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RACIST WEEKLY Great job blasting the Economic Forecast 2005 meeting (Slant 2/3) for having all white men. One problem though: I am of Native American decent. Sorry if the color of my skin or the comments at the Forecast I made didn't conform to Eugene Weekly's preconceived notions of the way my people should look or talk. What's it called when someone forms judgments based on the color of a person's skin? Oh yeah, racism. Way to go EW, you're Eugene's number one liberal, racist publication!
Ron Davies, Eugene EDITOR'S NOTE: Ironically, our paper last week also had an interview with a woman of Native American descent on stereotypes and "the role of media in racial divisions."
REAL DIVERSITY This is a good time to celebrate the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who helped us recognize the importance of equality and the corrosive effect of racism. The Eugene community prides itself on being a tolerant and diverse community. We hold conferences on racial issues, we protest when a swastika graffiti shows up on a synagogue in a show of solidarity. But where were the protests when a professor at the UO was stopped three times by cops until he got fed up and left town? Eugene is just another predominantly white town trying to convince itself it is tolerant. Eugenians go on about diversity as if the place was crowded with minorities, fraught with tension and we should all get along. Well it's not. There are instances where minorities are made to feel unwelcome and despised. They are watched when they go into a store as if they were criminal, they are stopped by the police at a greater percentage than whites – a fact even the Eugene police admit to – and people still call them by racial slurs. Harassing minorities until they leave is also a good way to keep the place lily white. Of course white folks don't feel there's racism; they're not victims of it. When someone cries foul they are dismissed as overreacting or trying to stir up trouble. Just ask the cop who stopped Jordan, who he viewed him as "anti-cop" because he was trying to teach the police to be sensitive to race, and warned not to use the "race card." Why haven't we heard the white kids walking with Cortez Jordan publicly defend him? I lived in San Francisco for many years where real diversity exists. People came in all shapes and colors. I could walk down the street and hear a polyglot of languages and find real ethnic cuisine. I will believe that Eugene is a safe, tolerant place when I see that here. Alisa McLaughlin, Eugene
CHENEY FIRST Bob Saxton has it exactly right in his letter (1/13): Let's impeach Bush. But, as the button I'm currently wearing says, "Impeach Cheney first." That is, unless you want Cheney as president de jure as well as de facto. Jim Estes, Deadwood
HERO COPS On New Years' night, at about 4:30 in the morning, my orange Datsun ('73) pickup with the white bumpers and wheels was stolen. While I am a Quaker (Friends) and not greatly attached to material possessions, there was some sadness that I could no longer use "Gracie" for community service, the main purpose in having her. These services include gardening for non-profit agencies, hauling donations to shelters, gardening and hauling for poor and aged people, transporting disabled and ill persons, even hauling the Christmas tree for the kids' program at our Quaker meeting house. While I was coping well with the loss, and getting lots of support and ride offers from friends, my thoughts were also on the thief — what a miserable life they must have! Poor in spirit. Three nights later, at 11 on a heavily frosted night, Officer Holly Straw of the Eugene Police Department called me. She said she had made it her goal to find my truck that day, and indeed she had. Fortunately a neighbor (thanks, Mary!) was able to transport me and there was the good officer waiting for me. After sharing a hug and making sure the truck was driveable, she was gone into that cold, dark night. Considering the coverage of the bigots in the police department (sexist, rapist, classist), it was a distinct pleasure to deal with this calm, patient, kind professional. Her attitude declared her one of the heroes we need so much today. Officer Straw gave me a great start in the New Year — may we all strive to be heroes like her in the coming year! Carla Jean Green, Eugene
WAR & THE POOR I do confess that I am one of those liberals in whom the taint of a stolen election still lingered from 2000. Now, in 2004, I actually feel better that President Bush won both in the popular vote and the electoral college. Now, he is only as bad as our last worst president, Ronald Reagan. I do worry about the cost of George's war on the health and well-being of this country, however. After all, Vietnam lost LBJ his Great Society, his attempt to lift the poor from poverty, because of the spiraling costs of that war. I wonder what this country will lose to the spiraling costs of Iraq, especially when George isn't trying to do a damn thing for the poor. Rebecca Wilson, Springfield
SAVE THE MCKENZIE The new year is a time for resolutions. Hopefully, the Forest Service has made some, as the McKenzie District continues to auction off ancient forests along the McKenzie River to the highest bidder. This threatened river supports not only endangered wild salmon and bull trout, but a healthy and thriving recreation industry, bringing in millions of dollars into Lane County and providing a myriad of economic opportunities for small business. It is stunning to think that the Forest Service is continuing to further degrade upstream water quality by logging some of the last remaining native forest left in the watershed. These forests are very important to the health of the watershed and the economic security of many small businesses. I don't know many people who enjoy recreating in a clearcut or fishing in a silted stream. It's time for the Forest Service to get with the 21st century and make a resolution to preserve the remaining public old-growth forests that make the McKenzie such a special place. Mary Gatlin, Eugene
HIRED GUNS Corporations, in league with corrupt government, have turned many federal and state agencies away from their mission of providing for the public good. The Bush administration has embedded industry lobbyists in policy-making positions who continue to work for their old masters while drawing government salaries and benefits. Although their current compensation doesn't match their old salaries, you can be certain that their "deferred compensation" on leaving the administration will more than compensate for this in the same way that it has for former representatives and senators who served special interests. Dean Richmond, Waldport
WORD ABUSE For crying out loud!! Would someone please give Alan Pittman a dictionary instead of a spell-checker? One does not "reign" in abusive cops; one does not "rein" over a divisive council. Mr. Pittman has made this mistake so consistently, for so many years, I honestly believe he doesn't know the difference. While we're at it — you can't "site" controversial auditor models; you can't "cite" a building near the river (unless it is there illegally). You run a pretty good newspaper. For Mr. Pittman to be continually ungrammatical is both astonishing and disappointing. It leaves one with the impression that nobody notices it, or that nobody cares. Ken Warren, Eugene
CAR-NAGE & BIODIESELS U.S. traffic deaths in 2003 totaled 43,220; injuries, 2,890,000. Cost of highway crashes to society: $230.6 billion per year, about $820 per person (from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Cost of traffic law enforcement, lost land, road construction, road repair, wasted resources in manufacturing cars, social disintegration, etc. not included. The aforementioned only samples issues omitted by the panacean EW "Fuelish Pride" (12/23). To the liberal's rebuttal of "Yeah, but biodiesel's a step in the right direction," I preemptively say NO! Alternative cars only distract from real solutions to Earth's scourge — as much the "right direction" as concentrating on opening Band-Aids for a severed leg. If citizens don't start discussing the wider social implications of technological choices, we'll all start talking like the EW biodiesel interviewee: "The only problem is that I ride my bike less." Excellent primers for said discussion are The Whole and the Reactor (Langdon Winner) and Asphalt Nation (Jane Holtzkay) — and going car-free for a week. Wil D. Hormann, Corvallis
EXCELLENT? I have a few concerns regarding Lane Transit District. How can a bus strike be providing "excellent services" which is a quote from Ken Hamm from the "Rider's Digest" of Sept. 19, 2004? Mr. Hamm's "promise." What does that really mean? What type of management would not negotiate a respectable contract for its employees, thus causing added stress for bus patrons in the middle of winter? No other relief is provided for the 10,000-plus individuals who depend on LTD, implying that LTD would rather save money for its new Bus Rapid System, which has a higher priority over maintaining current bus schedules and meeting the needs of the public. Is LTD a public-oriented service? If current services are not adequately funded, how can there be long-term funding for a "new" bus system? This implies that regular bus service will continually be cut in order to bring in a new bus rapid system. How can this be "excellent" service? Or is this new bus rapid system like the electric buses? How many times have the electric buses been painted? Twice! Where are the electric buses today? Bus patrons need actual physical, reliable transportation, not buses that sit in the bus yard collecting dust. Valerie Harris, Springfield
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