letters
TO THE EDITOR
ENLIGHTENED UP
I am very fond of the brief comments
by your mini-columnist, Rafael Aldave.
He’s a man of wit who puts his ideas
succinctly, gives his analysis briefl y and
has his heart in the right place.
Henry G. Campbell, Jr.
Eugene
PIGEONS DOWNTOWN
This letter is to set the record straight.
I was misquoted several times in the
Weekly article June 30, “Meeting Eyes
Behavior Downtown.” Specifi cally, the
author missed my point when I suggested
giving the truly homeless an opportunity
to preserve their dignity by charging a
small amount of money (or work) for a
meal. This is actually being done with
good results in other Oregon cities.
The “pigeons” mentioned in the article
are the people who often have homes, but
come for the summer and freeload off of
Eugene’s excellent services. The Dining
Room is defi nitely not “bird feed to feed
the pigeons” (a quote the author attributed
to me).
You wouldn’t know it from the article,
but I really love living in downtown
Eugene.
Sherrill Necessary
Eugene
EDITOR’S NOTE: In the story, Sherrill Necessary was
quoted referring to homeless individuals as “pigeons”
and services offered by the city as “bird feed” during a
discussion about behavior issues in downtown Eugene.
BRIGHT FUTURE?
I recently graduated from Portland
State University. The tone of the ceremony
was optimistic and suggested that bright
futures await us 5,000-plus graduates,
which I hope is true. However, market
conditions suggest otherwise: Matthew
C. Klein published an article in The New
York Times March 20 titled “Educated,
Unemployed and Frustrated,” which
chronicles the fact that 11.2 percent of
college graduates under 25 years of age
are without work.
A NOVEL IDEA
With the economy down, high
unemployment and entitlement putting
a strain on the budget, I have a solution
to cut overhead cost. Let’s start by
eliminating the handicapped, elderly and
the poor. They contribute nothing to the
economy. The elderly spend their time in
idle retirement draining Social Security.
Raise the retirement age to 70. Anyone
above that age — eliminate.
The handicapped are an obviously a
waste of money. Do you know how much
these unprofi table folks cost Medicare
and SSD? If they have two perfectly good
limbs, give them a shovel or broom and
put them to work or else. Think about
how much money we save by getting rid
of all that excess. Not to mention all the
housing and resources freed up for people
who contribute to society — you know,
the ones who work.
The state can’t afford these deadbeats
living off the earnings of the rest of us.
Either you are a contributing member of
a capitalistic, consumer driven economy
or you are a loafi ng socialist who thinks
you are entitled to a free handout from the
government. Only the fi t and productive
are allowed to live in this freedom loving
country. God bless America.
This is Swiftian satire of course, but
some might think this is a good idea — be
afraid.
Alisa McLaughlin
Eugene
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Consequently, as a 22-year-old graduate,
this situation concerns me personally:
Despite maintaining a high grade point
average during my academic career and
submitting applications for hundreds of
entry level positions, I’m concerned that
I may be homeless within a matter of
months unless I can quickly obtain work.
Hopefully, the job market will rebound
soon, otherwise I may soon be living on the
street. Isn’t a university diploma supposed
to guarantee economic security?
Mark Abell
Portland
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EUGENE WEEKLY JULY 14, 2011 5