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JUS' CAIN'T WIN Me and a couple of old cowpokes was settin' around the pickle barrel down at the Horsehead, with me tryin' to figure out how to drum up some bidness. Feller from Eugene Weekly sold me some ad space, but that don't seem to work none neither. Maybe startin' up a John Birch Society branch for Tuesday evening meetings might help. Don't know, but I gots to find me some way of payin' off these bills. So I looks up and this here tour bus is pullin' up. Bunch of rednecks come tumblin' out. Dressed kind of funny with these white sheets and hoods on, but they had them plenty of cash money. So I go out to be neighborly. "Say, where y'all from?" "Pulaski, Tennessee," says one. "We seen a article by some Jerry Harris guy on the Internet (12/30). Said the Horsehead was the place to be." "Internet? That some newfangled way of runnin' trot lines for catchin' catfish?" He shrugged. "Just set up some Rebel Yell. No ice." So we got to drinkin'. Till after a while one of them starts fussin'. "Hey, what's with that queer bartender there?" "And that Samoan guy checkin' the IDs?" says another. "Ease up, boys. That Injun gal behind the bar there's half Polack." Durn, if the head redneck don't stare straight at me. "That's still Catholic or Jew, you Dadgummit! I just can't seems to win for nothin'. Tom Tracey, Eugene
RACE INDUSTRY The principle reasons that a "diversity or race industry" exists at all in this country are 500 years of native genocide, easily 300 years of slavery followed by 100 years of legal segregation, which only legally ended in 1965, but is still practiced covertly because it is profitable to discriminate. All of this preceded by millennia of sexism and easily centuries of heterosexism in some quarters. Professionally my largely volunteer work in this state has been exclusively in promoting the recovery of culture, sobriety, and promoting healthy non-addictive living. I've participated in school district, community, county, and state task forces on gangs, racial justice, prevention coalitions, disproportionate minority confinement, as well as the Police Department's Citizens Academy. In 20 years in Oregon I've received less than $5,000 for in-state diversity work — why take money from people who won't listen to you for free? I got into diversity work because of health disparities in the local, state, and national substance abuse industries. Jerry Harris (letters, 1/6) inaccurately cast me with Jesse Jackson, though I do share his contempt for the current civil rights establishment. More accurately I am down with the public health gang of Jocelyn Elders and David Satcher. Health disparities are real — they are scientifically and medically documented along lines of class, race, sex, and even perceived sexuality. I don't apologize for working for health equity. It's easier to talk smack than stop smack. I'd just ask my critics: "How many people are alive because of what you did today?" Mark Harris, Eugene
NO TO FLUFF In reply to the (1/6) article "Hardest Working DJ": Dear local DJs, With all respect to hip hop, dance hall and reggae music and its uprising, let's talk about under-representation. We have listened regularly to this town's hip hop DJ spin sessions and although we appreciate that they bring any musical flavas to this town at all, real hip hop and reggae get crowded out by the MTV-Top-40-KDUK crap every time. Among the underrepresented remain: Wyclef Jean (How is a DJ from Jersey playing no Wyclef or Fugees or Missy Elliott?) Common, Blackalicious (you don't think people would dance to this?), Talib Kweli, Shelley Thunder, Sister Carol, Tippa Irie and Half Pint. We need more Mos Def please, and even the most recent Beastie Boys album bumps and you don't play it! We've heard Sean Paul represented at least 116,000 times and Beyonce gets enough airplay on KDUK! Turn your UO clientele requesting the top 40 Milkshake songs on to what you know is better! See who else might show up. Why do we have to go to Portland for hip hop? And if you really want to hit people with it, play some international hip hop. There is a world full of folks that love some good hip hop that are under-represented. Check out some African, Caribbean, and South American beats that get played in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Because some of us are from Brooklyn, and nothing about John Henry's reminds us of Brooklyn except maybe the drunks peeing on the sidewalk outside. Just say no to fluff! Silky Johnson, Buc Nasty & Beautiful, Eugene
SHALLOW VIEW I want to respond to Jerry Harris (1/6). Have you ever met Mark Harris? He is a substance abuse counselor as well as an important part of racism awareness. To say that race is his livelihood is a shallow point of view. I believe that the smallest amount of racism is too much. I think that racial profiling is a form of racism, and therefore is unacceptable. Do you think Eugene should wait until African Americans are being killed here more frequently and then start awareness programs? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Ann Lane, Eugene
LIVING WITH WOLVES In the populated, agricultural and forested upper Midwest, the wolf population is today estimated at 3,800. In 1970 there were about 750 wolves left surviving in Minnesota, no wolves in Wisconsin, and a few individuals in Michigan. How have some hearty people since been working out life with another great animal of our sublime planet? The impressive International Wolf Center is based in a rural town in the northern woods, Ely, Minn. — comparable to a town like Oakridge. The ecological movement sought out funding, worked with state and national agencies, ranchers and ecologists, and developed successful education campaigns reaching out enthusiastically and respectfully to people across the rural, suburban and urban upper Midwest. With plenty of compelling science and culture the Wolf Center has brought groups together, showing us paths by which we all — wolves, rural and urban humans — can thrive in nature and our societies. That's how the wolf has been able to prosper in our very own dark age. It's still an ongoing struggle, partly because it isn't easy to organize community cultural experiences and forge relationships across divides. If we are to contribute to something both transcendental and real in our short time here, we will do well to fight smart and lovingly for our fellow Earth denizens — even here in the U.S. And we've got to work very hard to improve our strategies and maintain our determination. Maybe wolves aren't the center of that endless fight, but they're a moving part of it. Mara Fridell, Eugene
MEAN CARTOON Your cover cartoon of the Dec. 23 issue was a mean-spirited slap on the face of thousands of hard-working Oregonians who own or work on Christmas tree farms that grow, harvest and sell Christmas trees each year. It is a business that brings joy to millions of people nationwide. Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees and produces about one fourth of the nation's total production. It adds $125 million to the Oregon economy. Furthermore, this production takes place on marginal agriculture land that will produce few other profitable crops. These trees are planted specifically for Christmas trees and their harvest in no way affects future forest production. It is very much like buying roses at a florist shop. At present time, there are three times as many trees being planted for Christmas trees as are being harvested. It takes a lot of capital and hard work to produce a crop that on the average takes six to 10 years to be ready for harvest. During all these years, these little trees are improving air quality by removing carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen. If you or any of your readers are truly interested in learning more about this industry, there are many growers in western Oregon who would be willing to give you a tour of their farm. Bob Kintigh, Springfield
OILY ECONOMY Robert Simms (1-6) obviously has issues with motor vehicles, but attacking others who are attempting to support a local low-pollution alternative to petroleum fuels is wrong-headed. It would be illuminating for Mr. Simms to do an audit of the many ways in which motorized transport makes his life possible. I'm betting that nearly all of the food he eats was grown, harvested and delivered using tractors and trucks. All of the consumer products that even a frugal person uses were manufactured and delivered using petroleum-fueled vehicles. The garbage trucks that take Mr. Simms' leavings to Short Mountain run on diesel, as do the Caterpillars which bury them. If he eschews the private automobile in favor of mass transit, that too is fueled by petroleum diesel fuel. How does Mr. Simms imagine that his bicycle's metals were extracted, processed, assembled and brought to the showroom? Diesel fuel, that's how. In short, all of your activities are integrated with the petroleum industry. A small but growing community of people all over the world are promoting and developing an alternative to petroleum fuels. As much as you may hate cars, the use of a non-toxic, low pollution, renewable fuel can never be a bad thing. The use of biodiesel is spreading from the private sector into fleets and manufacturing, a reverse of the typical path of new innovations. Dunning fore-thinking individuals who choose to participate in established patterns of transport using an alternative fuel source is as wrong as making fun of people who ride around in the rain wearing bicycle pants. Everyone does their part in the dance, and it's not up to you to call the steps. As I have pointed out on this page before, the problem isn't too many cars, it's too many people. Oh, and yes, my all-electric car is powered by
solar panels, thank you. If you'll keep your attention on the bike lane,
I'll continue to drive it proudly in a responsible R. Sparks Scott, Eugene
HALF-BAKED IDEAS Just a quick response to the two guys (1/6, Jim Johnson and Jerry Harris) who wrote such weak and generic letters after reading Mark Harris' article (12/23). Both of your points are obviously devoid of any real thought or reason. In a world without racism, a person like Mark Harris would still be devoting his life's work and passion to creating positive social change in other areas. But racism does exist, and we do need diversity trainers and educators like Mark, so what are your points, exactly? That he should be grateful for hate crimes and racial profiling because it gives him something to talk about or a job in the industry? Get real. I think it's foolish to call the "race industry" Mark's "livelihood" or imply that when black people start dying in Eugene, then their "self-segregated" community will have a real reason to "cry" about racism. Mark is an excellent teacher and passionate speaker
which obviously threatens some people who can only express half-baked
ideas or who can only think of one thing to say. I have many things
to say about Mark and his work, but it's really simple: during two years
of attending school at LCC, he was the only teacher to ever actually
teach me something real about myself and how my choices affect my life
and personality. In his class I learned how to become a better person,
not about how white I am or how black To say he can talk about race and nothing beyond is a lame understatement. Do yourselves a favor and go get educated. Rachel Boyd, Eugene
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