TO THE EDITOR
BENEFITS OF EMX
I am surprised to see that some of the
so-called “progressives” are unhappy with
the new LTD EmX route. I ride the bus
every day, and it is obvious to me that the
forward-thinking folks at LTD and Peter
DeFazio got this one right.
Some mock the six minutes of time
saved on the route or say there isn’t enough
traffic to justify the EmX. Hello! Ever hear
about planning ahead?
The rights-of-way now in use for EmX
will save more time as traffic increases and
may very well become the light rail corri-
dor decades from now.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that ac-
quiring the rights-of-way now is a sound
investment.
As for the notion that the EmX lanes
have ruined Franklin Boulevard, please
don’t make me laugh. I have lived off of
Franklin for 30 years, and the EmX lanes,
stations and adjacent work are a major im-
provement. Kudos to LTD for including
the grassy areas in the lanes, the art work
on the railings and the attractive stations.
I can’t help but wonder if some in our
community, including Bill Morrisette, are
still stinging over the LTD strike last year
and are unable to get past that.
Congratulations to all involved for
bringing the EmX to our community. Mass
transit is an important component of reduc-
ing our dependence on oil and reducing
pollution which causes global warming.
The EmX is a natural and forward-looking
extension of our mass transit system.
Randy Kolb
Eugene
RECRUITER SHOWDOWN
When three young Army recruiting of-
ficers approached our Counter Military
Recruiting table at LCC, I noticed my heart
race, my breath constrict.
I volunteer in educating potential re-
cruits on military service alternatives and
disadvantages. My shirt read “Thinking
About Military Service? Get All the
Facts.”
Time seemed to slow. Adrenaline
flooded my bloodstream, and I reflexively
scanned them for weapons. Then, I took a
deep breath, and my rehearsals for such an
occasion began to pay off. I began to see
these two men and a woman, with their
uniforms and medals, as humans rather
than as enemies.
“We hear you’ve been telling lies about
us!” I saw the officer’s chin jut out, eyes
narrow. I took a deep breath and said, “I’m
guessing you’re irritated because you want
to be sure accurate information is given
out?”
Reflecting my empathy for him, I
guessed what he might be feeling and what
his human needs might be. The dialogue
that followed was a great lesson for me in
the effectiveness of maintaining curiosity
and openness to others. I found out his
needs for safety, justice and service. By
distinguishing common needs we have
from possibly conflicting strategies, we
choose to fulfill these needs. I succeeded in
focusing my attention upon understanding
this young officer. I listened to him.
When we parted 20 minutes later, we
had a date to continue our conversation. He
had been able to hear how we had common
desire for accuracy of information and
safety for people. I’m convinced he might
have agreed to join our volunteer table if
his desire for job security were not an
issue!
A week later we had coffee together,
and I found myself desperately wanting to
educate him on my opinions (my thinking
and strategies) and their superiority to his.
What I had learned the week before helped
bring me back to inquiry, curiosity and
openness to learn more about this young
man and really make a connection.
I’ve been studying nonviolent commu-
nication for two years. Every week my
friends and I gather to learn more about
this effective way to focus our attention on
where we are likely to get what we want.
I plan and work with empathy skills. I’d
love to get your calls for and about empa-
thy at 689-7798. You can search the CNVC
website (www.cnvc.org/training_list.aspx)
or www.orncc.net for local groups to help
with the study and practice of peace
through nonviolent communication.
Mark Roberts
Eugene
WHO IS THE REV. FAUNTROY?
Eugene is such an interesting place to be a gay ac-
tivist. In some ways, it’s so supportive of the LGBT com-
munity’s right to certain freedoms and liberties; in other
ways, insensitive and uncaring by not realizing that being
supportive needs to translate into a person’s daily life not
just as a personal mission statement written on the walls
of the heart and translated into intellectual ethical beliefs.
Tuesday morning while mother nature once again
sprinkled Eugene with snow, I and a number of local
community members sat down around a table and shared
breakfast with the Rev. Dr. Fauntroy at LCC. I had
agreed to this before the op-ed in The Register-Guard as
a matter of integrity with the local African-American
community. I was under no illusion that I was going to
magically change Fauntroy’s mind. Sometimes you do
things that prove you are willing to listen even though
they may not seem like shortest route to having your own
needs heard.
There were thirteen people around that table, includ-
ing our host Greg Evans and Fauntroy; only two of us
were Caucasian. African-American members of the
LGBT community were strong voices for our lives. An
4 JANUARY 25, 2007
TESTIMONY TO POWER
I just read the article about Nuestro
Lugar/Our Place Teen Center in last
week’s (1/18) EW. I was lucky enough to
be able to work with LEAD during my last
nine months in town, and I was fortunate to
be able to watch the brilliance of the
process that is the beginning of this much
needed resource in downtown Eugene.
What LEAD and the Nuestro Lugar/
Our Place Coordinating Committee have
accomplished with the opening of this teen
center is a testimony to the power of the
youth voice. It is also a testimony to the
power of adults who recognize that the
youth voice is an important one to listen to.
Eugene should be proud of this new addi-
tion to its downtown. Congratulations,
LEAD, and thank you.
M. Brooke Robertshaw
Logan, Utah
SAVAGE LOVIN’
Savage Love is the first thing I read in
EW. He’s entertaining and informative.
LGBT member of the Latino community added his voice
to theirs. Straight allies from the African-American com-
munity had our backs as well.
This was my personal experience of Fauntroy. Is he
anti-gay? No. Is he opposed to gay marriage? Yes,
though I do think his thoughts on that subject are evolv-
ing. Is he opposed to civil unions? No.
It is important to remember that justice is not a desti-
nation. It’s a process. A process that requires dialogue,
speaking from our hearts, listening with our hearts, as
well as being open to new thoughts, ideas and under-
standings with our minds.
This is what Fauntroy had to say. Yes, he stood with
those people and organizations. He also realized that the
gay marriage debate was a wedge issue — an issue de-
signed to unify conservative voters to put conservative
legislators in Congress.
The first wedge issue, according to Fauntroy, was
abortion. Eventually that stopped rallying the troops, so
they needed a new one. It was gay rights. That lost its or-
ganizing power in time as well and they needed a new
one. Gay marriage became that new wedge.
So what was the real agenda? Tax cuts for American
There is an easy solution for the letter
writer (1/11) who wants Savage to go
“bye-bye.” The letter writer just need not
read Savage Love. Heck, the letter writer
can easily just tear off the last page of the
Weekly if the column is that bothersome to
her or him. I, and many others, enjoy
Savage Love.
Steve Brown
Eugene
IGNORANCE HELPS
Grass farmers and timber owners burn
fields and plastic covered brush to deal
with weeds and slash. It’s supposedly cost
effective. All you need is a drip torch and a
meteorologist or forestry department OK.
Ignorance and immunity from impacts of
breathing toxic smoke helps.
Most farmers gave up the risks of field
burning a decade ago. While Lane
Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA)
cites individuals burning plastic, timber in-
terests want regulators to allow them to
burn plastic, increase slash burns near
large towns and avoid responding to indi-
businesses. Trickle-down economics. Less money in the
budget translates into less programming. The first people
to be affected are always the disenfranchised and the
poor.
As a result Fauntroy has distanced himself from those
organizations. He was being used. He knows that now,
and he came to that conclusion by himself, which gives
me hope.
Do I consider him and ally in the fight for LGBT
rights? No. Do I consider him an enemy of LGBT rights?
No.
So who is he? He’s a man who has walked a very long
walk in his many years. He has much to teach. The real
question is, are we willing to listen? Are we willing to
speak? Are we willing to open our hearts in the spirit of
true dialogue to work for change? The answers to those
questions are also the answer to who Fauntroy is. As with
all of us walking this Earth, he is an unfinished work.
This is also true of the many people who are that are like
him regardless of the color of their skin, their creed, and
where they are in life.
Alan Brown
Eugene