letters
TO THE EDITOR
D ONALD D EXTER J R DMD LLC
well-toned musculature, quick refl exes, and
a certain indefi nable competitive advantage
would choose a sport of hitting and kicking
another person over such fun activities
as pole vaulting, basketball, or cricket.
And yet, I boxed some in college, partly
to honor my late father, who had been an
undefeated amateur boxer in the late 1920s
and taught us boys more the art of self-
defense than boxing as a sport. In middle
age he said that if he had it to do over, he’d
take up wrestling, so much he enjoyed the
combat, but knew that every time he took a
blow to the head a microscopic lesion was
formed on the brain, over time the lesions
are cumulative, and even the greatest —
Dempsey, Armstrong, Louis — took hits to
the head.
I recognized my coach’s name as one
my father had mentioned. When I asked
the coach whether he remembered him, he
exclaimed, “Sid Wood is a boxing legend at
UCLA! In one evening he won the Pacifi c
Conference welterweight championship in
his own division, then fought and won the
light-heavyweight championship, and after
that the heavyweight championship, three
in one night!”
I’ll not elaborate on the coach’s
incredibility that I could be Sid’s son, who
eventually concluded that he didn’t really
like getting hit, even less hitting other
people in the face, enjoyed more getting
into track and fi eld events. Then it was a
matter of personal preference, but today, at
age 80, it’s more an objective wonderment
at those (including good old Dad) who like
to hit and kick others.
Jim Wood
Eugene
WORD NAZIS
“The Left have all of their guns pointed
at each other,” Che Guevara was once
quoted as saying. A great example of this
would be your Nov. 10 viewpoint by Ariel
Howland.
Ms. Howland’s statements that Dan
Savage is bigoted, racist or transphobic
have no merit, especially the latter point.
I would argue that not only is Dan Savage
vocally pro-transsexual, but that no current
media fi gure has done more to increase
tolerance, understanding, and appreciation
of the alphabet soup of terminologies that
constitute people’s sexual orientations. By
attacking him as a bigot or transphobe, she
simply shows us that she is too cowardly to
direct her anger at those who really deserve
it! Why cannibalize your own cause, if
equality truly is your cause.
As Fox News shows us, anybody can
have their words edited, spliced, and used
against them. Fuck the word Nazis!
Matt Watkins
Eugene
MONIKER CHOICE
No doubt your political leanings on the
issue are pro-choice (11/10 article, “Oregon
Targeted By Abortion Foes”). I would
like to suggest in pursuit of courageous
reporting, that you consider using the
chosen moniker of your opponents, not
your chosen name. To insert “anti-choice”
instead of “pro-life” amounts to name
calling. Similarly, I think it disrespectful
and harmful for the pro-life folks to insert
“pro-death” in their publications.
The issue is complex, emotional and
divisive enough without resorting to straw-
man slurs in our publications. No doubt the
use of “pro-life” instead of “anti-choice”
would take some courage in your reporting,
considering your constituency of readers.
But taking that courageous posture could
help lift the discourse toward substance
and away from stereotypes.
Charles Coury
Springfi eld
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NOT A LEG TRAP?
A woman wrote a letter (11/13) claiming
her cat was caught in a trap inside the
Eugene city limits. I suggest she rethink
that assertion.
First of all, why would the trapper
release the animal? He or she would be
more likely to simply cover an illegal act.
She describes the injuries as “a leg broken,
fractured, splintered and punctured.” A trap
might possibly fracture (break) the leg, but
“splintered” and “punctured” are the keys
here.
I bet the cat was bitten. Dogs, coyotes,
wolves, bear and cougar bite and crush
(splinter) bones, and their canine teeth
puncture.
Late this past winter I made a walk
about with my 50-pound Aussie along a
stream well east of Eugene. I wasn’t paying
attention to the dog when I heard him yelp.
Being a little hard of hearing coupled with
the noise of the stream, I could not locate
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EUGENE WEEKLY NOVEMBER 23, 2011
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