Eugene weekly., September 06, 2012, Page 5, Image 5

letters
TO THE EDITOR
I am sure that the fashion designers
involved in the show are highly creative
individuals. Given the infi nite possibilities
of expression available to these designers,
why would this highly offensive image be
chosen, and then on top of it be featured
in an EW photo spread? We all have the
choice to empower or oppress. Fashion
designers, please think before you sew.
Jennifer Donovan
Eugene
CLASSIC LIBERALSPEAK
Shedd
Theatricals
2012
“Meth-using fence cutters are victims
of failed drug policies and lack of social
services.” So says Gail Gould in Letters,
Aug. 30. I guess these “victims” share none
of the blame for their own (that’s right:
their own, not society’s) bad decisions.
Classic liberalspeak – no personal
accountability! As Ron White famously
says, “You can’t fi x stupid!”
Jerry Ritter
Springfi eld
NOT HARMLESS
Regarding Jeff Zekas’ delightful letter,
“Dangerous Bums” [8/9], I think it’s time
for some reality therapy for all those saps
who think the homed are all harmless
Wards going off to work daily, while June
washes dishes with her pearl necklace on
and Wally and the Beav get into mischief,
but not trouble. Make no mistake, the
homed are not harmless.
When I fi rst came to Eugene, in my
neighborhood, cars started getting broken
into and robbed. Just around the corner,
a homed couple had been cooking meth
and stealing to support their choice of
addiction. Their home had to be destroyed.
This is not harmless.
Not long ago, a woman was found killed
and buried in her own backyard by the man
she shared her home with. Many homed
men have chosen to kill their spouses or
girlfriends, in their own homes, in a choice
of anger. Recently a homed police offi cer
in our town was jailed for sexually abusing
the very people he’d sworn to protect and
serve. This is not harmless.
In a former town I lived in, a homed
man who lived in a mansion ran a Ponzi
scheme that stole millions of dollars from
other people, destroying their life savings
and sending them into poverty in their later
years. Because of his actions, his own son
committed suicide in shame. This is not
harmless.
I was a social worker for a while, and
regularly had to deal with children whose
homed parents regularly beat them and
sexually abused them, homed fathers
who ran off leaving their homed families
helpless and abandoned, or gambled away
the family savings. These were choices
made by the homed, who made themselves
that way. They are not harmless.
Walker Ryan
Eugene
The Gershwins’
THUGS AMONG US
I can certainly understand exactly
where Jeff Zekas of Veneta is coming from
in his “Dangerous Bums” letter [8/9]. A
person gets tired of being robbed, cheated,
harassed and manipulated by scumbags,
drunks, thieves, drug addicts, convicts and
downright dangerous thugs.
I have had all the same ugly experiences
throughout my life. I’ve been robbed
and cheated out of more than $80,000.
I’ve been physically attacked. I’ve been
threatened. An arsonist burned my house to
the ground. My own uncle was a drunken
bum all his life.
But there is one difference between
Zekas and myself. Everyone who robbed
me — my drunk uncle, the man who
destroyed my house and those who
threatened me — were wealthy landowners
with big houses. They committed these
lowlife behaviors and crimes with suits,
ties, polished shoes, fancy cars, big fake
smiles and ink pens.
Zekas describes the homeless as
“narcissistic, selfi sh, immature folks.”
Maybe they aren’t the only ones. Just
maybe we all need to look at issues with
a little more depth and compassion. Just
maybe our failure to exercise compassion
is “narcissistic, selfi sh and immature.”
Food for thought.
Eli Cutler
Eugene
LETTERS POLICY: We welcome letters on all topics
and will print as many as space allows, with priority
given to timely local issues. Please limit length to 200
words, keep submissions to once a month, and include
your address and phone number for our files. Email to
letters@eugeneweekly.com fax to 484-4044, or mail to
1251 Lincoln, Eugene 97401.
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EUGENE WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
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