Eugene Weekly : Letters : 08.17.06

WE NEED A CRITICAL MASS, BUT HOW TO GET THERE?

The Center for Appropriate Transport (CAT) would like to clarify our position regarding Eugene's Critical Mass rides. CAT has always taken a position of non-participation in Critical Mass rides. Over the years some staff have ridden on the rides but never as a part of CAT. There are three reasons for this position. First, the political nature of Critical Mass doesn't include overt leadership. Second, the nature of Critical Mass in Eugene has at times been a non-celebratory, violent clash between cyclists, motorists and police. Third, and most importantly, CAT's mission is education, not political action.

Since our founding in 1992, we have worked from the premise that developing a bicycle culture through practical, day-to-day integration is one of the most powerful ways to make change. At Eugene Bicycle Works, we have taught thousands of people how to work on their own bikes. Our Alternative Education Program has taught hundreds of teens how to design and fabricate many types of human powered vehicles. CAT's Oregon Cycling Magazine integrates youth into bicycle journalism and photography. Youth from CAT have parked many thousands of bicycles at local events. Pedalers Express moves goods and parcels (including Eugene Weekly every Thursday) throughout the city, quietly and cost-effectively replacing fossil fuel vehicles. Eugene Rack Works has provided hundreds of businesses with the ubiquitous staple-shaped bike racks. We put on the Human Powered Parade for five years in a row. Of the many ways to advocate for change, these are our preferred methods.

Even though we feel strongly about the many negative effects of the car, in our work we have chosen the strategy of providing choices rather than trying to define "appropriate." As our name indicates, we think the primary step that each and every one of us can make is to be more careful about our choices. Our name is a spin-off from the era of Appropriate Technology, the movement to develop alternative energy sources that was inspired by the oil embargo of 1973. As using a chainsaw to cut a rose isn't generally considered using appropriate technology, likewise, using a car to go five blocks to the store isn't usually considered using an appropriate transport mode. We feel that by making appropriate transport choices we can strongly reduce our negative impact on world events and the environment.

We do believe that there is a need for many styles of advocacy, considering the severity of the problem. Until cars cause less harm, Critical Mass is sure to be a part of the political landscape. Considering recent events around the world it is as valid a social/ political movement as any. Yet there are two distinctly different images of Critical Mass rides. One is of screaming cyclists and motorists. Of cars running over bikes. Of police roughing up cyclists. The other is from a ride in San Francisco with over 5,000 cyclists. There was a woman with flowers, passing them out to car drivers waiting at intersections. There were cyclists purposefully de-escalating the conflicts that came up. Children and adults were laughing and happy riding down big city streets. In that latter image there is a celebration of cycling and a dream of how the world might be. That is what CAT wishes and strives for.

Jan VanderTuin, Director, CAT

JUST ENOUGH CHANGE

I am a bit confused by Geno Shane's remarks on the Oregon Country Fair (8/3). Although I have not been attending as long as Mr. Shane, I have an idea what the fair is all about. It's different for everyone. The energy is different from moment to moment, that's the charm. He says "It's more difficult to figure out where things are," then goes on to say "the sameness year after year gets boring." So is he lost or not?

I for one am in disagreement on much of his opinions. There was wonderful dance music, Radioactive was there representing hip hop, Eleven Eyes had upbeat dance jazz, the list goes on.

I'm all for gradual, natural growth of the fair. I think every year it morphs just enough.

Tina Ellison , Lane County

LACK OF RESPONSE

First off, my utmost support to my friend and former classmate Maisie Davis for continuing to struggle for her right to an oppression-free education and against the UO's institutional racism. The administration's lack of response, and continued inaction to create policies addressing racist violence on campus, really shows who they are and where their priorities are at.

Would this be the response if Maisie Davis was UO President Dave Frohnmayer's daughter? Would this be the response if Maisie was a non-disabled white woman? In any case, she's not, and neither are the many others students of color who deal with racism at the UO on a daily basis, in and out of the classroom. The university promotes itself as caring about diversity, but when it comes down to addressing violence directed at those on campus who create the diverse environment that benefits ALL students and faculty, nothing changes.

The UO administration should look at the examples being set by COE grad student Johnny Lake, COE professor Surrendra Subramani and FHS Program Director Dan Close. These are individuals who have stepped up and delivered when they were called upon. Until the same is done by the UO administration, "honoring diversity" will continue to be a watered-down feel good term while racist violence continues to go unchecked. Change and action need to happen today. To quote revolutionary Assata Shakur, "Yesterday was not too soon."

D Cohen, UO Family and Human Services Program alumnus, Eugene

MAKE YOUR SLIME SHINE

All this war — why I've never! I do declare war is nothing but a big chore. It's rotten to the core, 'cause it's full of gore. I find it to be quite a bore, so I don't want to talk about it anymore. Instead, I'm pleased as punch to announce the upcoming SLUG Queen Coronation. Follow the slime trail of our reigning swingin' Queen Frank Slug-Snotra as it followed mine and many old queens before. Become a "philanthropod."

That's right, you too can do good service for our community while being adored and receiving plenty of perks during your reign. There are no "official" rules; just slip into an alter-persona — with a catchy name, a talent to perform for 3 minutes or less (I tried longer, but literally was carried off the stage), and bribes are not only beneficial, but definitely required.

Applications are available at the Saturday Market office (686-8885). Here's your chance to rule and to shine your slime in the Eugene Celebration Parade, and oh so many other community events. So come on down for an uplifting and unifying extravaganza at 6:30 pm Friday, Aug. 25, at the Park Blocks at 8th and Oak (Saturday Market stage). It's good to be queen!

Blessings to all y'all, for peace and love,

Old Queen Scarlett O'Slimera, Eugene

VALUE OF MEMORY

In response to Jerry Ritter's ridiculous letter in last week's issue, "Ignoring Atrocities":

I am disgusted at this type of thinking. It seems to me that he is saying that because the Japanese government, and some individuals, perpetrated horrible war crimes, that innocent women and children deserved to be killed, or worse yet, have every inch of skin burned off of their body by an atomic bomb. Which, by the way, was intentionally dropped on a civilian target.

I truly believe that this thinking is the root of the problems right now in Israel. Sure, Israelis have the right to not live in fear, but the Lebanese children who are killed daily in "revenge" raids did nothing wrong.

The peace groups that want to remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki are only trying to prevent that type of thing from ever happening again by reminding us of how horrible it was — a task that will become increasingly harder with narrow minded people running the world.

Nathan Krusi , Eugene

MAD? GO VEGGIE

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced yesterday (7/20) that it is cutting testing for mad cow disease by 90 percent, from one per hundred of cows slaughtered to one per thousand. The move was applauded by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and condemned by consumer groups and by Japan, which called for more intensive testing before resuming imports of U.S. beef.

Mad cow disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), is a degeneration of brain tissue leading to erratic behavior and death. It is transmitted through feeding of infected brain and spinal tissues to other cows. Human consumption of infected beef leads to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a deadly dementia frequently confused with the Alzheimer's disease that affects millions.

Federal safety measures, including the 1997 ban on feeding potentially infected cow body parts to other cows, lack adequate enforcement. USDA has reported 50 violations of mad cow disease regulations per month by U.S. meat plants. Its failure to institute an adequate testing program smacks of a crude attempt to hide the problem from the American people.

This failure undermines consumer confidence in the safety of our nation's meat supply and provides one more reason to replace beef in our diet with a veggie burger or another soy-based meat alternative in the frozen food section of our supermarket.

Elijah Hennison, Eugene

WOMEN'S WORLD

It is time for the women of the world to come together once again. It has been more than 10 years since the last Women's World Conference (WWC) was held in Beijing, China in September 1995. I feel it is a crucial time for this conference to happen again. We need to use our wisdom that is embedded within us to share our solutions. It is at conferences like the WWC that we generate not only treaties and documents but also knowledge, strength and hope.

A peace movement is stirring. A peace movement is rising from the roots and from the hearts of many people. Knowledge, strength and hope foster peace movements. Women gathering together foster knowledge, strength and hope. Ask yourself if there a connection between women not having power and war. Look at societies where war is prevalent and at societies that withhold rights from women. Look at societies that do grant equal rights to women, or that are heading that way. Look at the way these societies solve problems, not only war but also issues concerning AIDS, public safety, health insurance and poverty. And look closer at home. When women are supported and empowered in the work place, is quality improved?

Holding the fifth WWC will not solve the world's problems but is one step towards women's equality, which is a necessary part for providing the solutions we need.

To learn more, check out www.5wwc.orgVanessa Barnatt, Peter Hartman, Corvallis

MURDERING CATS

I am writing in response to the "Pet Politics" article (8/3) covering no-kill animal shelter policies. I have been anxious to see these policies implemented since I realized how bad the problem is here. My cat was taken from outside my home and brought to Greenhill Humane Society, where he was killed.

Although Johnni Prince, the executive director there, claims to support no-kill policies, their supposed "low-kill" policies were not implemented at all. When animals are brought to the shelter, there is supposed to be an intake form filled out, so that people missing their cats can call to identify them. The form for my cat was blank, so when I called I was told that no cat matched my description. The shelter is supposed to wait three days (72 hours) before euthanizing cats brought in to them, and mine was killed after only two days. My cat was neutered and had a microchip installed — a device with the cat's identifying information, for which Greenhill has a special scanner. Although Greenhill puts such microchips into every animal they adopt out, mine was not scanned at all.

When I called to request all the documents related to my cat's murder, Johnni warned me that I had no legal repercussions. She said that "cats are like squirrels" with no rights in Lane County. That cat was my baby, and he was treated like an inconvenience and disposed of.

STEP UP, DAVE

I'm sitting here at a desk in Logan, Utah (I'm a new Ph.D. student at Utah State University) catching up on news from home (Eugene) by reading EW. I just read about the racist acts on the University of Oregon campus. I read how the FHS program has stepped up to help its student, and then I read, getting sick to my stomach, about how David Frohnmayer has reacted to the situation. To tell someone how they should protect themselves from these racist acts, and not make a public statement about racism on campus is despicable. We need to create a community where racist acts are not swept under the rug and responsibility placed on the shoulders of the victims, and frankly, Frohnmayer should be taking the lead.

I know that there are people in Eugene dealing with their whiteness and their own racism, I know that there is a small community effort to step up and do the right thing, but that effort needs to grow. I love Eugene, I love the fact that I get to tell people that Eugene is my home, but when I read stories like this, I get ashamed. The UO is a huge part of my Eugene home, and I continually wonder when Frohnmayer and the administration are going to step up and start creating a hate-free safe environment for all members of the UO and Eugene community?

Seriously, Dave, stop hiding and do something, people are counting on you.

Brooke Robertshaw, Logan, UT

OIL WAR, AGAIN

The current situation in southern Lebanon, as far as we are being told, is that Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers, and Israel invaded and began bombing Lebanon both in retaliation and in an attempt to rescue the soldiers. On this first day of fighting, three Lebanese and eight Israeli soldiers were killed, yet Israel continued the attack in what was, as others have pointed out, a completely out-of-proportion reaction. Frankly, nothing Hezbollah has done justifies a full-scale attack of southern Lebanon.

What we are not being told, and I hate to sound like some rhetoric-spouting broken record here, is that this new war, once again, is about oil. July 13 marked not only the start of the Israel-Lebanon conflict, but the inauguration of the Ceyhan-Tblisi-Baku pipeline (BTC). The BTC pipeline runs through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, linking oil fields in the Caspian Sea to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean. The chief shareholder is British Petroleum.

Israeli control of the entire eastern Mediterranean coastline, including Lebanon, would protect the security of Western oil interests in the area. It would also allow an already-envisioned underwater pipeline to be built linking Ceyhan, and the end of the BTC pipeline, directly to Israel, along the coast of Lebanon. A U.S. invasion of Syria, Iran, or both, doesn't seem unlikely following this either, as that would further ensure the security of the BTC (the pipeline runs very close to the Turkey-Syria border at one point).

The most shocking part is that we are being told absolutely nothing about it. My hat goes off to anyone who's even heard of the BTC pipeline, and it's been in the works for several years. Here is a well-defined, seemingly obvious explanation for an otherwise nearly pointless conflict, and the mainstream news media haven't said a word.

Katelyn Best, Eugene