TO THE EDITOR
Japan they continue, “Despite the wide in-
crease in the availability of pornography to
children, not only was there a decrease in sex
crimes with juveniles as victims but the num-
ber of juvenile offenders also decreased sig-
nificantly.” These results have been repli-
cated throughout Western Europe.
Rather than indict EW for its ads,
Schmidt’s desire for justice would be better
served by turning her (and our) critical gaze
toward the machinery of capitalism that
causes all of us to be exploited through the
sale of our labor, sexual or otherwise,
whether on our knees pleasuring the boss or
cleaning his toilet.
It is our economic system, along with our
superstitious taboos about the inherent
“evils” of sex and porn, which Schmidt per-
petuates, that furnish the preconditions for
exploitation Schmidt decries. EW’s sex ads
are a consequence of this all, not a cause, and
are ultimately as irrelevant as the tired invec-
tive against those ads.
J. Maas-DeSpain
Eugene
THE DIRT ON MARTHA
I know that Martha Stewart may not be of
much interest to EW readers other than for
retribution, but there is something ironic
worth mentioning. Some years ago
Washington State did research on the
amounts of toxic
chemicals and sludge
that fertilizer manu-
facturers put into their
mixes — evidently a
more common prac-
tice than we like to
think about. After
reading the compari-
son graphics, I noticed
that the Martha
Stewart brand was one
of the cleanest, better
even that some “envi-
ronmentally friendly” ones. Did they bust her
because she didn’t put enough toxic sludge in
the food chain to suit agribusiness? Tsk, tsk.
Michael Anderson
Oakridge
PICKING UP THE TAB
I was thrilled to see Hugh Massengill’s
letter “excluding the poor” (7/15), because it
was a perfect and blatant example of how the
American mind has been twisted into believ-
ing that we are all victims of something, and
it is the governments responsibility to correct
our problems. In his letter Massengill accuses
the city of Eugene of delightfully excluding
the poor from Art and the Vineyard by allow-
ing an admission fee to be charged.
I am truly sorry that Mr. Massengill’s fi-
nancial status did not allow him to spend $5
to enjoy such a wonderful event as Art and
the Vineyard. Heaven forbid that he should
have to pay for it. If I’ve learned anything in
my life, it is, “Nothing is free.” Medical care
is not free, food is not free and fireworks are
not free. Somebody has to pay for them, the
question is who. I assume the fireworks were
paid for with tax dollars, so go ahead and
watch them on my dime (I assume that he
does not pay taxes if he is that poor). Other
events on public land such as football games,
concerts, and Art and the Vineyard also cost
money. If someone does not want to pay his
fee, then somebody else will have to pick up
the tab, presumably the taxpayer. I personally
do not want to be the one stuck with Mr.
Massengill’s bill for a “luxury item.” If he
dedicated as much effort to earning income as
he did in writing his letter, he could have
earned the $5 admission fee. What’s next,
free HBO? Write back when you have some-
thing substantial to complain about, like flat-
ulence. That is a government program I’d be
willing to pay for.
Todd Anderson
aka Evil Rich Guy
Eugene
NOT WORTH IT
Saturday evening, my wife and I returned
from a pleasant outdoor party to find
her cat of 13 years lying dead at the
foot of our driveway. Apparently
someone saved 30 seconds en route
to whatever vitally important func-
tion they were speeding to. You re-
ally had to go out of the way to hit
Sissy Lee — she was smart and
avoided the street. So here we are,
only days from the birth of our first
child, and my wife is heartbroken.
It’s not the first time. The day after
our wedding, our other cat, Henry,
was killed by a speeder. So, the two
biggest events of our lives have been marred
by unthinking, inconsiderate people.
At this point, we’re hell-bent to get a stop
sign or speed bump on our stretch of street, or
we’ll move. But I’d like to go on record with
the thoughtless speeders out there — whether
or not you “like” dogs or cats is not the issue.
These animals don’t exist in a void. Behind
each of them is a heartbroken elderly widow
who’s lost her best remaining friend, or a shy,
lonely child, whose loving pet gives them
desperately needed reassurance; or people
like my wife and me, looking forward to the
biggest moment of our lives. To you I say — I
hope the 30 seconds was worth it.
Robert Hermann
Eugene
EW Staff
EDITORIAL Editor Ted Taylor
Executive/Arts Editor Lois Wadsworth
Contributing Editor Anita Johnson
Staff Writers Alan Pittman, Bobbie Willis
Calendar Editor Ben Fogelson Contributing Writers Brett Campbell,
Rachel Foster, Jerry Harris, Kate Rogers Gessert, James Johnston, Sharleen
Nelson, Mary O’Brien, Sylvie Pederson, Vanessa Salvia, Sally Sheklow, Lance
Sparks, Martha Ulman West Interns Emma Juhlin, Aleta Raphael-Brock, Kate
Storm
y
ART DEPARTMENT
Art Director/Production Manager Kevin Dougherty
Graphic Artist/Webmaster James Bateman
Graphic Artists Todd Cooper
Contributing Photographers Kurt Jensen, Paul Neevel
ADVERTISING
National Sales Manager Mark Frisbee
Display Marketing Consultant Jennifer D’Angelo, Rob Weiss
Advertising Traffic Coordinator Geneva Miller
Classified Manager Jeffrey Stout
Classified Marketing Consultant Bob Britto
BUSINESS Director of Sales and Marketing Bill Shreve
Circulation Manager Deena Miller Controller Paula Hoemann
Customer Care Specialist Molly Templeton Distributors Bob Becker,
Peter Dilcher, Kevin Greene, Tim Risch, Jackson Stephens, Carrie Wedmore,
Pedalers Express
Printing Signature Graphics
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AUGUST 5, 2004 5