting the wealthiest, though putting the country into a sea of red ink for only 10 to 50 years, would be taken care of eventually, somehow. Trust in the new judicial system, basically run by one man, who promises to do what's best for the party, and who cannot be swerved from this goal by some 200-year-old document. The Democrats, on the other hand, are saddled with all those gray-area philosophies and questions of morality that only a later day Solomon or Lincoln could answer. What good are facts in the face of overwhelming ideology, based on a sure sense of what is right and wrong for the other guy? The greater good for the majority is a nice thought, but sometimes your friends just have to come first. So, which are you going to choose? A philosophy based on faith and trust, or one based on questions, verifiable facts and foresight? The answer is simple, isn't it? John DeLeau, Springfield   THE LITERATE SKINNER I use our new library frequently and I always notice the statue of Eugene Skinner. I think about how he must have worked hard and suffered many physical and emotional pains but, of what I have read, he wasn't alone in his suffering — his wife was there also. I'd like to see a statue of Mrs. Skinner sitting next to Mr. Skinner — sitting by her man. I also read that Mr. Skinner was illiterate and his faithful wife read poetry to him by candlelight sometimes. I know that she would have loved our new library. What an even more powerful sculpture that would be. Sorry, but all I can offer is my suggestion — my pocketbook wouldn't cover the cost. Duke Cantrelle, Eugene   LOWER THE FLAGS It occurs to me as I see the flags at half-mast for a dead former president, it would be appropriate during wartime for those same flags to fly continually at half mast. Michelle Holman, Deadwood   ENSHRINING REAGAN While working in Silicon Valley during the 1980s, I listened to a nightly talk show on KGO Radio, hosted by a wonderful man named Ray Taliaferro (we had both attended a Dr. King speech in 1964: He was the music director, I was 8). For the entire span of the Reagan years, Ray fielded calls by Reagan worshipers, who would attack Ray for speaking ill of their idol. But Ray always won the debates simply by asking callers to "name one thing Reagan has done; one accomplishment." No one could ever successfully provide an answer. It is interesting that Reagan is credited with ending the Cold War merely by being in the White House at the time and spending our money wastefully. The Cold War was ended by grassroots people like us, who followed people like Carl Sagan and Vladimir Posner behind the president's back to hook up satellite TV systems so regular Americans could talk with regular Soviets (Sagan's "Space Bridge" project). Enshrining Reagan is a neocon ploy, perfect for hiding the daily atrocities of Cheney's White House Gestapo, and the fact that Bush and Cheney have retained defense counsel for leaking the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, among other crimes. Brian Bogart, Eugene   MEANINGLESS LABEL In his letter "Being Gay is a Choice" (6/10), Steve Twede tells a story of a friend who "elected to leave" the gay lifestyle after "many years." First, would he please define the buzz phrase "gay lifestyle?" There may be a perception that this must include things like unsafe sex with multiple partners, but in reality "gay lifestyle" is about as meaningless as "straight lifestyle." As for the issue of choice, people like Mr. Twede seem to think homosexuality is simply a behavior, but as with heterosexuality, there's a variable drive behind it. People can be somewhat flexible in their sexuality, but most have a preference that is curiously magnetic, and hardly a choice. The fact that a percentage of gays (or perhaps bisexuals if they can truly switch) at least try to be "straight" doesn't change this. Some gay people who are hammered with negativity might try to bury those feelings, but with how much success and at what cost to their mental health if they fail? And how many heteros have been successful at repressing their sexuality? But then, gays are nothing like pure and natural straight folk like Mr. Twede, right? Ryan L Newburg, Eugene   LETTERS POLICY: We print as many letters as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words and submissions to once a month. All letters are subject to editing for length and clarity, and must include address and phone number. E-mail to editor@eugeneweekly.com, fax to 484-4044, or mail to 1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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