Curtailing Dialogue

It would be great if the Eugene Weekly had some standards for the letters it publishes. Ideally, letters are a format for the thoughtful exchange of credible ideas and opinions, not a venue for lies, insults, personal attacks and foul language.

Perhaps engaging in hate-mongering is EW’s way to bolster circulation. However, rather than fostering civil dialogue, it curtails it.

Letters published by EW last week (Letters, 1/9) insulted me personally and grossly misrepresented my commentary on the serious problems with House Bill 2001 (Letters, 12/26). It is disappointing the paper allows writers to attack the messenger, rather than address the issues (a la Trump, Republicans and FOX News). It’s a disservice to readers that EW editor Camilla Mortensen prints falsehoods that can easily be verified by reading her own paper!

Perhaps the EW could add a disclaimer to the Letters section: “We’ll print just about anything. Readers and writers beware!”

Eben Fodor

Eugene