|
Viewpoint:
Continuous Presence -- Jews have walked the land for 3,300
years.
Viewpoint:
The New Schools -- An open discussion is needed on evolving
public education.
Viewpoint:
Of Course Not -- Should we trust scientific conclusions based
on half-truths?
Natural
Resistance: Pledging to the Light -- Matching
our words and our values.
Living
Out: Getting There: No longer half the fun.
Letters:
EW readers sound off.
Continuous Presence
Jews have walked the land for 3,300 years.
I love the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
which grants us a free press and allows newspapers, such as Eugene
Weekly, to publish without government interference. However, with
this freedom newspapers assume the responsibility of accuracy and
fairness.
When EW published "Families in Bethlehem" (4/11)
they let us down. This article, with it's unsubstantiated photos and
inaccurate account of the war in the Middle East, could foster misunderstandings
within the community. We don't want Eugene to become another France
where Jewish houses of worship were firebombed recently.
There has been an active peace lobby within Eugene's
Jewish community that has worked for years towards the development
a Palestinian state and a cessation of hostilities in that part of
the world, and the right for Israel to exist.
Much history of Israel is misunderstood. Accurate historical knowledge
will allow your readers to better understand the situation.
-- Israel became a nation in 1312 BCE, 2,000 years
before the rise of Islam. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying
themselves as a part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades
after the establishment of the modern state of Israel. The Jews have
had a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years. One
Israeli, living in Eugene and attending the UO, has a family who has
lived in the Galilee area of Israel for 500 years. Even if your family
came over on the Mayflower, you would be a couple of hundred years
short compared to her lovely family.
-- Arabs hold elected positions in the Israeli parliament
and some even serve in the Israeli Army. Israel is the only democracy
in the region.
-- Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach,
the Jewish Holy Scriptures. King David founded the city of Jerusalem.
-- The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations,
not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The
Arab nations initiated five wars and lost. The PLO's Charter still
calls for the destruction of the state of Israel.
-- In 1947 a U.N. resolution created an Israeli state
and an Arab state. On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed
and a Declaration of Independence was signed. On May 15, 1948, the
armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia
attacked Israel. Eight months of warfare ensued. Pakistan was also
created in 1948 by a similar U.N. resolution, however, most people
do not question Pakistan's right to sovereignty.
-- If the Palestinians had a Ghandi, King or Mandella
to lead them to a modern state, the citizens of Israel would not be
in constant fear of being blowup at the local pizza parlor and would
return to a more liberal government.
-- There are Palestinians who see Israel's point of
view. However, these Palestinians are at risk of being labeled as
collaborators and murdered on the spot, as was the case two weeks
ago when 10 of them were summarily executed by the Palestinian Authority
(PA). There were no visible protests from the world's humanitarian
community.
-- After the Gulf War, the leader of the Democracy
movement inside Saudi Arabia was decapitated. I believe that if peace
activists were to protest the activities of any of the surrounding
Arab military dictatorships, or protest any activity within
the PA jurisdiction, they would most likely be killed.
-- There is a lot of confusion regarding civilian
casualties. German television recently concluded that the child who
was killed in the territories during a firefight was actually killed
by Palestinian gunmen. It is ironic that as part of the Oslo accords,
the Israelis were required to supply the PA with weapons, which are
now being used against them.
I would like to see the peace-loving Eugene family, the subject of
the EW article, mount a campaign of nonviolence in the
tradition of Martin Luther King Jr. and campaign to stop Palestinian
children from being trained as suicide bombers as an effort to further
a political view.
Land for peace was the agreement from the Oslo accords,
and maybe the solution isn't even 90 percent perfect, but it is a
hell of a lot better than what is going on now.
Bob Kholos has lived in Eugene for 15 years. He is
former press secretary to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and U.S. Senator
Frank Church.
Back to Top
The New Schools
An open discussion is needed on evolving public education.
Almost everyone will agree that public education needs
as many public partnerships as possible to meet its potential. One
exemplary example of this is the integration of the community's nonprofits
in public education. They have successfully partnered with Oregon
public schools for decades to expand educational choices to meet the
interests and needs of our youth. It is time to more closely examine
their role and potential in creating essential changes in public education
as a whole. In Central Lane County, there are 16 of these unique programs
and schools that currently provide a vast array of educational choices.
Ten of them are Private Alternative Education Providers (a status
created by law in the 1970's) and three are Charter Schools (a status
created by law two years ago). They are publicly funded and are distinct
from public alternative schools. At these schools, the average class
size is 12 students per teacher and the educational services provided
have been eliminated in many district schools. Parent and community
involvement plays a very strong role in the success of these schools.
The children who go to these schools come from families that range
the spectrum in their politics, their income status and just about
every other possible criterion. All children are welcome.
You have probably heard of them or know someone whose
child goes to one of these programs or schools. They include, among
others, Wellsprings Friends School, Impact! Arts, Home Source, Pioneer
Youth Corp, Northwest Youth Corp, the Village School and the Center
for Appropriate Transport. As a top administrator in the 4J school
district has stated, "they are pioneers in education."
These programs don't proclaim to have all the answers
for education. However, they are an integral part of the statewide
educational goal that is specified in the Oregon Charter School Law.
It states that "new types of schools -- be created as a legitimate
avenue for parents, educators and community members to take responsible
risks to create innovative and more flexible ways of educating children
within the public school system." Despite what some may think, these
organizations support public education. They are public education.
Many of them work very closely with school districts and assist them
by providing educational services to the most challenged youth in
our community.
Both the federal and state departments of education
support this sector of public education. Democrats and Republicans
nationwide support charter schools, albeit for sometimes different
reasons. For some, school choice is a right-wing issue. Interestingly
enough however, in central Lane County there is a strong involvement
by progressives in these programs and schools. This is important because
these new schools aren't going away. In fact, in Eugene there are
two new groups planning to start up in 2003.
Some folks think that these programs and schools are against public
schools. To the contrary, these programs are trying to ease the
polarization that has sometimes emerged. One of the new groups, the
Network Charter School, is actively looking for a 4J school partner
to join its board in order to add to its diverse program offerings.
For three of the partners (presently private alternative education
providers) this step is an easy evolution as they already work within
the school system. Two of the others have worked with schools and
youth for years. Six local nonprofits working in partnership with
the public schools to provide a diverse and rich educational curriculum!
These 16 programs have been meeting together monthly
for over two years and have organized as the Lane Educational Alternatives
Resource Network. The second edition of the Choices Catalog,
which has detailed information on the LEARN programs, is presently
available throughout the city or by calling the LEARN office. There
is also a Spanish version available. The phone number for LEARN is
344-1229.
Public education as we know it is changing. How it
will change is open to discussion. The public is invited to expand
the much needed discussion by attending a free forum series at 7 pm
April 30 and May 8 at the Eugene Hilton.
Jan VanderTuin is executive director of the Center
for Appropriate Transport where he also teaches bicycle framebuilding.
He is a co-founder of LEARN.
Back to Top
Of Course Not
Should we trust scientific conclusions based on half-truths?
Gordon Kaswell wrote an article for this paper (4/11)
in which he stated "the HIV theory of AIDS is
wrong" and argued that HIV does not cause AIDS and that people don't
die of AIDS. Kaswell may be an award-winning musician, but I'm not
sure how that makes him qualified to write about health and/or science-related
issues.
His many assertions seem simple and logical but, in
fact, are quite dangerous. True hard science requires one to look
at all the information and not just a few bits. Anyone can,
with good intention, look at lone bits of scientific fact and mistakenly
come up with the wrong conclusion. It is only when we can look at
all the facts and studies that we can begin to make
science-based judgments.
Case in point: Previously, people believed that condoms were not
effective in the fight against HIV/AIDS because HIV on a microscopic
level is so small that it could pass though the microscopic holes
in latex condoms. Anyone reading this might understandably think that
condoms are not effective. Here's why this is so dangerous: What's
missing is the information that HIV cannot travel on its own and must
bond itself to a water molecule to travel. When joined, it cannot
possibly slip though a microscopic hole in a latex condom.
Hearing only the first part of this would make anyone
believe that condoms are ineffective and need not be used --
an awful and mistaken conclusion. But that's exactly what happens
if we look at bits of information and make sweeping conclusions about
fields we have no expertise in. We should not blindly believe in everything
that scientists, or anyone else, tells us, but we should intelligently
look at "converging evidence." Converging evidence means that many
different paths and facts point to the same conclusion. When studying
HIV, converging evidence indicates:
-- The virus exists -- it has been isolated.
-- When we treat it, people usually don't get
sick.
-- When we stop treating it or we don't treat it at
all, people usually do get sick.
Kaswell states "more than 50 different medical
conditions, including pregnancy, can produce a positive HIV test,
making the AIDS statistics in the U.S. questionable, at best." Once
again, without all the information, this half-correct statement
can dangerously mislead the public to erroneous conclusions that will
affect their health and the public's health.
What facts are missing from Kaswell's sweeping conclusion? It
is true that the first test is done at the lab may be affected
by other medical conditions. What is not mentioned is that all
positive HIV test results are immediately retested before this result
ever leaves the lab with an altogether different HIV antibody test.
This second test is more accurate and is one way labs ensure that
false positive results don't happen. This information is not obscure
and is widely known and available at any testing site in the state.
A responsible writer would know this information. Maybe this might
help all of us see how dangerous Kaswell's assumptions and conclusions
are.
Would you believe me if I told you that the Earth
didn't revolve around the sun, that I learned this from the Internet,
by studying quotes that other folks have already pulled out of context
from famous astronomers?
Of course not.
Curtis Borloglou-Boyd is gay-bi outreach director
at the HIV Alliance in Eugene.
Back to Top
Pledging to the
Light
Matching our words and
our values.
A Gary Larsen cartoon shows astronomer Carl Sagan as a young child.
He's looking up at the night sky, saying something like, "Wow! There must be
HUNDREDS of stars!"
Perhaps the following could be a similar picture of someone who
was destined to be a biologist: At school as a child, I remember reciting the Pledge
of Allegiance. What thrilled me was the heartbeat under my hand. There it was, every
morning, beating, just as it had been when I last checked, the morning before. It
had a quiet, pulsing rhythm. It was me, alive, inside there. Very mysterious.
I haven't stood up for or saluted any flag, or recited any pledge
of allegiance since grade school, and likely never will, but it's not because I'm
trying to make some political point or be obstinate. It's just that if I ask myself
whether I really give my allegiance to a flag or a nation (or even any person, right
or wrong), I have to admit the answer is "no."
Which leads to the question of what I do give allegiance
to. I suppose to Earth, the only home I know. Also to open democracy, the best form
of government I've heard of (and the U.S. is not the only democracy in the world).
And to personal integrity.
Two Saturdays ago, friends and family gathered in Whittier, Calif., for
the memorial service of my 90-year-old mother-in-law, Helen O'Brien. At one time
a member of the Communist Party, she ceased that allegiance once she learned how
Stalin was behaving. During the '30s in the South, she helped organize the Southern
Tenant Farmers Union, an early integrated organization of blacks and whites. During
World War II, she and her husband, University of Washington sociology Prof. Robert
O'Brien, worked to find inland college openings for Japanese-American students who
were incarcerated in the West Coast's "relocation" camps. They were able
to get more than 5,000 young Japanese-Americans out of the camps and into college
during the war years.
With a masters degree in social work, Helen first worked in a Seattle
orphanage; and then for 23 years taught in and headed a public school unit for cerebral
palsy children in Whittier. She finished her last teaching stint with these children,
at age 80, filling in for one teacher for three months.
A Quaker, Helen participated in and chaired numerous committees
for the American Friends Service Committee, the social action organization that reflects
the spirit, goals, and processes of the Quaker religion. When she died this February,
she was serving on the Executive Committee for the Southwest and the Mideast Peace
Committee.
I think of intelligent, capable, wise Helen. I never saw a flag
around her home. As she was a traditional Quaker, I doubt she pledged allegiance
to any flag, because Quakers' allegiance goes to the light that exists in each person,
no matter what religion or nation. (Quakers don't stand up for judges, either; it
would imply that judges are more important than other humans.) And yet, I doubt anybody
who ever met Helen during her 90 years would question that she was one of those great
citizens and humans who, when they see problems, work in positive, effective ways
to solve them.
Any crowd reciting any pledge of allegiance to anything is faintly frightening
to me, because people acting as part of a group to which they are "loyal"
have often been willing to undertake inhumane, destructive, or shameful acts that
they never would have approved if they were thinking individually. However, throughout
the years, no one has ever acted belligerently toward me as I sit while they stand
to pledge allegiance to the flag; I am grateful for that. It is a testament to their
tolerance. I return their graciousness by thinking about fine things other than nations
to which I do offer my allegiance.
We can only believe what we truly believe. And we can only strive
to utter words that truly reflect what we love, and what we believe will help the
world that holds us all.
Mary O'Brien has worked as a public interest scientist for the
past 20 years. She can be reached at mob@efn.org
Back to Top
Getting
There
No
longer half the fun.
Just thinking about travel overwhelms me.
Used to be I could load up my guitar and backpack
and stand on the freeway ramp with my dog until a van with a "Sisters
Pick Up Sisters" bumper sticker would pull over. Off I'd go, open
to whatever adventure the universe would provide. I have a lot of
sweet memories from those days, many of which involve pubic lice.
But now that I'm happily nesting, traveling is much
more of a hassle -- all the planning, schlepping, paying a housesitter
to take care of our pets and plants and eat up our Haagen Dasz. But
this summer, our friends Kathy and Marilyn, who have been together
since the Pleistocene, are finally getting married. This is one wedding
Sweetie and I wouldn't miss for the world, so we are packing our bags
and flying to Vermont.
I dread getting on an airplane. I worry about the
hijacking thing and whether the captain has missed any AA meetings.
I'm scared that the space where you can see through to the tarmac
between the ramp and the plane door might suddenly widen mid-stride,
like that moment at the end of the escalator when even though you're
almost positive you'll make it off in one well-timed, nonchalant step,
you still picture your toe getting caught and the unstoppable force
sucking you under.
But hesitating at the aircraft doorway is dangerous
because the rest of the passengers are in a big hurry to elbow their
way to an available overhead bin into which they will stuff their
enormous carry-on bags. I always seem to get stuck in the aisle behind
some guy trying to stow a huge army duffel bag containing a live manatee.
It would take a snow plow to cram that bag into the bin. But, as everyone
knows, as of Sept. 11th we can no longer carry snow plows on board.
No way that bag passed the carry-on measurement test
on the sign back in the terminal. That is the problem with the honor
system. Even though the size limit is very specifically illustrated
and passengers are instructed -- in writing -- to check
bags that don't comply, anyone with a diploma can tell you: People
cheat. Some passengers will do anything to avoid checking their oversized
bags. They have their reasons. Maybe they don't want the baggage crew
handling their manatees.
Even though the plane is listing dramatically to the
manatee side, everyone is glad when we are finally ready for takeoff.
You're wedged into a seat so narrow that part of your butt squishes
up along the armrests, proving that humans actually have a lot in
common with water balloons. When the plane is taxiing on the runway
all the oxygen is sucked out of the cabin and replaced by jet fuel
fumes mixed with re-circulated air that sick people have sneezed out.
Everyone sits tight, all buckled in, praying that the manatees don't
come crashing down.
I am willing to endure this hassle because attending
a lesbian wedding is a profound spiritual experience. It is also an
important opportunity to unload a lot of money. Wedding guests spend
big bucks on transportation, room taxes, restaurants, wedding gifts
and souvenirs and generally stimulate the state's economy --
not to mention each other. The betrothed couple shells it out for
rings, flowers, music, food and photographers. If you live in a state
that doesn't have a law recognizing same-sex unions, you might want
to remind your legislators that these weddings bring wads of cash
into their host states, which, as of 2002, include: Vermont. Right
on, Vermont!
When you consider that 36 states have recently passed
laws against gay marriage, the task ahead is pretty daunting.
It takes chutzpah to do all that calling and writing letters to lawmakers
and sending checks to gay rights organizations. Fighting for equality
is a huge hassle. But hey, if I can get on an airplane ...
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 several other newspapers and
magazines around the country.
Back to Top
DON'T
BET YOUR LIFE
It was unethical, because
it might result in somebody's death, to print Gordon Kaswell's Viewpoint
(4/11) that "HIV doesn't cause AIDS," without also providing a link
to the www.cdc.gov
rebuttal.
I ask, why are the prominent scientists, who believe
this theory, unwilling to prove it by infecting themselves with HIV?
Why has their research been sponsored by tobacco industry money?
Unlike straight porno, professional gay videos have
commendably used condoms since the 1980s when many performers died
of AIDS. Condoms and drugs aimed at HIV have lowered the death rate.
These gains are threatened by the recent popularity of bareback sex,
as seen in amateur Internet videos.
The straight porn stars' ritual of pulling out for
the "money shot" probably lowers their risk of HIV-1 infection. Unlike
other sexually transmitted infections, HIV-1 is about 10 times harder
to get from oral or vaginal sex than anal sex. Heterosexual HIV-1
infections have also been limited because most heterosexuals have
few partners and infrequent sex.
HIV-2, which is common in Africa, is more easily spread
heterosexually and it has been detected in America despite the U.S.
government telling local health departments not to test for it. Without
any HIV-2 testing it could be decades before a mass infection was
noticed in America because of the long period before symptoms appear.
I agree that no medical journal has published a paper
showing HIV causes AIDS, but I wouldn't bet my life.
Thomas Kraemer
Corvallis
BOTH
SIDES
Of course any humane person is pained
by the violence in the Middle East. The complexities of the conflict
are daunting, the tragedy deep, the solutions elusive. One looks for
reporting that communicates all shades of opinion. Alas, I do not
find it in your publication. Regarding your recent reports from the
West Bank (4/11), it would be much easier to take the self-described
international peace activists as truly committed to the cause they
espouse if they would also act as "shields" and "observers" in Israel.
Let them stand on Jaffa Street and Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem,
ride the buses, eat at restaurants, party in cafes, or attend a seder
in Netanya, all of which have been the murder victims (both Jew and
Arab) of Palestinian suicide bombers.
There are stories on both sides. Let me share one
from a friend in Haifa, where I teach and work as a visiting professor.
"Dear friends and colleagues: Just to give you a clue what is going
here, yesterday, Sunday, March 31, 14:45 on my street a Palestinian
suicide bomber murdered 16 people in my local restaurant. Mr. Ron
Aviel, one of the Israeli survey mangers, a colleague and childhood
friend with two of his children are dead. A second family, our best
friends in Haifa, the Ofir family, lost their daughter and the other
members are wounded. In one event [there are more casualties in Israel]
than [in] all the Gulf War-- During March, 120 civilian Israelis
were killed by the Palestinian bombers. If you take it proportionally
to the Israeli population, it is more then those who were killed Sept.
11. We continue to hope to see one day a political solution for all
this situation. Yoram and Boli"
Let us hope that essential American political intervention
will lead to a cessation of killing and the beginning of a lasting
peace.
Kenneth Helphand
Eugene
OUT
IN THE OPEN
I would like to thank George Beres
for putting the much-derided UFO issue in a serious light, where it
should be ("Unlock the Files" 4/18). I have viewed much of the evidence
at hand and attended the private Disclosure salon with many important
figures in Eugene's progressive community. I would, however, like
to clear up a few misconceptions.
First, the article states that the solutions to our
looming energy crisis can be solved with free-energy technology derived
from the study of ET craft. In actuality, human beings have already
been advancing in the science behind this technology without any relation
to UFO phenomena, though the fruit of their work has been largely
suppressed in order to eliminate competition with the fossil fuel
economy.
Mr. Beres states that Dr. Steven Greer, director of
the Disclosure Project, "does not blame the CIA, the Pentagon, or
major political figures," though this is definitively untrue. The
CIA and Pentagon are deeply implicated in these matters by Dr. Greer,
though it is clear from the nature of the secrecy that much of their
staff are not involved. Consequently, many senior government officials
who have been briefed by Dr. Greer have come forward to offer critical
support to the disclosure effort.
The goal of Disclosure is to bring under public scrutiny
and objective congressional investigation the voluminous evidence
and firsthand witness testimony with regards to these matters. Dr.
Greer will be speaking at 7 pm Thursday, April 25 at the Eugene Hilton.
David Caruso
Eugene
EQUALLY
DEDICATED
Permit me to suggest that the conflict
between those who advocate the use of violence to bring about social
change and those who advocate nonviolence for the same reason is a
distraction.
While we bicker among ourselves, those who possess
the real power in this world are well pleased. It has always been
their delight to foster deadly hatred among those who oppose them
with the sure knowledge that -- to reverse a popular chant --
the people, divided, are easily defeated.
Those who believe that violence can result in positive
change, or who see no alternative to it as a tool of resistance, have
their reasons. So, likewise, do those who believe, as I do, that violence
is counter-productive and that nonviolence provides a superior resistance
tool.
Because those who align themselves in each of these
camps hold their beliefs so passionately, it may be difficult to find
ways to work together. But we don't necessarily have to work together
(though it can be done). All we need to do is not trash each
other. We need to acknowledge that others upholding different pieces
of the truth can nonetheless be equally dedicated to seeking a more
just world. A little respect for their viewpoints goes a long way.
If we are firmly committed to our own beliefs, we need not be threatened
by the beliefs of others. After all, if any of us actually knew
how to bring about a better world, we would have done it by now.
Peter Bergel, executive director
Oregon PeaceWorks, Salem
SORRY
TO DISAPPOINT
Les Castle (4/18) expresses his disappointment
that not all anarchists have been injured by the cops and/or imprisioned.
In this sentiment he reveals his basic allegiance.
His repeated references to "leaders" also reveals
a basic ignorance about the meaning of anarchy.
I do not own a house, and my guess is that my income
is a tiny percentage of his. Others have regretted that I wasn't beaten
or arrested at the June 1999 riot, in Seattle, etc. Sorry to disappoint
them. Castle has no idea who does what, at night or otherwise, and
he seems to have no clue as to why anyone is disgusted by this society.
In my experience, those who opt out of the consumerist death machine
do so because they grasp its nature, not because they "naively" consume
others' opinions.
John Zerzan
Eugene
TALKING
BACK
Hart Williams uses the word "hate"
seven times in his letter (4/11), yet he fails to provide us with
a single example of what he considers hate speech by a talk radio
personality. Evidently anyone who doesn't buy into the "progressive"
doctrine can be dismissed as a "hatemeister." Some people seem to
think that they can substitute inflammatory slogans and name calling
for a logical, rational and mature discussion of the issues.
Obviously talk radio is mostly slanted to the right
just as alternative newspapers are mostly slanted to the left. The
talk jocks openly acknowledge their conservative ideology. Most of
these shows encourage listeners to call in (or e-mail) if they disagree
with the host. Unlike newspapers, talk radio doesn't operate with
any pretense of objectivity.
It really isn't necessary to "rein in the rants."
The majority of Americans are intelligent enough to recognize rhetoric,
propaganda, or factual distortions when they hear or read them.
Douglas Newton
Eugene
SPARE
A PARADIGM?
I've been a nonviolence trainer for
28 years. No one has yet provided me a good enough argument to throw
aside my understanding of classical nonviolence -- the principles
upon which Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, Day, King, Chavez, Walesa, Mandela,
Deming, Esquivel, both Aquinos, and countless others less known, based
their brilliant action and campaign strategies. But somehow their
parts remain the lesser-known pieces of history, and thus we have
frustrated, power-seeking (and ill-informed) activists who still think
violence is more powerful and necessary.
Periodically throughout history, society-savers or
planet rescuers fueled by urgency and a blinded by righteousness have
drawn lines, named enemies, and justified both property violence and
interpersonal violence in the name of their vision. But is it strange
to anybody that after more than 50 years of escalating violence, things
in the Middle East are less stable, and certainly more unjust, than
ever? When interpersonal attack replaces respectful struggle in a
common cause, it's always going to be a case of "Meet the new boss
-- same as the old boss."
Comprehending the greater power of nonviolence entails
first a personal paradigm shift, and then, ideally, a societal shift
of similar dimensions. If an activist or politician hasn't made such
a shift of understanding, their work will only perpetuate an endless
revolution which guarantees further suffering and injustice, no matter
the superiority of their cause. The way things are going in Eugene
-- judging by recent pages in EW -- I am wondering
if even Dubya might beat some of our local hotheaded activists to
that shift.
Vip B. Short
Eugene
HOUSER
RESPONDS
Let us seek to break the downward
spiral of de-humanization and attack words and relate to one another
as human beings. Is it possible to have a civil exchange about whether
violence is helping or hindering the achievement of social change
goals?
My assertion that certain published materials are
"rationalizing violence" can be evaluated by others who examine the
source material. I have been referred to as an "authoritarian" (as
if a column can do anything but persuade), an elitist armchair observer
(after numerous arrests for nonviolent civil disobedience), and a
"bleating" defender of corporate capitalism (after organizing two
co-operatives and a precedent-setting initiative for democratic control
over corporations). Discrediting character is incredibly easy when
50,000 people read about a person but only 100 actually know him/her.
A request to have the anarchist video series include
the movie Gandhi was answered with a smashed videotape. Why
is another perspective so threatening? On April 10, the "Cascadia
Alive" TV program broadcast footage of Jesus being forced to drag
the crucifixion cross. Superimposed over his face was mine. Does anyone
see the downward spiral?
In an age when technology has magnified exponentially
the capacity to wreak destruction, has it not become incontrovertibly
clear that the willingness to inflict violence has itself become the
pre-eminent threat to humanity's survival? As we stand on the precipice
of nuclear/biological horrors and ecosystem breakdown, will humanity
finally see -- along with Martin Luther King -- that our
choice has become "nonviolence or non-existence"?
Abundant historical examples of the power of nonviolence
can be seen in the excellent documentary A Force More Powerful
at 7:30 pm Monday, April 29 at the Wesley Center,1236 Kincaid.
Spruce Houser
Eugene
TICKET
TO RIDE
The line that jumped out at me when
I read Leon Czolgosz's rebuttal to Spruce Houser (4/11), was "[Green
Anarchy's] expressed lack of care at the lives lost of capitalist
and law enforcement pigs on Sept. 11th." Apparently, despite the anarchy
movement's declaration that it is directed at property and not at
people, Mr. Czolgosz and his cohorts at Green Anarchy feel that the
deaths of some subhumans (literally, "pigs") are acceptable if they
happen to draw their paychecks from the wrong source.
With this in mind, I'd like to know what exactly
Green Anarchy's position is on the thousands of capitalist sellouts
who died that day, burned or suffocated or crushed beneath the weight
of those giant towers of corporate greed. I also wonder what they
think of the hundreds of firefighters killed while trying to save
the lives of the Man's workers. I invite them to travel to New York
and express their opinions directly to the families of those worthless
consumer drones. Heck, I'll even pay for the bus tickets -- one-way,
of course.
Kelly St.Clair
Eugene
POLITICAL
SUICIDE
I am writing in response to the news
item "Bonner is Back" (4/11) in which Mike Bonner launches an attack
on Bev Stein. It is first of all ironic that he uses something so
benign as Re-evaluation Counseling as the object of his criticism.
What I find truly disturbing, however, is his use of this type of
attack itself. Bonner is certainly not the first to fall prey to this
temptation, but he focuses on one aspect of Stein's past and uses
it to try to discredit everything she has to say. This strategy is
not only political suicide, but undermines everything progressives
are struggling to preserve.
As an example, it is fairly well known that George
W. Bush is descended from at least one active Ku Klux Klan member.
Yet, of all the things to criticize Bush for, this is not one that
I am willing to use. It might make sense to be extra vigilant in this
area, or to ask him to explain his position on the issue, but
to use it to jump to a foregone conclusion is neither fair nor helpful.
Our Bill of Rights and Constitution guarantee an individual's
freedom to explore any social, political, or spiritual affiliations
they choose, even if others find them odd or distasteful. It is a
crucial time in history for all of us (from anywhere on the political
spectrum) to vehemently stand up for these rights, for ourselves and
each other. In any case, whether Bev Stein was once (or still is)
a Re-evaluation counselor, Grateful Dead fan, Jehova's Witness, lesbian,
Scientologist, or aikido master has much less bearing on her fitness
to serve as governor than her actual ideas, stance on the issues,
and effectiveness as a leader.
It saddens me to see progressives using this tactic
at all, but to see them use it on other progressives is heartbreaking.
This is the time for cooperative coalition-building if ever there
was one. That which unites us truly is far more important than that
which divides us.
Art Peck
Eugene
MIDNIGHT
FRENZY
The convenience of late post office
hours at the main office on Willamette for those of us taxpayers trying
to make the midnight deadline was a stressor for many.
I, along with dozens of others, arrived to locked
doors, not a soul inside, and no signs indicating that the 9 pm posted
pickup on the outside boxes would be extended to midnight. Not trusting
that our returns would get the promised April 15th postmark, a group
of us, to no avail, ended up going around the building trying to raise
anyone who could affirm that the pickup was indeed going to
happen at the street drop. Many of us made a frenzied drive out to
the Gateway office. I would simply hope that after stating the extended
hours on local television and radio news and on the post office voicemail,
that someone could in some way have directed us weary taxpayers.
Andrew Vertal
Eugene
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