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Natural
Resistance: 33 Tantrums: Frustrated Musumeci
resorts to bizarre fiction.
Living Out: Invisible: Media make it clear what 'normal' is
supposed to be.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
33 Tantrums
Frustrated Musumeci
resorts to bizarre fiction.
Well they'd made up their minds to be everywhere because why
not. Everywhere was theirs because they thought so.
-- The Last One, W.S. Merwin
Eugene is no longer development-as-usual, and so we have 33 tantrums
called the Gang of 9 cartoons. But for every complaint about the cartoons, I figure
there's a lot to be grateful for:
1. The Gang cartoons are (were) anonymous. We can be grateful
that disapproval of the anonymity of the tantrums ran extremely high, and that citizen
sleuths were persistent in ferreting out the truth that Oregon/California developer
John Musumeci was bankrolling the drawings by Steven DeCinzo, a California cartoonist.
DeCinzo, who parted company with Musumeci after the first 32 of the cartoons, is
under the close-up impression that the real Gang of 9 is one: Musumeci.
2. The Gang cartoons are nasty. Biologist John Cairns aptly
notes, "Entrepreneurs who replace natural systems with human artifacts are called
developers." But Eugene happens to be a community that cares not only for building
things for humans, but also for keeping natural wetlands, rare plants and wild animals,
walking and biking pathways, old trees, neighborhoods, local businesses and respectful
wages, and the last remaining open waterways. This is why most of our City Council
members, having been elected democratically and locally, do not roll over for developers.
Instead, they ask questions, encourage community members to bring innovative solutions
to the table, and consider options.
But certain developers do not take kindly to anyone getting in
the way of their time-honored insider politics, money, and internal combustion machines.
So the nastiness we've seen in the gang cartoons is a response to something we should
be immensely proud of: a City Council that remembers we are a public community and
that "quality of life" means more to us than just concentrated money, roads,
and private real estate deals.
3. The Gang cartoons don't reflect reality. You have to
wonder at cartoons that depict David Kelly as an insane person, violently decked
out in guns. Anyone who has ever spoken directly with Kelly, or watched him address
a problem, knows that he is always careful in his judgments, does impressively intelligent
homework; and never abandons civility.
Or consider cartoons that depict Bonny Bettman as attacking PeaceHealth,
batting at taxpayers, calling a puddle a wetland and being considered incompetent.
Hello? Bettman helps us all look at a full range of alternatives, asks uncomfortably
competent questions, and keeps a better eye on the overall needs of this whole community
than most city councilors anywhere.
We have this to be grateful for: The majority of the council is
so thoughtful and informed, Musumeci has had to resort to bizarre fiction to make
them look bad.
4. The Gang cartoons are simply big money buying people's minds.
As concentrated money is increasingly equated with "free speech" in
our nation, we're all heading for deep trouble. One developer who can throw his tantrum
with $50,000 worth of negative ads against city councilors who work to protect communities,
commands a whole lot more "free speech" than a volunteer who speaks up
at a public hearing about protecting the last 1 percent of Willamette Valley wetlands.
But Eugene still has a great capacity to put limits on what and
who money will control. For instance, we have Eugene Weekly; ward-based elections
of city councilors; organizations like Citizens for Public Accountability, Citizens
for a Hospital in the Heart of Eugene, and Friends of Eugene; and we have humor (watch
this year's Eugene Celebration parade). Most impressively, we have a lot of citizens
who are too thoughtful and active to let one or nine tantrum-throwers control their
minds or surroundings.
In short, there's lots to celebrate: The Gang cartoons have been
drawn because Musumeci isn't getting to control this community or most of its City
Council. In upcoming months and years, each of us will have lots of opportunities
to make sure he and others who believe the land and communities are theirs never
wield undue control. And in the course of helping our community remain free, remember
to actually make sense with your humor.
Mary O'Brien has worked as a public interest scientist for the
past 20 years. Her new book, Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative
to Risk Assessment, has been published by The MIT Press. She can be reached at
mob@efn.org
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Invisible
Media make it clear
what 'normal' is supposed to be.
On Sunday mornings Sweetie Pie and I read the paper in bed. I cuddle
into her soft shoulder while she flips from the gossip column to Parade's
"In Step With" article.
This week features Broadway's latest Tony nominee. One look at
his publicity photo and Honey Bunch and I make the same observation: ÷BIG
FAG. Cute, stylin'-- and nothing to hide." He flashes a full-face grin, not
one of those stiff-lipped guy smiles that make men look like they're politely trying
to gag up a wayward strand of spinach.
Lovie Dovie and I snuggle up and peruse for proof. Personal: Born
Aug. 18, 1965, single. Hello? This man is 36, unmarried, and gorgeous. Look at that
boyish, tousled hair and hip green Ralph Lauren crew neck. Eureka! But his queerness
is completely invisibilized. Neutered. Sanitized for your protection. Not one mention
of anything you wouldn't see on a Boy Scout leader's resume.
Most of us lesbian, gay, bi, transgendered and transsexual people
would just as soon be out, counted, and included. We want the liberty and justice
that's supposed to be for all. But it's not that simple. We can wave our gay pride
flags until we're red-orange-yellow-green-blue-indigo-and-violet in the face and
mainstream culture still manages to erase us.
When I first came out I wanted everyone -- especially my family
-- to notice. I shaved my head, decked myself out in pink triangle "DYKE"
pins and invested in sensible, steel-toed boots. I worked in a lesbian collective,
sang lesbian folk songs and performed with the Footlight Faggots and Lesbian Thespians.
Could I have been more visible? I practically had my portrait on a three dollar bill.
But I could've dyed myself lavender, for all the good it did.
My poor mother never read about anyone like me in Parade
magazine. She didn't see normal portrayals of families with lesbian children anywhere.
So, for 20 years Mom kept right on telling people that her daughter was "away
at college."
Hide That Gay
Mainstream journalists who write about Hollywood and Broadway stars expend oodles
of creativity keeping celebrity gayness hidden. Would the earth fly off its axis
if they wrote one normal little thing about a gay actor's life? Would anyone actually
drop dead from reading "Craig and William share a brownstone in Brooklyn with
their pomeranians, Langston and Oscar"?
When Parade profiles an All-American, blatantly-straight
celeb, we get to read their whole het saga: how many times they've been married,
who's kids they've had or fathered and who they're dating now. Even their casual
mention of being encouraged by a husband or inspired by a wife makes it clear what
"normal" is supposed to be. When we get "In Step With" gay entertainers
we get no mention of who they're dating, or whether they have a partner, or are raising
a family -- not a hint of their domestic life. We get nothing. Zippo. Zilch. The
blatant omission makes gay people crazy.
As long as the mainstream puts such obvious effort into keeping
queers invisible, it keeps drumming home the tired old message that there's something
wrong with us, that who we are is too distasteful for a family magazine. Families
take that as permission to not acknowledge -- or enjoy -- the queerness of their
homo relatives. My own sister invited me to her Las Vegas wedding only after exacting
my promise that I wouldn't wear a tuxedo or try to "make a statement."
Hers was the sole sexual orientation to be flaunted that day. Only my dyke friends
back home knew how truly outrageous it was for me to show up in pink chiffon with
matching pumps.
When our whole selves are not welcome, we're relegated to either
the closet or society's fringe. Suffocation or exile. We will keep working to create
a healthy image of our queer selves by being out and visible everywhere we go, but
we need publications as normal as Parade to stop doing us the dubious favor
of keeping our public identities private.
Sally Sheklow has been a part of the Eugene community since 1972
and is a member of the WYMPROV! comedy troupe. Her column, which began at EW,
also runs in newspapers accross the country.
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PILLS
ARE JUST TOOLS
Regarding your recent stories on
anti-depressants, let me give you another perspective:
A little over a year ago, I went on the anti-depressant
Paxil for about six months before deciding the physical side effects
were not worth the emotional gain/control. After doing some research,
I asked my health practitioner to switch my prescription to Wellbutrin,
(you have to be your own advocate in the mental health realm). After
another six months on Wellbutrin, I've lost 20-plus pounds, moved
on/out of a go-nowhere, non-committal relationship of five years,
and am planning a trip to Ireland this September. Without medication,
I never could have handled all of this.
Depression runs in both sides of my family. My brother
is dual diagnosed, schizophrenic and bi-polar. Because of medication
he is now competing in the Special Olympics and winning gold medals.
I'm really tired of people who have no personal experience with something
speaking as if they know what's up.
I know this'll get some laughs, but I'm using technology
to keep up. Some people use cell phones, I use anti-depressants. It's
just using technology to make your life work, as I see it. I'm over-simplifying,
of course.
Anti-depressants have made a huge contribution to
my life. We have to get over the mental illness stigma! It's no different
than being diabetic. Take responsibility for your life however you
can. Use the available tools -- be it self-help books, support
groups, or medication. The only truly tragic thing is to do nothing.
Lisa Battaglia
Corvallis
STRONG
CONVICTIONS
I have known Jeff Luers for almost
10 years now. We have chosen different paths in life, but I still
and always will consider him a dear friend to me. I need not convince
you that he has always been a person who believed strongly in the
activities he was and is involved in.
Jeff needs help now and I am sure that you will help
him. Although I can't fully agree with what he did, I can completely
disagree with the sentence cast upon him. I know him, he is not an
evil person nor was he ever. I have not spoken to him in more than
a year or so, but I know that if he said to that judge that he never
meant to hurt anyone, that is the truth. I am sure that you feel the
same, but I wanted you to hear it from someone who has helped him
and has been helped by him. If nothing else, write the Oregon
governor and tell him that his sentence is ridiculous.
I have spoken to his parents and they have told me
that there are sex offenders with less time than Jeff. Should Jeff
serve time? Well, that is matter of opinion. Should he serve 22.5-plus
years? Well, that is ridiculous.
I am not an activist or revolutionary, I am a longtime
friend who would like to see his buddy sometime before he is 40. This
is just my 2 cents worth.
Marcus Tyson
Eugene
BAFFLING
BERES
I found George Beres's Viewpoint
(7/19) somewhat baffling. It began as if it were going to be a general
discussion of the need for more academic integrity in sports, something
not merely desirable but essential. Unfortunately, it drifted away
from that discussion into an unsupported attack on various other universities.
I am not a casual observer. I have degrees from the
University of Notre Dame, the University of Illinois and Indiana University,
and served as a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. I
have also taught at various schools, including UO. While I cannot
claim neutrality, I can claim perspective. Something sadly lacking
in the Beres screed.
His attack on supposed "sports factories," in contrast
to the UO, is laughable because it provides examples -- Florida,
Notre Dame, Ohio State, Nebraska, and USC -- that provide no
support for his characterization. According to U.S. News and World
Report, none of those five schools ranks below Oregon academically
and four are clearly ranked higher. (Notre Dame and USC are in the
top 50, Florida and Ohio State are in the second tier, while only
Nebraska joins Oregon in the third tier.)
One could misread the Beres piece as praise for Oregon's
special concern for the student athlete. The facts, once again, tell
a very different story. According to the NCAA, Oregon typically graduates
less than 60 percent of its football players and an anemic 31 percent
of its basketball players. The comparable figures at, for instance,
Notre Dame, are 82 percent and 86 percent. This is not to pretend
that all is well at my alma mater, or anywhere else. Excessive emphasis
on sports is a problem at many schools, but throwing out baseless
attacks helps no one, least of all the athlete leaving school after
four years with no degree. Perhaps the "honest game" has to start
with Beres.
Phillip D. Hatfield
Springfield
FOOD
VS. MEDICINE
Thank you for your excellent coverage
(8/2) of our problems here at LCC. I would like to elaborate on a
few points:
-- Time is a critical issue in this negotiation. Our
new insurance rates go into effect Jan. 1. Without new contract language,
our staff will be faced with a choice of food or medical care for
their families. Many of our families will not be able to afford both.
-- We are asking for 6.75 percent for each of two years,
but we are asking for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) which averages
3.5 percent per year for three years. Last year, our COLA was only
1 percent, while our costs for family medical insurance rose by 38
percent.
-- On average, the college's offer would mean a monthly
COLA of approximately $60 with family insurance costs going up by
more than $120. Our union is absolutely opposed to a college policy
of balancing a budget by taking medical care away from working families
who could qualify for food stamps.
We are asking residents of Lane County who support
living wages for working families to call the LCC Board of Education
-- also state Rep. Robert Ackerman and voice your support. His
office phone number is 242-6486.
Bob Baldwin
Bargaining team member,
LCC Employee Federation
STRATEGIC
PR
PeaceHealth has never had any intention
of building its hospital in the city center and has carefully orchestrated
its campaign from the first day it announced its move to its own doctors
and staff. Its leaders initially warned that there would be opposition
from some city councilors and, similar to the Hyundai campaign, has
hired a PR firm to tout the enormous benefits of moving to the edge
of our urban growth boundary where the sprawling lawns and bigger
rooms will welcome the sick and help with their healing. The Gang
of 9 ads pale in comparison to PeaceHealth's relentless brainwashing
in our newspapers and on TV.
When confronted with the hard reality that their plans
are becoming obsolete in the face of all the latest data on transportation,
land use and livability, PeaceHealth then insisted it must have the
equivalent amount of land to build the same design of suburban hospital
in the middle of town, and only by trashing and condemning six blocks
in the University Neighborhood, could they guarantee 100 years of
health care for our people.
But, an eclectic group of concerned, reasonable, and
professional citizens arose to put a chink in the armor of PeaceHealth
by researching and designing a wonderful middle way for the community
and Sacred Heart
The location on Willamette Street is more than adequate.
It is a good choice and this realization makes PeaceHealth very uneasy.
So they ran a phone survey and a letter-writing campaign. This is
manipulation of an old tired paradigm that doesn't work anymore.
The World Watch Institute has declared sprawl as one
of the major contributors to global warming. The Union of Concerned
Scientists stated in it's "Warning to Humanity" in 1992 that our environment
is suffering critical stress and that we are on a collision course
with the natural world. Why do we have to war with our health care
providers in making this point? If anyone should understand, it is
those concerned with making us well.
Linda Lu
Eugene
RADICALLY
INTOLERANT
For destroying three SUVs as a political
demonstration, Jeffrey "Free" Luers got 22 years in prison, prompting
many EW readers to decry judicial bias against radical activists.
We should also reconsider the fairness of hate crime legislation that
mandates harsh sentences for the radically intolerant, whose views
get less local sympathy than Luers' (and don't deserve any) but have
just as much constitutional protection. The Luers case drives home
the point that criminals should be punished for their crimes, not
their ideological motivations -- and that goes for bigots, too.
Anna S. Barnett
Eugene
SACRED
MALPRACTICE
I would like to add to Sacred Heart's/PeaceHealth's
aliases. We know that some people call it Sacred Wallet for its big-bucks
financing and others refer to it as PeaceWealth for the same reason.
Since SH/SW/PH/PW does not provide the full range of reproductive/gynecological
services that most contemporary women need and demand, Sacred Heart
should be called Sacred Malpractice to codify a medical practice that
is warped by fundamentalist beliefs/faith that do not comport with
current scientific and common sense knowledge/belief.
Nor does it comport with the long-range needs of Mother
Earth which is being raped by corporate, government, faith-based,
breed-a-lot, SUV-driving, brainwashed, man-uber-alles, pickle-headed
nincompoops (ninnies who come and poop all the time). And this applies
to you Gang of 9 rich dork nincompoops and it especially applies to
the nincompoop psuedo-president W and to his continuously lying handler,
Cheney Freak.
Finally, if Sacred Heart gets its way, it will soon
be called Sacred Money Sprawl North (along with R-G Money Sprawl
North) indicating that it is part of the problem of our society instead
of part of the solution. Sacred Heart's pro-life position is not pro-life
at all: What it really is is aborted thinking or mental constipation
where poverty and large families decrease the rate of human and other
lifeform survival.
While everyone should be free to believe anything,
no one should be free from thoughtful and heartfelt criticism.
Robert Saxton
Eugene
COMMON
FIRE
The divide between the "New Age Spirituality"
movement and the anti-globalization, peace, justice and environment
movement that Robert Bolman talked about in last week's Viewpoint
(7/26) doesn't have to be there -- if only the two sides wanted
to dedicate themselves to their common goal and recognize their common
fire.
The soul of the spiritualists and the hand of the
activists share the same bleeding heart. Between the two of them is
the recognition that humanity needs uplifting, and our connection
and responsibility to each other and the environment needs rekindling.
They approach to meet these needs on very different sides, but perhaps
their individual efforts would be more effective if they took lessons
from the other. The spiritualists could become more committed to a
plan of action, and the activists could mediate on compassion and
patience.
Neither side should collapse into the other, for each
have their own unique strengths. By seeking unity in their diversity,
much can be gained. I am thankful for Bolman's viewpoint, for I, too,
believe a better world can be achieved when more of us invest our
energy in actively working towards our common goals, instead of dividing
ourselves over the one right path.
Morgan Day
Eugene
SCUM
IN CHARGE
OK. Enough is enough. Hyundai changes
its name to Hynix, then lays off 600 people? The Register-Guard
is openly accepting $18 thousand in bribes to run harassing "comics"
of the City Council?
That's it, people. It's time to stop pretending this
town is "progressive" in any way. Developer/corporate scum run the
show and are now publicly humiliating you and me for living in our
little "bubble of delusions."
It was bad enough to hear how Harcleroad was tiptoeing
around that situation where Ted Baker grabbed the coffee counter girl.
I have one thing to say to that: Come to my bar and try that and I'll
put you in the hospital.
But then Hyundai wanted tax breaks, didn't get them,
and will now move away before rehiring even half of the 600 people
they just laid off. Mark my words, because this is the big "I told
you so" to the "it's a done deal" people at the city and LCC who bent
over backwards to validate this company from the beginning.
I cannot stomach how pathetically insulting the name-change
is. That to me is a big message from Hyundai -- about
how they're done with us and are now leaving.
If people have vision for this town they need to put
that on the table. Instead we're putting our dreams into Band-Aid
measures that inevitably fail because the premise is rotten: we have
a price, and it is actually kinda cheap. Let's have some self-respect
and build the community that we want to live in -- not just one
we can tolerate with enough delusion and blinders.
Pamela Reber
Eugene
PORK
ROCKS
The preview (7/26) of last night's
Pork Torta show at John Henry's was a total bummer. That show was
a lot of fun. Imagine a cross between Beefheart and Blue Cheer and
Curtis Mayfield playing that most elusive of genres: absurdist party
rock. High-octane and damaged but not menacing or pretentious, and
no Dead covers! (Right on!) Fun to dance to. The drummer hammered
away like Bill Ward from Black Sabbath on trucker's speed, and, as
his cymbals were stolen in San Fran, he used a trash can lid, a cowbell,
and something that looked like a bar of lead on a steel pipe for a
highhat. The bass player had Christmas lights on his pants. The guitarist
sang a delicate, exquisitely literary song called "Rif Pak" that I
will never, or probably never, forget.
Better than Keats! But that's all beside the point.
Music fans know that going out on a weeknight to check out an unfamiliar
band and having your dials spun is what rock and roll is all about,
and it's a subjective thing. The point is that trashing independent
bands that come into town isn't good for the scene, isn't good for
venues, isn't good for touring musicians who are trying to eat and
get some laundry money.
Personally, I appreciate it when a reviewer/previewer
takes the "you might like this band if you like x, y, z" approach,
especially if it's something he/she doesn't like. That's one way to
deal with the volume of stuff coming at you without going bonkers,
and also helps you do your job: connecting music fans with artists,
venues, records, other scenes, etc.
Dan Jones
Eugene
CHEEKY
HONKY
I have been reading the letters about
EW using the word "honky" and have come to the conclusion Eugeneans
have no sense of humor and obviously don't recognize irony when they
see it. For heaven's sake, lighten up.
I lived in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, and compared
to those places Eugene is very white. That was, I assume, EW's
point with it's tongue-in-cheek reference. I don't think EW
was being racist or insulting but rather pointed out the long history
of bias in Eugene and the Northwest .There is merely a veneer of tolerance
and diversity in this town and the intense reaction to the headline
(but not as much as the article's content, interestingly enough) shows
how overly sensitive Eugeneans are at the implications that they might
not be as tolerant as they think they are.
I suppose "the minimally diverse, mostly caucasian
town" would be more accurate, but not as cheeky.
Alisa McLaughlin
Eugene
LETTER
FROM FREE
I want to say thank you to all those
who have written, supported me, or donated time or money to my defense.
You have made this situation bearable. My heart especially goes out
to those who have continued to fight, and have risked their own freedom
struggling against this destructive and oppressive system.
I have been able to adjust to prison life. I can tell
you that it is a whole new experience. That puts it politely. As of
now, I have 21 more years to go.
It is my plan/goal to remain as active in the struggle
for all life and against all forms of oppression as I can. By necessity
I must use new tactics that can be employed from here.
I hope to complete a degree in sociology while I'm
here and to write and inspire with words. Already I have received
many requests for interviews. I can only do the best I can to try
to awaken people, raise awareness, and lend strength to those still
on the front lines.
To all of you who try to bring change, in whatever
form or tactic you use -- whether you fight for the planet or
against sexism, whether you are trying to raise minimum wage and create
better work conditions or helping to create alternatives to traditional
work: Our struggle comes in many forms. We fight different battles
in different fields. We use different tactics and different skills.
We share different beliefs and different ideologies. Yet, we have
one thing in common: we need each other, we need to stand side by
side, to work and fight together. Only together can we create a world
that we can all live in happily, healthfully, safely, and sustainably.
My goal in life is to help create that world. While
I plan on continuing that goal, right now I need to focus on getting
out of prison.
My appeal will be underway shortly. I expect it will
be a lengthy process. I'm asking for your continued support. Those
of you who can donate money to my defense, thank you.
I would also like to ask that everyone write to Gov.
Kitzhaber in regards to the length of my sentence and the lack of
evidence in the Tyree case.
Jeff "Free" Luers
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics and will print
as many as space allows. Please limit length to 250 words, keep submissions to once
a month, and include your 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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