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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2004)
TO THE EDITOR With this sentence Lininger supports the classist stereotype that batterers are back- woods, uneducated drunks. Conversely, it pro- motes the idea that upstanding citizens are “above” abusive behavior. In actuality, domes- tic violence spans all cultures and socioeco- nomic classes. Batterers can be “simple-minded hicks” as well as peace-loving hippies, police officers, or even law professors. Domestic violence is a choice — a choice supported by the beliefs of our society. These beliefs are based in sexism, as well as classism and myriad other forms of op- pression. And they can show themselves in ways as overt as an affluent batterer evading prosecu- tion, or as subtle as a joke about “shooting cans.” We need to change our own beliefs in order to remove an obstacle already before us: How do we hold batterers accountable when we be- lieve that respected people aren’t capable of domestic violence? Lucas Spiegel Eugene DON’T PAVE WETLANDS At a transportation meeting held in Springfield, Judy Valpa, the mayor of Coburg, said she “knows” the people of this community want the West Eugene Parkway (WEP) to go through right when and where it is planned. She said she knows this, not by public testimony, but by reading letters to the editor. We disagree with building the WEP. A new multi-lane expressway in the area will not ease traffic problems. We can learn from the mis- takes of others. Los Angeles to the south has built many multi-lane roadways. Their traffic problems have not gone away. Now their land is paved and they still have traffic. We can’t afford this expenditure. Yes, there are matching funds of some kind. Let’s not take something that’s bad for us just because we can get it. A great deal of time and money has gone into restoring and preserving the wetlands. Now they want to spend a great deal more to destroy, by paving, the very same wetlands. What a slap in the face to the people who foot the bill for both projects. We, as a commu- nity, have more pressing work to do together than to build another multi-lane expressway. The people that have signed this letter have not made public testimony, nor have we written to the editor about this subject before. The following signers agree with this letter and urge our representatives to not push the parkway through. Tiffany Mitchell, John DeLean, Craig Dishner, Anita Russell Springfield PIERCY FOR MAYOR What a pleasure to read the cogent article by Mary O’Brien, “Vibrant Democracy” (4/10)! While I do not know Nancy Nathanson personally, Mary’s recap of her behavior and voting record are most concerning. I do know Kitty Piercy. She was my daugh- ter’s preschool teacher 10 years ago at the Patterson Co-op Preschool. My strong-willed 2 1/2-year-old daughter learned a lot from Kitty that year. In her own words, “No hit, no pinch, no bite.” My daughter had been a chal- lenge, but Kitty had taught her to “play nicely with others,” just exactly what she needed to learn and when she needed to learn it. Kitty saw and capitalized on my daughter’s strengths. The next year I got to work more closely with Kitty as a parent board member of the Co- op. I found Kitty to consistently be enthusias- tic, honest, fair-minded and always able to help a group of diverse and opinionated people to move forward as a group to adopt solutions that represented the highest good for all con- cerned. With more and more people settling in our beautiful city, Eugene is faced with many dif- ferent emerging issues. These issues will re- quire the best leadership we have to manage the complexity and diverse interests involved. Sprawl is edging out West 11th, we’re paving and building on our surrounding farmlands and endangering our wetlands, our school dis- tricts are struggling and people are still under- or unemployed. Eugeneans will be making critical deci- sions about the future quality of our commu- nity life. We need the solid and proven experi- ence, integrity, intellect and leadership of Kitty Piercy. If you love Eugene, vote for Kitty Piercy. Deb McGee Eugene BOXING FOR BRAINS My brain spun dizzily from the mis- information in the “The Contender” (3/25). While Bobbie Willis tried to be fair to both pro- and anti- boxing schools of thought, the inclu- sion of the “Sports Fatality Rates” box was highly misleading. The primary injury from boxing is brain dam- age. The boxer who most brain-damages ADVERTISING 1251 Lincoln St Eugene, OR 97401 541.484.0519 • fax 541.484.4044 EDITORIAL Editor Ted Taylor Executive/Arts Editor Lois Wadsworth News Editor Aria Seligmann Contributing Editor Anita Johnson Staff Writers Alan Pittman, Bobbie Willis Calendar Editor Jacquelyn Lewis Contributing Writers Brett Campbell, Rachel Foster, Kate Rogers Gessert, Jerry Harris, James Johnston, Mary O’Brien, Sylvie Pederson, Vanessa Salvia, Sally Sheklow, Lance Sparks, Martha Ulman West Interns Koki Smith, Kate Storm y ART DEPARTMENT Art Director/Production Manager Kevin Dougherty Graphic Artist/Webmaster James Bateman Graphic Artists Todd Cooper Intern Carlie Morgenstein Contributing Photographer Paul Neevel Director of Sales & Marketing Bill Shreve National Sales Manager Mark Frisbee Display Marketing Consultant Jennifer D’Angelo, Rob Weiss Advertising Traffic Coordinator Geneva Miller Classified Sales Manager Jeffrey Stout Classified Sales Marah Busey Receptionist Greg Burkhead BUSINESS Circulation Manager Deena Miller Controller Paula Hoemann Distributors Jared Eden, Maggie Garrison, Pedalers Express, Yona C. Riel, Tim Risch, Jackson Stephens, Carrie Wedmore Printing Signature Graphics HOW TO REACH US BY E-MAIL: (letters): editor@eugeneweekly.com (advertising): ads@eugeneweekly.com (classifieds): classy@eugeneweekly.com (personals): personals@eugeneweekly.com (calendar): cal@eugeneweekly.com (music/clubs/special shows): music@eugeneweekly.com (art/openings/galleries): visualarts@eugeneweekly.com (performance/theater): performance@eugeneweekly.com (literary arts/readings): books@eugeneweekly.com (movies/film screenings): movies@eugeneweekly.com (circulation): distribution@eugeneweekly.com APRIL 15, 2004 5
