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REGULATE THE COPS A week ago I read your article about racial profiling of blacks and Latinos in Eugene. It really touched home for me because I am an African-American woman. I moved here three and a half years ago from Michigan. Before moving here I had never been pulled over, but since moving here I have been pulled over numerous times (coincidentally only by white males), all for pointless reasons, like having my old Michigan license plate in my car window where the policeman could see it. I have been ticketed, but every time I have fought it and ended up paying nothing. Today, only 10 days after the article came out, I was
pulled over again. I have my front license plate in my front windshield
(like a third or more of Eugeneans) instead of on my bumper. The policeman
proceeded to take my license and registration. When he returned and
gave me my information back (which I don't understand why he needed
in the first place), he asked if I had any illegal substances in the
car. This offended me because this cop had no reason to question me
except his stereotypical assumptions. I said no This is the last straw! Something needs to be done. If the police won't start regulating their people I say we should do it for them. If you have any ideas please write to the Weekly. If we all pull together as a community we can make a difference in the fight against racism in Eugene. Jenny Hoeksema, Eugene
OUR PHYSICAL NATURE Regarding the letter "Killing Us Softly" (10/23): I understand the writer's concern about women being seen as nothing but objects to be used, but it seems like there's often a quick leap to the victim mentality. Do all women who pose in provocative ways later feel they're victims of some male conspiracy? And people's attitudes toward females, and whether or not they should be treated with respect, are determined largely by social and familial environments, not sexually suggestive pictures (which don't necessarily depict purely selfish exploitation). The fact is, we're heavily influenced by our senses, and according to research, males are more visually oriented on average. Erotic imagery has always been persistent in free societies, even those with low incidences of sexual assault, and also in our culture of increasing repression and prohibition. The question is, how does an image that is subject to interpretation automatically lead to the conclusion that women are nothing more than "objects"? I also wonder why some women resent those who don't mind being provocative and showing their beauty (which can include body and mind). And wouldn't a world without the enjoyment of physical and sexual beauty be at odds with the undeniable physical side of our nature? Perhaps it's time to get back to a little more reality. Ryan T. Newburg, Eugene
LITTLE TOO FOXY Besides the obvious deluge of tacky ads and unbelievably repetitive and mind-numbing promos for their tacky tacky programs, Fox did a few things to baseball that are too egregious to let slide. Did anyone else notice how the break between innings was just a moment (about 60 seconds) longer than we have grown up with? We avid baseball watchers have an inner clock that tells us exactly when to return from the refrigerator or bathroom in order to catch the first pitch. Fox extended each break infinitesimally in order to run that much more advertising past us. As if that wasn't enough, they rarely allowed us to see the pitcher's last warm-up toss and the catcher's throw down to second which are the traditional start to every inning. We never got to see the leadoff batter settle in and his approach to the plate. Instead, we were ripped away from the billionth promo for "Joe Millionaire" just in time to see the first pitch already on its way! Egad! Red Barber is rolling in his grave. Can't imagine how Vin Scully handled it. Fox invariably manages to turn a perfectly good baseball series into some kind of "baseball reality show and vanity orgy." Too many close-ups! Too much personality! Show us the field, dammit! Maybe let us see a pitch from, gasp!, behind the plate, or even from the press level. Indeed, it was a great post-season for baseball. Cubs and Red Sox made it unforgettable. Even Fox couldn't completely mess it up ... but there's always next year. Robert Sposato, Eugene
KLAMATH SLUDGE News reports that BIA lawyers are pursuing a plan to trade away Indian treaty rights to Klamath Basin fish, along with the water needed to sustain suckers and salmon, are deeply disturbing. The lawyers want to trade these treaty rights for some low quality forest land, which will then be managed by the BIA "on behalf of" the tribes. In every instance in which the BIA has taken over management of forest land, the forest has been clearcut and most of the proceeds disappeared into the maw of the BIA without ever being seen by any Indian. The lawyers insist that the Indians must have federal timber land, not private land in the Klamath Basin. They insist that the deal must protect farmers in the Klamath Basin who are sucking the life out of the lake and marshes and decimating wildlife by using most of the water and dumping polluted irrigation run-off into the lake. This deal, proffered by lawyers supposedly working for the tribes, but actually serving the federal government and special interest groups like the farmers, threatens the Klamath Basin water supply, wildlife such as eagles that depend on the Klamath Marshes for survival, as well as the fish upon which the tribes have heretofore depended. It trades away treaty rights that have been defended by the tribes for over 100 years, in return for control over timber by an agency well known for mismanagement. Indians will be cheated and driven into dependency, again, and white farmers get to go on destroying the Klamath Basin to grow potatoes, in perpetuity or until the water is so filthy and the basin so parched that even potatoes will not grow. Meanwhile, the eagles and pelicans and other migrating waterfowl will die, the salmon and other fish will die, and the former streams will be nothing but seasonal trickles of sewage sludge. Ann Tattersall, Eugene
GREEN SPACE GOING I attended Wednesday night's (10/29) meeting at Willakenzie Elementary regarding the fate of that property. I was appalled to learn from the city and 4J that there is a possibility of a net loss in that neighborhood's green space. I was there not because of some NIMBY issue I have with the development; I live 70 blocks and a river away. I attended as a representative of Eugene Rugby Football Club, Ltd. (www.EugeneRugby.com),the umbrella nonprofit organization for the two local adult teams and two local high school teams as well as active supporter of the two collegiate teams. Our organization can attest to the shortage of green space in Eugene. If it is green and semi-flat, some group — adults, children, or pick-up players — will be having an organized game or practice there. This town is so desperate for green space that athletes are continuously relegated to ankle-breaker fields. This is unacceptable. If the kids that play on Willakenzie are displaced to another stretch of green space, a chain reaction of displacement occurs around the city. This is not just a north Eugene problem; this affects me in southeast Eugene and will affect you wherever you live. Our town's athletes will find a place to play and that might mean putting more pressure on your neighborhood's park and might mean more evening traffic in your neighborhood. Call the city (682-4800). Call 4J (687-3309). Oppose any loss of green space in our community. C. Michael Arnold, Eugene
ANTI-WAR DEMOCRAT Ellen Hyman's letter (10/23) questioning my letter about Dean's support for many of Bush's military policies missed the core issues. An article published by Common Dreams April 14 goes into Dean's doctrine in more detail: "In effect this supposedly 'anti-war' Democrat has announced his support for a policy in which Washington will decide which countries are allowed to have nuclear weapons and will reserve for itself the right to forcefully disarm those who do not voluntarily disarm by U.S. dictate. In this crucial regard Dean's position is in close accordance with the Bush doctrine of coercive disarmament and preventive war." (From "As Baghdad Falls Howard Dean Folds Back into the National Security Establishment" by Charles Knight www.commondreams.org/views03/0414-09.htm)It is easy for Dean to market himself as a "peace" candidate. However, Dean supports Bush's military spending levels, an increase in what is euphemistically called "Special Forces," praises "Homeland Security" and agrees with Bush on the death penalty. See www.kucinichdeancompare.comfor more on the differences between Dennis Kucinich and the "Doctor for the death penalty." Kucinich is the only candidate who supports the Kyoto treaty, cutting the military budget, investigating where the Pentagon's missing trillion dollars went, campaign finance reform, gay marriage, medical marijuana, fair treatment for Palestinians and Israelis, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and opposes genetic frankenfood. On election day, the humanitarian, progressive choice will be clear: Kucinich for President! Mark Robinowitz, Eugene
RIGHTEOUS MODE It is obvious to me by now that some readers of EW do not like the "pornographic" ads being run. So for the rest of us out here who don't care, will the offended readers shut up please!? It's been said before and I'll say it again: You are reading a free publication that is provided to you through the money generated by ads. If you do not like these ads, do not look at them. If you do not approve of an ad being run in a free paper, be prepared to pay a fee for the paper. If you cannot dig yourself out of "righteous mode," then do not read the publication. If you are worried about your children seeing such ads, I would suggest taking care of that problem yourself instead of asking that EW be your babysitter. For the record, I do not find any of these ads offensive and, for the most part, they do not even catch my eye. I would like EW to remain free and I will respect their right to procure printing funds from whomever they desire. Justin Bengtson, Eugene
BLOODY BUSINESS While I appreciated Bobbie Willis' observations (cover story 10/23) about the horrors of factory farming versus the power that responsible, informed consumers shopping locally have to improve the lives of farm animals, I wondered why (s)he didn't take the next logical step and accompany those humanely raised animals to the slaughterhouse. Surely, if we choose to eat the bodies of animals killed for our pleasure, we should look at the whole bloody business. Even well-raised, happy animals die miserable and terrified deaths and responsible consumers need to acknowledge that, as well. Diana Huntington, Eugene
COUNTING THE COSTS Well, no one ever said running an empire was cheap. There are so many different costs, it's hard to keep track of them all. But let's try a little accounting. There's the cost in U.S. soldiers' lives, over 350 now, including an unreported number of suicides. Then there are the wounded soldiers, over 2,000 of them, many of whom have had limbs blown off, more than 20 percent of them have severe brain injuries. Then there are those whose minds are shattered by what they've seen and what they've done. There's the cost in Iraqi lives. The current estimate is 10,000 deaths. That's over and above the U.N. estimate of up to 500,000 premature Iraqi children's deaths as a result of the U.S. and British-driven decade of embargo. "We think the price is worth it," Madeline Albright said to Leslie Stahl on this subject. There's the damage to international law when the U.S. and Britain illegally invade another country. There's the price to our democracy when leaders lie and two-thirds of Americans are manipulated into believing. There's the loss to our ethical center when we feel false pride as Americans when supporting yet another "just" war. There's the corrosive national cynicism that accompanies massive theft by war profiteers. There's the $166 billion that Congress has granted for war — above the $355 billion defense budget. There's the loss to the children and elders whose lives could be improved with some of those funds. Empire exacts a steep price from all it touches, except the wealthy and powerful, who profit. Roscoe Caron, Eugene
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