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■ In my opinion
Progressives UNITE
In preparation for this, my final col
umn, I did something I had never
done before and will probably never
do again: I reread all 46 of my previ
ous columns. I couldn’t help noticing
a few emergent themes.
Many of my columns touched on
what I perceive as the sorry state of
today’s progressive movement, of
which I consider myself a member. I
have criticized my peers for their in
ability to come to grips with their own
racist attitudes and behavior, which is
part of the reason the progressive
movement remains largely white, elit
ist and politically ineffective. I’m talk
ing about white people who would
see nothing wrong with telling a black
person to stop using the word nigger
because it is offensive.
As these progressives are busy re
pressing their own racist attitudes, they
DAVID JAGERNAUTH
CRITICAL MASS
are also busily cleansing the media of
all other expressions of racism, sexism,
homophobia or anything else they dis
agree with. This acceptance of censor
ship as a legitimate form of activism is
by far the most disturbing trend I have
noticed in young progressives. It is par
ticularly disturbing for somebody like
me who believes religiously in freedom
of speech, even racist speech.
We need to actively confront dis
criminatory opinions, but too often
progressives seem outraged solely by
the fact that such an opinion was ex
pressed. The person who expressed
the unacceptable opinion is vilified,
no matter how pervasive that opinion
might be, and the media organization
that allowed such an opinion to be ex
pressed is also vilified and attacked.
People cannot stand for some free
doms (reproductive freedom, sexual
freedom) and not for other freedoms
(freedom of expression). The sooner
progressives learn this, the sooner
they will be taken seriously.
The reason I spent so much time
criticizing progressives over the last
year and a half is because Americans
have powerful enemies, in addition to
terrorists, who are trying to destroy
America from the inside, and it is up
JAGERNAUTH, page 3A
■ In my opinion
Last but not least
My run has been a good one, I think.
After 49 columns, about as many un
signed editorials, 10 consecutive terms,
and more long days and nights than I
can remember, I’m laying down my
journalist’s pen to work on my thesis.
It's been palpably enjoyable in a way
without substitute to participate in the
public debate and to have you pick up
the paper and maybe catch my column
a few days a month.
But enough talk: A distaste for per
son-reference in my columns aside,
there are end-of-tenure shout-outs to
get to.
First and foremost, thanks for read
ing. Column-writers and opinion-mon
gers might be important to debate, but
there is no public discourse without a
public. Some of my readers have
dropped me notes, e-mails and occa
sional incoherent, photocopied, type
writer-written three-page rants-come
manifestoes. Seeing e-mails from smart
TRAVIS WILLSE
RIVALLESS WIT
readers — the sort whose clever or far
sighted comments shed new light on a
subject, or even demand another
glance at a topic otherwise laid in my
mind to rest — has been the most re
warding part of opinion writing.
(Those loyal readers of my column
— both of them — who will miss my
occasional fresh insights — both of
them — can spend their now-empty
Thursdays browsing the 1,000-some
column inches of old TVavis columns
in the online Emerald archive.)
Second, I am also indebted to many
of my co-workers for their suggestions,
insights and encouragement. Without
them, none of this would be possible.
The most frustrating part of the opin
ion business is, in my words borrowed
from another column, “everyone who
has problems distinguishing between
the realities of a real world and the
sometimes incestuous, self-serving or
just plain loopy rhetoric passed off as
academic or otherwise intellectually
meaningful discourse. ” Many people in
the community — unfortunately, often
loud ones — may have clarity of inten
tions but not of mind.
But for every person who contorts
words like “hate speech” and “patri
archy” into false meanings to advance
their agendas, there is someone who
wields language instead to amplify
truth. For every person who doesn’t
think the Bush administration ought
WILLSE, page 3A
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■ Editorial
Winter term
breakdown:
The battles
we fought
It has been a wild winter term for the editori
al board. Here is a short rundown of a few is
sue highlights from the past 10 weeks.
Strange bedfellows
From the beginning of the term, the ASUO
Programs Finance Committee’s unjustified at
tack on the Oregon Commentator has put the
editorial board in the strange position of de
fending one of its most vocal critics. It began
with the rejection of the Commentator’s mis
sion statement during winter break (“Commit
tee threatens free speech on campus,” ODE,
Jan. 5); it ended with the quiet approval of the
Commentator’s budget (“PFC quickly trans
forms into working committee,” ODE, March
2). The climax of the story took place Feb. 1
with a PFC meeting that would eventually cost
three student government members their jobs
(“ASUO acts properly in Constitution Court
case,” ODE, March 9). We love happy endings.
Defending ourselves
After much discussion and serious contem
plation, the editorial board decided to write a
series of editorials concerning PFC’s cut of the
Emerald budget. The committee’s unjustified
budget decision, when paired with the attack
on the Commentator, was a poorly veiled at
tempt to censor campus publications consis
tently critical of ASUO behavior. In the end, the
PFC approved the Emerald’s requested increase
in an appeals hearing in February.
Get on the bus
The editorial board stood side by side with
the Lane Transit District drivers in their battle
for a fair contract (“Offering the ATU the aid
and respect it deserves,” ODE, March 8) and
was overjoyed to hear the news Sunday that the
strike was over and the buses would start run
ning today. Additionally, kudos are in order for
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, former state labor
commissioner Jack Roberts and local attorney
Art Johnson who formed the mediation team
that served as a negotiation facilitator and
room-to-room messenger between LTD and
union representatives during some tense times.
The fact that both parties said they are satisfied
with the contract settlement is in some ways a
testimony to their skills.
Bush-bashing
As usual, the editorial board spilled a lot of
ink criticizing the Bush administration. We crit
icized its insistence on abstinence-only sex edu
cation despite evidence that shows comprehen
sive sex education is most effective
(“Government places ideals on top of smart
sex-ed,” ODE, Feb. 22). We criticized Bush’s
continuing attempt to stack the federal courts
with ultra-conservative activist judges (“Con
servative appointees drive wedge in Congress,”
ODE, March 7). And we criticized the adminis
tration’s failure to adequately deal with the
growing nuclear threat (“Is Bush hoping for an
other Cold War?” ODE, Feb. 17). As disappoint
ed as the editorial board was when Bush was
re-elected, incompetent government (both Uni
versity and federal) makes our job easy.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jennifer Sudick Steven R. Neuman
Editor in Chief Managing Editor
David Jagemauth Shadra Beesiey
Commentary Editor Copy Chief
Adrienne Nelson
Online Editor