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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2007)
TO THE EDITOR Also, she did not brandish her night stick, but shook it once in order to extend it to its full length. I was standing next to the door and saw three parents leave, not 10, as stated. In reality, when Lisa Barrong was introduced as giving a program on the police and their function, parents were free to take their chil- dren and leave. The doors were not locked. A few other observations: Preschool sto- rytime is a program for 3- to 5-year-olds. Not infants. Five-year-olds are not babies. The public library exists to disseminate information over a broad spectrum. It is available to everyone in the community. It is unrealistic for those who hold beliefs not addressed in this spectrum to demand that they be catered to. This is still a free country. Parents can teach their children anything they wish and clarify any inaccuracies as they see fit. It is unfair, however, to expect the EPL or the Eugene Police Department to act other- wise than in the function for which they are intended. Karen Ecker Eugene ANTI-COP BIAS WHO YOU GONNA BLAME? After reading the Viewpoint by Rachel Carnes in the June 28 EW, I was left some- what bewildered by the very apparently anti- police slant of her article. My incredulity was occasioned by her disproportionate vehe- mence and anger at what seems to be an inno- cent presentation about a police sergeant’s tools of her trade and how she uses them to protect the public. Talk about a tempest in a teapot. Carnes has overreached in her quest to prevent the police from explaining their occupation to young people. Police try to do their best in their efforts to assure our young people that they are here to protect them from “bad guys.” I heard nothing that causes me con- cern in the sergeant’s remarks. I would agree with Police Chief Robert Lehner. It seems to me Sgt. Barrong did a very good job of ex- plaining all about herself and by extension other police officers, while gearing her pres- entation to the understanding of these young children. This is reality. It is what the police must do to protect us all. A fact check of some of Carnes’ misstatements shows an- other attempt at overkill. For in- stance, 10 people did not leave the room as stated by her. Sergeant Barrong did not say: “When bad people fight, some- times I have to hit them with this [baton], to make them stop.” What was said was: “Sometimes I have to use it to protect people from getting hurt.” The waving gestures with the EDITORIAL Editor Ted Taylor News Editor Alan Pittman Reporter Camilla Mortensen Arts & Music Editor Molly Templeton Performing & Visual Arts/Copy Editor Suzi Steffen Calendar Editor Chuck Adams Contributing Editor Anita Johnson Contributing Writers Bryan Andersen, Sara Brickner, Jason Blair, Joshua Blanchard, Amanda Burhop, Jes Burns, Brett Campbell, Rachael Carnes, Wade Christiansen, Michael Cockram, David Constantin, John Dooley, Rachel Foster, Phillip Getty, James Johnston, Zach Klassen, Sarah Mazze, Sharleen Nelson, Mary O’Brien, Aaron Ragan-Fore, Vanessa Salvia, Steven Sawada, Sally Sheklow, Lance Sparks, Eva Sylwester, Adrienne van der Valk Interns Erin Rokita, Deanna Uutela ART DEPARTMENT Art Director/Production Manager Kevin Dougherty Graphic Artist/Webmaster James Bateman Graphic Artists Shannon Browning,Barbara Cooper, Todd Cooper Baby Samara Cooper Contributing Photographers Kurt Jensen, Paul Neevel ADVERTISING National Sales Manager Mark Frisbee Display Marketing Consultant Jennifer Donohue, Rob Weiss Advertising Traffic Coordinator Geneva “the Goddess” Miller Classified Manager Jennifer Donohue Reception Jayme Fuller Classified Marketing Consultant Janus Brezsny baton had to do with her explaining that she might use it to move branches out of the way when traveling and moving in thick brush. Sgt. Barrong never removed her weapon from its holster. It is certainly up to parents to help their children understand and interpret when they are exposed to what they feel are bad or scary situations. Preventing exposure to these things can never be assured. Additionally, parents must take care not to project their own fears on their children. R. E. Walker Eugene A LABEL THAT DIVIDES “Terror” is what those who have no home feel. Those who have no protection from the tyranny of the majority, who cannot protect what they value, may, themselves, turn to vi- olence in a desperate bid for empathy; to say, “Now you can feel my pain.” Judge Ann Aiken’s convicted did not find it expedient to commit arson; they did not believe their ac- tions to be a convenient way to stifle resist- ance to their cause. What they did was last- ditch, and it was wrong. That said, I have heard people fear that this labeling of activists as “terrorists” will dangerously dilute the true meaning of using terror for power. But I see it another way, too: This label divides us from people we could otherwise understand as our own sort, people who looked at the apathy of our compartmen- talizing culture and felt despair, maybe, or anger or a drive to start another revolution like our own. The Founding Fathers told us not to make the government responsible for our morality. We should not let one judge tell us that those who seek to wake us up before it is too late are now our enemies. We need a kind of “I am Spartacus” mo- ment, where we refuse to let our own people stand isolated and villainized for trying to re- vive our better nature, even though their means were criminal. Otherwise we shall find that it is the law, not terror, which has paralyzed us. Gavain U’Prichard Lowell The Shedd - Tickets 434-7000 - www.theshedd.org The Shedd Institute Oregon Festival of American Music 2007 Rodgers & Hart’s 1937 WE’RE NUMBER 37 Michael Moore has again challenged our elected representatives and with humor and facts! His Sicko is a con- vincing argument for single payer universal health care. His best help was from MP Tony Benn saying, “If we have the money to kill people [with war], we’ve got the money to help people.” We don’t need middlemen BUSINESS Director of Sales and Marketing Bill Shreve Circulation Manager Danica Stiles Baby Persaeus Eilah Zapata Stiles Controller Paula Hoemann Distributors Bob Becker, Matt Bryson, Margaret Garrison, Tobin Herrera, Susan and David Lawson, Tim Risch, Quick Draw, Pedalers Express Printing Signature Graphics Oregon Festival of American Music 2007 Richard Rodgers The Sweetest Sounds August 4, 9 & 11 Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall Tickets: 541-682-5000 HOW TO REACH US BY E-MAIL: The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts (letters): editor@eugeneweekly.com Summer Music Camps ‘07 (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 Guitar Camps Electric Guitar & Electric Bass Jul 9-13. Ages 8-17. $225. Acoustic Guitar Jul 16-20. Ages 8-17. $225. Eugene Weekly • 1251 Lincoln Street • Eugene, OR 97401 • 541.484.0519 • fax 541-484-4044 Oregon Festival of American Music 2007 Registrar: 687-6526 Camps at OFAM 2007 Richard Rodgers Jazz Academy, Jul 29-Aug 11 Song & Dance Camp, Jul 29-Aug 11 OFAM SongFest, Jul 30-Aug 11 Ages 7-12, 14-19. Tuition: $450 (movies/film screenings): movies@eugeneweekly.com (circulation): distribution@eugeneweekly.com August 1 - 11 Eugene, Oregon Shedd Institute Presenting Sponsor Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 1949 South Pacifi c August 3, 5, 8 & 10 Hult Center - Tickets: 541-682-5000 JULY 12, 2007 5
