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, CRASHing the Matrix P R E S E N T S : Reducing ISM-induced delusions in Eugene With the beautiful Rhoda Gravel T h u r s d a y 7- 1 0 p m B-I-N-G-O FREE BINGO I am from L.A., unabashedly, proudly. That city was founded before most of America. There were 44 “founding fathers,” and only three of them were white. The white people weren’t considered illegal or superior. As part of Mexico, slavery would be made illegal; slaves would be freed long before they were free in America, by a black-Indian president who was a former slave. When Alta California was forcibly brought into the U.S. and English became the official language, race relations changed dramatically. I’m not suggesting that English is the only language that vectors ISMs, but it spreads the ones we are most familiar with here. In the movie Crash, you see the personal devil’s bargain that everyone in the film makes with every level of racism: overt individual (Type I), covert individual (Type II), unconscious institutional (Type III), legal conscious institutional (Type IV), illegal con- scious institutional (Type V) and socio-structural violence (Type VI). Different skills and strategies are needed to deal with an individual who is discriminating against you for their own personal reasons (Types I and II), or who is discriminating against you as part of an organization or institution (Types III-VI). Einstein once described what we’d call ISMs as an “optical delusion of conscious- ness.” He wrote, “This delusion is a prison, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons close to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from our prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all humanity and the whole of nature in its beauty.” DENTISTRY, PC By taking a holistic approach and arrang- ing for health rather than merely treating disease, we offer an opportunity to restore your oral health to its optimum. We look at the whole picture, consider health and underlying factors, and take steps to perfect your smile while prevent- ing problems before they occur. ANNIVERSARY BASH with Dale & Rhoda DJ/music: 80’s music & more Friday, 7pm J U LY WELLNESS CENTERED PARADOX ★ n o c ove r S a t u rd ay 9 p m OPEN AUDITIONS W omen Entertainers of all kinds are encouraged to come ready to perform ★ ★ VENOM VANITY ★ ★ Tu e s d ay 5 p m hosts a benefit/show/ dinner J U LY T he new movie Crash, set in today’s Los Angeles, depicts what I referred to in my interview (“We’re All Infected,” EW 12/23/04): We are all infected with the memetic virus of racism. A meme is described as a virus of the mind. Like their biological cousins, memes are transmitted through any mode of human communication, and they mutate. Simply stated, an ISM meme is transmitted through the English language, affecting your ability to see others as part of your human family and act accordingly. Think of ISMs like a form of herpes virus that attacks the underlying structure of humanity. Herpes infections like chicken pox cause inflammation and delusions, and de- stroy the integrity of healthy tissue. ISMs and their resulting systems of discrimination de- stroy the unity underlying any perceptible human differences: Class(ism), Race(ism), Addiction, Ability, Sex(ism), Heterosex(ism) (CRASH model, Calalang, Harris 2001). I describe ISM (Individual Societal Structural Mentality) as a mentality that is vec- tored and incorporated through every structure in society and infects individuals. For every ISM there is an “invisible” structure of privilege supporting it — invisible in the sense that you are not meant to see it in operation, but you can train yourself to see it, much like seeing rain in your headlights at night, or dust in a dark room when you use a flashlight. It’s always there; you simply need the right tool to see it. Individuals can reduce their ISM-induced delusions through a process of self-educa- tion and self-actualization. Outside of prison, few men worry about the risk of being sexually assaulted walking across a parking lot to their car at night. For many women, it is a real possibility. Male privilege, which is part of the system of sexism, keeps men from seeing their hidden advantage in this regard. Intersexed people are about 1 to 3 percent of human births currently. On this conti- nent and in Africa before European contact, persons displaying the resulting sexual di- versity held integral, often sacred roles in their societies. That they don’t in this society is evidence of heterosexual privilege. When Rush Limbaugh was found to have an illegal three-year supply of a prescrip- tion drug that he was addicted to (a felony), was he arrested? In this case you see the intersection of four kinds of privilege: male, white race, upper class, pharmaceutical ad- diction. If he had been of color, female, poor and in possession of a three-day supply of any street drug, would his legal treatment be the same? Would he be treated the same at any rehabilitation center in America? No. 7 8 9 12 13 J U LY DARIN J. WARD J U LY J U LY Sam s Place BY MARK HARRIS DARIN J. WARD , DDS F . A . G . D . for Greenhill Humane Society $5 all you can eat spaghetti dinner Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry Wellness Centered Dentistry, PC 300 COUNTRY CLUB RD., STE. 290 EUGENE, OR 97401 • (541) 868-2008 484-4455 825 Wilson St ★ Eugene (North off West 11th, look for Burrito Boy) CAMP GUIDE Nearby Nature Outdoor Daycamps in Local Parks Experienced Naturalist Educators Small Groups, Hands-On Exploring Ages 4 1/2 - 11, Weekly Sessions For registration call 687-9699 or visit www.nearbynature.org EWEB Sponsored Scholarships Available for Conservation-Based Daycamps Mark Harris is an instructor and substance abuse prevention coordinator at Lane Community College. WHO YOU GONNA BLAME? EDITORIAL Editor Ted Taylor Associate Editor Melissa Bearns Executive/Arts Editor Lois Wadsworth Contributing Editor Anita Johnson Staff Writers Alan Pittman, Kera Abraham Calendar Editor Molly Templeton Contributing Writers Brett Campbell, Rachael Carnes, Rachel Foster, Kate Rogers Gessert, James Johnston, Sharleen Nelson, Mary O’Brien, Sylvie Pederson, Vanessa Salvia, Steven Sawada, Sally Sheklow, Lance Sparks, Martha Ulman West Interns Sara Brickner, David Constantin, Emily Freeman, Ursula Evans-Heritage ART DEPARTMENT Art Director/Production Manager Kevin Dougherty Graphic Artist/Webmaster James Bateman Graphic Artists Todd Cooper, Sandra Rossetter 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 Danica Zapata BUSINESS Director of Sales and Marketing Bill Shreve Circulation Manager Garet Frana Controller Paula Hoemann Distributors Bob Becker, Alex Bibicoff, Roc Dosland, Kevin Greene, Tim Risch, Ethan Simpson, Pedalers Express 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 Eugene Weekly • 1251 Lincoln Street • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541.484.0519 • fax 541-484-4044 JULY 7, 2005 7
