Commentary
Latino article was tokenism
but gave glimpse of culture
Guest commentary
In Javier Ayala’s guest commentary
(“Latino experience reduced with
acts of‘tokenism,’ inaccuracy,” ODE,
May 7), Ayala offers his thoughts on a
recent Eugene Weekly article, “La
Lingua,” and takes offense to the
work’s (and that newspaper’s) repre
sentation of Latinos in the Eugene
Springfield area. Most importantly,
Ayala alleges that the article is an ex
ample of ethnic tokenism.
To start, let me express my agree
ment that Eugene Weekly’s decision
to run Kera Abraham’s article was a
tokenistic act. From what I know of
the matter, the author had submitted
the piece to the Weekly some time
prior to its May 1 publication, but the
paper decided to run the work at that
time because of a shortage of other
material and because of the upcom
ing Cinco de Mayo weekend.
While this is galling, Javier, let’s
face it, it’s a hallmark of our myopic,
short-attention-span journalistic cul
ture. The Eugene Weekly’s decision to
run “La Lingua” on May 1 makes the
tacit assumption that Eugeneans only
want to read about Latinos and Lati
no-related issues when their beloved
“drinko de mayo” is looming.
I must express my disagreement,
however, with other observations Ay
ala provides about the article. One
example he uses to show the author’s
insensitivity to Latinos is the news
paper’s awkward front-page teaser
“La Lingua.” To blame the author for
the gaffe is inaccurate and unfair.
Abraham’s article is properly titled
“TWo Languages, Two Worlds,” but that
did not stop the Weekly from a cute at
tempt at “Latinizing” their cover. Abra
ham does not work for the Eugene
Weekly, though perhaps they could
benefit from her tutelage the next time
they try their hand at Spanish.
Most importantly, I would like to
address Ayala’s deepest source of
frustration with the piece - namely,
that “the Eugene Weekly runs an ar
ticle on Latinos, yet does a poor job
at representing the Latino experi
ence” and that these experiences are
“reduced to conflicts between Eng
lish-speaking Latinos and those that
speak Spanish.” I would argue that
this is not the case. No socially con
scious writer would attempt to en
capsulate the entire “Latino experi
ence” in a three-page article!
Indeed, Abraham consciously
sticks to the underrecognized is
sue of language politics within the
local Latino community. In the ar
tide, she tackles the thorny mat
ter of language choice/proficiency
and its impact on ethnic identity
— important and recurring issues
within our community that are of
ten misunderstood (or over
looked) by Anglos.
Abraham’s piece allows several lo
cal Latinos (myself included) to
weigh in. Some of the things they say
are surprising — like Jaime Valderas
labeling all Mexican-Americans as “a
little bit racist” — but they are the
opinions' and experiences of the in
terviewees, and as such are valuable
to read.
Abraham’s article may not portray
our population as one big happy
family, but it should not be expected
to. A healthy community must be
able to openly face its challenges,
rather than brush them under the
carpet before the majority culture
catches wind of it.
What Abraham’s snapshot of lan
guage polities does provide is a sense
of depth — proof that we are not a
monolithic people who all think the
same thoughts, listen to the same
music, eat the same food, or in this
case, speak the same language.
Tomas Hulick Baiza is the assistant
director of admissions and coordinator
for the multicultural recruitment office.
Article had tight focus intended
to deepen perception of Latinos
Guest commentary
I am writing in response to Javier
Ayala’s guest commentary (“Latino
experience reduced with acts of ‘to
kenism,’ inaccuracy,” ODE, May 7)
about an article recently featured in
the Eugene Weekly, “Two Lan
guages, Two Worlds.” As the author
of the article, I was disheartened
that Ayala interpreted it as an at
tempt to marginalize the Latino
community rather than to add
depth to readers’ perception of it.
I think that Ayala’s main objec
tions can be traced to poor copy
editing. The cover title, “La Lin
gua,” was an egregious error. As a
fluent Spanish speaker, I recoiled
to see a word that doesn’t exist in
the Spanish language prominently
displayed on the cover. And the
cover’s subtitle, “local Latinos face
barriers,” was misleading. It prom
ised a discussion of the many bar
riers facing the local Latino com
munity, whereas the article was
tightly focused on language diver
sity within the cultural group. So
Ayala is right when he says that
the article reduced Latinos’ expe
riences — its purpose was to shed
light on a single narrow issue.
Ayala claims that “the author
then further attempted to show
racial tension” between Latinos
who spoke only Spanish or only
English. The article was conceived
when I was looking over Census
2000 data, which indicated that al
most half (46 percent) of all local
Latinos reported speaking only Eng
lish, and 15 percent spoke only
Spanish.
I wondered whether these two
groups’ experiences in Eugene dif
fered greatly, but I did not expect
to discover the tension between
them. Each of the five sources
with whom I spoke, however, said
that this tension exists. Often it
represents the difference between
immigrants and second- or third
generation Latinos. To me, it
means that the Latino community
is much more diverse than many
people might assume.
As an Arab American, I am es
pecially sensitive to the racial
homogeneity of Eugene. I wrote
the article, in part, to illuminate
the presence of a very strong and
culturally diverse local minority
population. Rather than to
kenism, the article was an at
tempt to stimulate dialogue by
bringing to light a seldom-dis
cussed issue. The majority com
munity in Eugene needs to un
derstand more deeply and sensi
tively the range of experiences
that minority individuals en
counter when they attempt to
hold onto their own cultural
identity while living in a largely
white city.
Again, I recognize that local Lati
nos face barriers much greater and
broader than language diversity. It
distresses me, as the author, that
copy-editing errors led to a cover
title and subtitle that incorrectly
introduced my article and suggest
ed that it would discuss issues be
yond language. The Spanish punc
tuation errors in the text of the
article were also unfortunate, and I
was sorry to see them.
But in our city, there is too little
discussion of ethnic relations, and
Eugene Weekly ought to be ap
plauded for trying to raise aware
ness of a population that is con
tributing culturally, economically
and intellectually to our communi
ty. I am sorry that Ayala perceived
the article negatively, but I hope
that people will take advantage of
this opportunity to discuss the
myriad issues surrounding cultural
identity in Eugene.
Kera Abraham is a graduate student
in journalism.
Letter to the editor
Butch man-haters lie
about abortion facts
While I sympathize with those
who are horrified to see gruesome
photos of aborted fetuses, the reality
of exactly what abortion is has to be
made public for all to see. That
sometimes requires the truth to be
displayed for what it is.
The anti-life people don’t want
people to see these photos because it
exposes the inhumane nature of
their position. It makes defending
the indefensible much more difficult
than they would like.
The hateful and mean-spirited
feminist types like to present a
sanitized picture of abortion in
order to make this seem like a be
nign medical procedure that is no
different than having one’s appen
dix removed. Nothing has been
more damaging to the pro-abor
tion position than modern med
ical technology.
A sonogram can vividly show the
beating heart of an 8-week-old fe
tus. It plainly shows a live baby in
the early stages of growth. And
don’t get me started on partial birth
abortion; the fact that it took so
long to outlaw should shock the
conscience of everyone the next
time they vote in an election.
You will never be told the truth
about what abortion is if you listen
to the butch man-haters who could
never attract a man if their life de
pended on it. Momentum is with the
pro-life movement.
More young people today are op
posed to abortion than ever before,
and this will only continue with a
sustained campaign to educate the
public about what happens in
an abortion.
Mark Cruz
Renton, Wash.
“40 years of Quality Service”
Mercedes • BMW • Volkswagen • Audi
German Auto Service
342-2912 • 2025 Franklin Blvd.
Eugene, Oregon, 97402
turns >/€
• Homemade Soups
• Fresh Salads
• Fresh Pizza • Hamburgers
Fish & Chips • Pastas • Ribs
Microhrevved Beer and full bar
19*Ffc. 5th. * Eugene * 686-27 >9 • \v\v\v. steel head brewingco.com
WORKSHOPS ARE FREE. LIMITED SEATING. PRE-REGISTRATION SUGGESTED.
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
TO REGISTER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 346-61 1 9 OR EMAIL
LLATOUR@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU
ipomored by ihe erb memorial union and pcpsi cola of euqene
considering leadership:
how personal styles
influence leadership
During the first part of this workshop you will have
the opportunity to take a self-score version of the
Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory. Then you’ll learn
how the way you operate in the world influences
your definition of leadership, your expectations from
a leader and how you think you should act when in
a leadership position. We will discuss how differing
views of leadership can lead to differing conclusions
in each of these areas.
3-6:30PM ■ ROGUE ROOM ■ EMU
approaches to
conflict resolution
This interactive workshop will explore concepts and
skills related to effective communication and conflict
resolution. We will cover topics such as distinguishing
positions from interests, looking at the impact of
assumptions and inferences, shifting your “conflict
lens” and the art of asking questions.
3-5PM « UMPQUA ROOM ■ EMU