Eugene weekly., October 27, 2011, Page 7, Image 7

letters
TO THE EDITOR
reviews, without Lois Wadsworth, are
amateur, self-aggrandizing and without
social value. I am shocked at how many
of the great fi lms I see are underattended
and play for only a week. Unless you’re
paying close attention, they are here and
gone before many people realize it. And
that wastes the Bijou’s limited resources,
as well.
Case in point: Gus Van Sant’s beautiful
fi lm Restless (shot in Portland) came and
went in a week without fanfare. To be
replaced this week by Miranda July’s
new fi lm The Future. Miranda is one of
the emerging young fi lmmaker/artists
that defi ne their generation, and we all
should pay attention. Like Van Sant, she
did some of her coming up in Portland.
The Bijou seems lost in the ocean,
undecided which way it wants to swim.
A tendency is to play to the college
crowd with quirky late-night offerings
and it dosen’t have the time to promote
the world-class cinema slipping past its
projectors. EW reviewers would rather
exhibit their version of critical erudition
than help anyone decide why they
might want to see the fi lm. Any more,
they prefer to review the big theater,
Hollywood offerings at the Cineplex,
anyway.
There is no excuse for booking,
exhibiting and then failing to adequately
publicize their fi lms. Anyway, go see The
Future before it and the Bijou are gone!
Loren Sears
Eugene
DEFAZIO NOT HELPING
As an ardent past supporter who is now
openly critical of Rep. Peter DeFazio’s
recent diatribe against President Obama,
as well as his vote with Republicans
against the stimulus and other bills, I
had to laugh at his explanation for his
unseemly behavior (cover story, 10/13).
“I’m trying to help. He has to succeed.
Democrats have to succeed so we don’t
wind up with someone like (Texas Gov.
Rick) Perry as president.” So railing
against Obama is helping?
Recently I read an article in which
DeFazio was named as an example of
Democrats who do not support Obama.
This article was intended to encourage
Republicans. I suggest that DeFazio’s
poor excuse of an explanation is simply
an ill-conceived strategy to try to pull
disenchanted supporters back into his
circle of donors, while his behavior seems
to indicate that he will say whatever
he can to appeal to conservatives
and grumpy liberals in the Fourth
Congressional
District.
Personally
speaking, he will have to do a lot more
to show his support for President Obama
and the Democratic party agenda before
this extremely grumpy liberal will return
to the fold.
Kathleen Epstein
Eugene
BE NICE TO COPS
I fi nd it quite sad when I pick up a
local newspaper to fi nd more than a few
articles and letters criticizing our own
local police offi cers.
What everyone needs to realize is
that police offi cers are human beings
just like us, living daily lives. They are
mothers, fathers, sons and daughters,
trying to provide for their families. They
put their own lives on the line in order
to keep other mothers, fathers, sons
and daughters safe from drunk drivers,
robbers, killers and any other threat that
may hurt an innocent person.
I was proud to hear such a supporting
response from our community when
such a cruel incident happened within
our own community, the shooting of
Chris Kilcullen. It was a devastating
loss within the police force, and so many
people showed their support, and viewed
him for what he really is, a hero.
What I wish for all of us is to view
every police offi cer everyday like we do
Chris Kilcullen. Let’s continue to show
our support to such brave people and not
criticize their every decision and their
every move, and appreciate their efforts
to keep us safe.
Chelsea Stevens
Eugene
viewpoint
Direct Democracy
A statement from Occupy Eugene
A
s the Occupy Eugene movement enters its second week it continues
to represent an honest experiment with direct democracy. Like related
occupations around the country and around the world, OE participants have
taken it upon themselves to stand up against corporate greed, the unequal distribution
of economic opportunity, and the lack of social and economic justice throughout our
society. The rage that is now materializing in the worldwide occupations is part of a
growing sentiment felt by many in America (e.g., a recent Time poll showed 86 percent
of respondents believed that “Wall Street and lobbyists have too much influence in
Washington,” 79 percent believed that “the gap between the rich and the poor in the
U.S. is too large,” that the economic system is not fair and the game is being manipulated
by the very wealthy, the so-called 1 percent).
As the OE movement has become more organized and has started settling into
its new occupation area in Alton Baker Park, a few things are increasingly apparent:
Democracy is messy and chaotic, yet beautiful and fulfilling. The process that OE, its
committees and its subcommittees have operated under often forces procedure to take
precedent over substance, especially as the movement has struggled to establish itself.
The process has not been perfect and the organization has not been without incident,
but as some of the OE members who also work in local government have noted, it is no
less disorganized than the way local bureaucrats conduct themselves; but in our case,
there is much less ego and partisanship.
Much of this process is being directed by young people barely 20 years old who
are learning as they go, trying to work within the borders of consensus gathering
and a horizontal structure that makes individual accountability impossible. As the
OE movement has increased in size, committees are growing and helping take on the
increasing workload that occupation members are trying to accomplish, including camp
logistics such as food, medical and security as well as legal, outreach, event organization,
communications to local media outlets, social media and in recent days the beginnings
of an established liaison system to connect with other occupations around the state.
Movements exist in both Salem and Portland with a statewide rally planned for this
Saturday, Oct. 29, in Salem.
Some of the challenges faced by OE, and certainly by other occupations, are easily
microcosms of what American society in general faces. One of these challenges is the
general lack of experience with democratic institutions. Besides voting every couple
of years, how often do most people participate in a democratic process on a regular
basis? Most work places are hierarchical with direction and decision-making coming
from the managers. Schools, too, mirror corporate systems of authority with students
at the bottom possessing no power to make decisions.
The occupations have been challenging and engaging exercises in democracy and
have shown that when people come together in an attempt to reach consensus, instead
of looking for reasons to divide one another, each person’s views can be expressed and
the most good for the most people can be achieved. While many of us have work or
school obligations that also require significant time commitments, we will hold steady
doing the dirty business of democracy because we think this noble experiment deserves
our attention and full devotion. If you are concerned with the issues facing this country,
come down to the occupation and try out the role of citizen for a few hours. It is truly
empowering.
This statement was drafted through consensus by the Occupy Eugene Communications Committee.
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EUGENE WEEKLY OCTOBER 27, 2011
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