Opinion
4A
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Other Views
Resurrecting Easter
olidays are a big deal at my house.
While raising our three daughters, my
wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed Hal-
loween costumes, visits from the Easter Bunny
and Valentine’s Day parties — and we even let the
kids join in most of the time. Seriously, though,
now that our
girls are teen-
agers, some
JASE
of the holiday
GRAVES
magic might
HUMOR COLUMNIST
be slightly
diminished, but we still try our best to get them
excited about celebrating, usually by involving
cash.
I think I inherited my enthusiasm for holidays
from my parents. Some of the best times of my
childhood were the grand Easter celebrations with
my mom, dad and big brother — when he wasn’t
sitting on my head. There were always Easter bas-
kets full of candy and small toys that we man-
aged to destroy by noon. Then we attended church
together in our chocolate-soiled finery, followed
by an Easter lunch featuring a delicious baked
ham — since turkey is apparently on the cancel
culture hit list every spring. And I still can’t catch
a whiff of vinegar without reminiscing about
dyeing boiled eggs (and our fingers) with those
little PAAS tablets that look like miniature Swee-
TARTS. (Warning! They don’t taste so good!)
One year, Easter fell on my birthday, and my
mom threw me a huge bunny-themed party com-
plete with jelly bean cupcakes and rabbit ears for
everyone to wear. I can’t remember whether I
turned 4 or 14 that year, but Mom has threatened
to post the photos on Facebook if I don’t behave.
I’ve always tried to carry on these traditions
with my own children, but maintaining a fes-
tive atmosphere was especially difficult at last
year’s Easter celebration that came shortly after
the COVID-19 pandemic started raging. The girls
were so grouchy about missing their friends and
extended family that I seriously considered swap-
ping out their Easter baskets with brand-new
laundry bins full of their unwashed bras and
underwear. But I was determined to have fun,
so the Easter Bunny came after all, followed by
a homebound egg hunt, a worship service lives-
treamed over YouTube, and an Easter brunch —
all while we were sporting pajamas and acute
cases of bed head.
Despite our best efforts, though, the pall of
the pandemic was tangible as we missed out on
dinner with grandparents (and the ham), egg hunts
with cousins, and fellowship with our church con-
gregation. We still had Easter, and we celebrated
the Resurrection, but it just wasn’t the same.
Of course, I realize that I’ve been spoiled
throughout my life by parents who wanted to
make all major holidays special and fun. And I
know I’m guilty of the same with my own chil-
dren. Easter is, after all, primarily a religious
observance, and believers like us should keep the
Resurrection at the forefront of our celebrating
— even if we have a mouthful of Whoppers
Robin Eggs while doing it.
We’re not sure what Easter will hold this year.
The pandemic seems to be waning, but like that
licorice jelly bean my big brother spit up on his
new, baby blue Easter suit when we were tod-
dlers, the virus still lingers, threatening to tarnish
it — if we let it.
Regardless of what happens, I choose to focus
on the hope that Easter brings. Hope for the vac-
cines. Hope for reunited families. Hope for a new
beginning. And if I play my cards right, hope for
a massive baked ham at Easter lunch.
———
Jase Graves is an award-winning humor col-
umnist from East Texas. His columns have been
featured in Texas Escapes magazine, The Shreve-
port Times, The Longview News Journal, and
The Kilgore News Herald. Contact Graves at
susanjase@sbcglobal.net.
H
Other Views
Women DAs protest Measure 11 repeal
ost people don’t want to
see the things we’ve seen.
Most people don’t want to
hear the stories that we’ve heard. And
most people don’t want to talk about
the things that we talk about. Not to
12 strangers in a jury box and cer-
tainly not with a terrified kindergart-
ener or the bruised and broken mother
of three who must steel themselves to
finally face their abuser in an intimi-
dating courtroom.
But we are prosecutors. And this
is our job. It’s our job to meet people
on their worst days, listen to their
worst stories and be their champion
as they seek justice. And while we
can’t fix what happened to these vic-
tims of crime, we have committed our
careers to not making it worse. We
have committed our lives to walking
beside them in an attempt to hold
their abusers accountable and then
allow them to walk away from us as
survivors.
We are elected district attorneys.
In fact, we are eight of the only nine
female district attorneys from across
our state. Together, we have person-
ally handled innumerable cases of
unspeakable violence against some of
the most vulnerable members of our
communities. Together we have over
120 years of prosecutorial experience,
meeting often with women and chil-
dren who bear both the visible and
the invisible scars of horrific domestic
violence and appalling physical and
sexual child abuse. Together we have
held countless hands and reassured
countless victims that they were
believed, they were not at fault and
M
they deserved justice. And together
we understand the important role the
voter-passed mandatory minimum
sentencing law Measure 11 plays in
giving these victims safety, security,
certainty and trust in our criminal jus-
tice system. By providing minimum
sentencing for the most physically
and sexually violent felony crimes,
we know Measure 11 provides sur-
vivors with the time and space they
need to move on from their victimiza-
tion without the threat of their abuser
in their lives.
As our Legislature contem-
plates the full repeal of this crucial
safeguard for victims, we feel it is
important the public understands that
such actions would make our commu-
nities less safe. Repealing Measure
11 will result in significantly shorter
sentences for those who prey upon
our children and assault our neigh-
bors. Repealing Measure 11 promises
less certainty in those sentences as
they can be further cut by more than
40%, undermining any faith or confi-
dence victims may have placed in the
system. Repealing Measure 11 will
only encourage less reporting by vic-
tims of intimate and family violence.
The rigors of navigating the criminal
legal process is deterrent enough. Vic-
tims who have no guarantee of fair-
ness and no hope for a reliable sen-
tence will only have increased reasons
to continue to suffer in silence. Our
criminal justice system can always get
better. And while we support smart,
responsible policies that can make the
process more equitable and fair for all,
repealing Measure 11 does not do that.
Letter to the editor
County commissioners aren’t
qualified to make life and
death health decisions
Union County Commis-
sioners feel better qualified to
make critical health decisions
than the governor (“Union
County seeks local control for
managing COVID-19,” The
Observer, March 20, 2021.)
Popularity is virtually the only
qualification for being a com-
missioner. They certainly are
not elected nor qualified to
make life and death health
decisions.
If commissioners were
health care professionals they
would be fighting COVID-19 in
our communities, not playing
health tzar. State COVID-19
behaviors are determined by
statistics to benefit the majority.
I’ve felt comfortable shopping
in stores that require masking.
I suspect our commissioners
would have allowed stores to
operate without masking. Even
more Union County citizens
would have died. Others would
have restricted their activities
further to avoid the greater risk.
My letter to Gov. Kate
Brown supports her adherence
to health experts’ advice.
This is a time to respect and
support one another in health.
Mary McCracken
Island City
And the victims we serve deserve
better.
While the Legislature debates this
issue, we ask our communities who
care about their public safety, and
especially that of women and chil-
dren, to weigh in with your opinion.
We should not return to the days when
a rapist would merely receive a pro-
bationary slap on the wrist or the man
who nearly killed his wife would be
simply admonished to “walk away
next time she pushes your buttons.”
Call your legislator. Send an email.
Write a letter. Check in with them on
social media.
In the meantime, we will continue
to hear the stories nobody wants to
hear and fight for justice for victims
of these crimes. We will continue to
be there on the worst days of people’s
lives. Because we are women who are
built for this work. We are prosecu-
tors. And it’s our job.
Sincerely,
Paige Clarkson, Marion County
district attorney and Oregon District
Attorney’s Association president
Lanee Danforth, Lincoln County
district attorney
Rebecca Frolander, Wallowa
County district attorney
Beth Heckert, Jackson County
district attorney
Gretchen Ladd, Wheeler County
district attorney
Kelsie McDaniel, Union County
district attorney
Patty Perlow, Lane County district
attorney
Carrie Rasmussen, Hood River
County district attorney
Write to us
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