After fi nding that I do not have any
outstanding warrants he allowed me to go
without writing me a citation. He did fi ll out
paperwork, which he stated was evidence of
the encounter and a warning of sorts.
I felt terrible during and after the
encounter. I felt my rights and freedom had
been taken from me without due cause. I
believe that the offi cer, an armed authority
fi gure, had no grounds to stop me and even
less grounds to demand that I provide ID. The
encounter made me feel small and powerless
and reinforces negative stereotypes about
police and their capricious and belittling use
of the power entrusted to them.
I am an ER nurse at University District
hospital and work daily with the police to
help care for the folks of our community.
By and large I have nothing but accolades
for the police of Eugene and Springfi eld
and the courtesy and compassion they
display to the marginalized population that
they so frequently work with.
However, it only takes one small
instance, like my experience, to further
entrench all of the negative stereotypes that
surround police: Essentially, that police
are to be feared, not trusted and have the
ability to take one’s freedom away without
due cause. Abuse of power lessens the
authority that police struggle to maintain.
Philip Pfanner
Eugene
PROFITING FROM CRISIS
Climate change that large companies,
people afraid to face their fears and the media
(a subsidiary of big corporations) claim isn’t
real is the thing that will destroy civilization.
I can say with sadness that I’m glad
Hurricane Sandy came up and hit the
East Coast. We Americans are the main
cause of greenhouse gasses and its time
that the information, which the media has
so misrepresented came to everyone’s
attention.
My parents both live in New Jersey and
had a power outage for seven days; other
people are suffering, too (some more). I
must explain that I don’t want this planet’s
sentient life to experience more suffering;
on the contrary I want all groups profi ting
from climate crisis to stop.
The process of revoking a corporation’s
charter used to be done quite frequently
— when they stopped serving the public
good. Now those who are actually making
our planet unlivable get away with a fi ne,
the cost of doing business. The fi duciary
obligation (making money), not nature and
mind have become our gods.
There are lots of groups talking about
climate change. Citizens Climate Lobby
is one that is making progress. I found out
in the last conference call that with more
moisture retained in our atmosphere and
the average temperatures rising worldwide
we can expect tropical diseases in our very
own U.S.A.
To end this I will mention that mosquito-
carried malaria has killed one third of the
population that has ever lived on Earth.
David Ivan Piccioni
Eugene
A BETTER LANE
Charles F. Thielman’s Nov. 8 letter
advocating a name change for Lane
County initially struck me as ridiculous.
Joseph Lane was undoubtedly racist, but
really, how many in his time believed that
all men (never mind women) were literally
created equal? And suppose we did change
the name? Then what? Many of the
Founding Fathers owned slaves; JFK was a
compulsive adulterer; should we therefore
change the name of every government
entity that honors them? Where do we,
where does Thielman, draw the line?
And let’s not even address the question of
how much it would cost to change all county
signs to … what? Chip Kelly County?
However, when I expressed the above
concerns to my friend Dan Betty, he
offered a solution that both Thielman
and I might be able to live with: Hold an
offi cial ceremony, a dedication if you will,
renaming the county in honor of a more
worthy American named Lane, a Lane
who was not a racist. This would have the
useful effect of purging the county of any
tinge — real or imagined — of institutional
bigotry, as well as saving taxpayers untold
thousands of dollars.
So then the question becomes, who will
the new Lane County namesake be? My
suggestion: the man immortalized in the
book Paper Lion, the great Detroit Lions
football player and admirable human being,
Dick “Night Train” Lane. Yes, I know, he
has no connection to Oregon. Well, George
Washington has no connection to that state
to the north of us. Others will undoubtedly
offer their own candidates; perhaps EW
should sponsor a referendum, but I don’t
mind saying that “Night Train” Lane
County would be change I could believe in.
Mike Kopf
Eugene
EDITOR’S NOTE: How about Lois Lane (Superman’s
main squeeze), iconic actor Nathan Lane, the Beatles’
“Penny Lane,” or?
TO THE RESCUE
The impression of government workers in
popular culture is often less than great. We’re
fortunate here in Eugene to have a Public
Works department that really does work.
A few weeks ago, after a post-game
party night, an intersection near me was
covered in broken glass. We’re not just
talking a bottle or two, this was a major
hazard to bicyclists, pedestrians and
pooches. One simple call to Eugene Public
Works at 682-4800 and within an hour or
two a street-cleaning truck arrived — wow.
In the past I’ve called in potholes, leaves in
the bike lane and other concerns, and they
have never failed to be both friendly and
responsive. You can also email them or use
the website to submit a request online at
www.eugene-or.gov/pothole
How lucky we are to have such great
service! Thank you to the dedicated
employees of Public Works.
Tree Bressen
Eugene
LITTLE BLACK CAT
I wish I could have helped you.
I didn’t know you were out there, alone
and suffering, or I would have come sooner.
As soon as I heard (a kind woman spotted
you and let us know), I went in search of
you. When I found you, my heart broke. A
young, beautiful black cat that should have
The Shedd Institute
www.theshedd.org - 541-434-7000
Shedd Theatricals 2012
Shedd
Theatricals
2012
The Gershwin’s
1924 zany smash hit
musical comedy
SINGIN’ IN
Lady,
Be
Good!
THE
RAIN
Thu-Sun,
October
4-7 - The Shedd
Nov 30, Dec 1, 7, 8, 14 & 15 - 7:30 pm
Dec 2, 8 & 16 - 2:00 pm matinee
A Jazz Kings Christmas 2012
Let It Snow!
Dec 6 evening & 9 matinee
Give Music
Shedd Institute Gift Certificates for the holidays
541-434-7000 | www.theshedd.org/gift
Coming up at The Shedd
(select concerts & shows)
11.30-12.16 Musical: Singin’ In The Rain
12.6-13 Christmas at The Shedd ‘12
1.04
Jenny Scheinman - Blade & Frisell
1.11
Monterey Jazz on Tour 55 (Hult)
1.12
Robin Willaims (Hult)
1.16
Loudon Wainwright/Dar Williams
1.24
Solas: Shamrock City Tour
2.01
Black Prairie
2.15
Victor Wooten
2.16
Afro-Cuban All Stars
2.20
Led Kaapana
2.21
Woideck: Jazz/Mancini
3.2
Ken Peplowski
3.6-17 Siri Vik. My Funny Valentine
3.8
Blues at the Crossroads II (Hult)
3.10
B. B. King (Hult)
4.12
Molly Ringwald
4.24
Taj Mahal-Shemekia Copeland (Hult)
4.25
John Pizzarelli Quartet
eugeneweekly.com • November 21, 2012
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