TO THE EDITOR
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 rea-
sons, 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 sub-
stances in the car. This offended me because
this cop had no reason to question me except
his stereotypical assumptions. I said no
but he kept on pushing: “No marijuana or
paraphernalia?” I heatedly said no and
he left.
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 ob-
jects 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 conspir-
acy? 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 sug-
gestive pictures (which don’t necessarily de-
pict 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 so-
cieties, even those with low incidences of
sexual assault, and also in our culture of in-
creasing 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 with-
out the enjoyment of physical and sexual
beauty be at odds with the undeniable physi-
cal 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-numb-
ing 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 be-
tween innings was just a moment (about 60
seconds) longer than we have grown up with?
We avid baseball watchers have an inner
BY DAN CAROL
A Channel of Our Own
Narrowcasting vs. broadcasting.
W
elcome to milepost 3 on the road to regime change.
Last time, we sketched out a new map for taking power — via state-by-state
effort to rally the D/democratic troops.
This time, the challenge is derivative. Just how can we sound the call to arms — when we
know it won’t be on Fox News? Or NBC, or anywhere else?
While tempting, we won’t change much by moaning about Rush Limbaugh and the ever-
annoying shortfalls of the “mainstream media.” Nor will our dreams for a progressive media
network be realized anytime soon.
Sorry, but it’s tough love time, folks. We have to understand there are no miracles on the
horizon. The fact is, even if we had a spare $500 million to start a liberal cable channel to-
morrow, it’s highly doubtful we could fill it 24/7 with compelling programming. Frankly, we’d
be lucky to deliver a few hours each day of liberal talk that was provocative — rather than
preachy. That’s the bad news.
The good news is we can create our own liberal “echo chamber” using the media plat-
forms, opinion soapboxes and marketing channels we already control. The model will be
driven less however, by “broadcast” media (e.g. Rupert Murdoch’s Direct TV), and rely more
on “narrowcasting” mechanisms such as face-to-face outreach and peer-to-peer contact.
Imagine, for instance, an army of progressive Avon ladies (and gentlemen!) fanning out to
preach to our “choir” — and to win over potential new converts.
S
o what are the pieces we can cobble together to create a liberal, Avon “media plat-
form” of our own? It’s really not such a bad line up:
• Soup cans and string: very affordable and popular with the small fry. Or better
yet, add a salad and hold house party for ProgressiveMajority.org, MoveOn.org or another ef-
fective group you support. Voila, you’ve created a marketing channel that’s more fun than
Fox.
• The color of money: Sorry, Ann Coulter, but liberal authors like Jim Hightower, Arianna
4 NOVEMBER 6, 2003
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 al-
lowed 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 “base-
ball 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 unforget-
table. Even Fox couldn’t completely mess it
up ... but there’s always next year.
Robert Sposato
Eugene
Huffington, and Michael Moore are top-10 best sellers. Publishers
are getting the clear message that our politics actually sells
books. Watch what happens when organic consumers get se-
riously empowered to act through new media channels like
Organic Valley’s Farm Friends Network
(www.organicvalley.com). These and other efforts will, I bet,
change quickly our thinking about what an “action figure” re-
ally looks like.
• (Not) The alternative press: Hey, pardon me, but I hate this
term — it marginalizes so-called “alternative” newspapers. Why do
their editorial opinions count less than other papers? Because we help that happen by calling
the others papers “mainstream.” Let’s stop.
• Pop & politics: It used to be we’d spend tens of thousands of dollars on a rock concert to
get thousands of folks excited about an issue — and then we’d leave the scene with six e-
mails. Not good. Fortunately there’s a new generation of organizers who can stage cultural
conversations, teach-ins and concerts that bottle the positive energy that artists create at
events effectively — before it dissipates. There’s even a manual for this new form of channel-
ing. E-mail info@rollingthundertour.org to get yours.
Y
es, in the long run we will want to re-capture mass media outlets on TV and radio
from the media giants who own them now. (Al Gore, in fact, is actively developing a
progressive news channel targeting a young, MTV-style audience and a liberal talk
radio network is reportedly in the works). That said, we’re not going to reverse the right’s
hold on traditional media overnight — or by traditional means. We shouldn’t copy their busi-
ness model either. In fact, in a new age of 500 cable channels and TIVO technology that al-
lows viewers to fast-forward through commercials, the old advertising-based model that sup-
ports Fox, Clear Channel and other conservative conglomerates is in serious jeopardy.
What’s back in season? A fresh approach to an old idea — the membership-based revenue
model of public television offers the most sustainable pathway for growing liberal media.
That — plus content that engages and entertains.
Having trouble tuning in to all this media jargon? I’ll bet.
Check out www.mediareform.net for the clearest thinking in this area. Their national con-
ference — coming up this weekend — will be a great well-spring to tap.
Dan Carol is a Democratic political strategist and a founding partner of CTSG (www.ctsg.com), a progressive
consulting firm based in Eugene and Washington, D.C.