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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2013)
LET TERS WRONG CLASS ENEMY Regarding “No More To Give” [Letters, 10/17]: Jessica Hannah, what’s wrong? Your facts are as accurate as they are cold. The way you only point out what is wrong invites me to look between the lines for something constructive. How very clever. When your way becomes the law, then the only problem left will be one of enforcement. The work camps will be far from your sight. Instead of bums on every corner there will be a camera. If your neighbor won’t volunteer his free time, say, reading to the elderly, he will have to go. Your reference to “work camps like they did way back when” must be a reference to Stalin or Hitler. You didn’t say. What you did say was that “they demand respect while showing none for the citizens.” If you marginalize them by calling them non-citizens you make it easier to use the same tactics that worked so well 150 years ago with the American Indian “problem.” You’re not going to be able to put a cap on the number of transients, even if you force them to register themselves, or tattoo a number on the forearms of the ones already here. I can only assume that the term “sensitive wetlands” refers to the ones that haven’t already been drained and developed. Shoplifting is a sport invented by spoiled suburbanites, not by poor people. Ever notice the way the University District has more litter than any other neighborhood in Eugene? Or how the party riots get swept under the rug like the crimes of some football hero? I have. The biggest message that I read between your lines is that not only is a class war needed, it’s overdue. Brooke Fisher Eugene SOLUTIONS NEEDED Jessica Hannah’s letter [Oct. 17] well delineated the common complaints against the homeless. But her letter also belies the common misconceptions about who is living on the streets these days. And she offers no solutions, but for the implication that many are just personally irresponsible, and the inference that they just need to be run off to some other community. I’m not an expert on the subject, but SHE WHO WATCHES UO’S QUESTIONABLE LETTER TO MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES few days ago, I saw a picture of a letter crafted by the University of Oregon sent out by Dr. Robin Holmes, vice president of Student Affairs, and Dr. Yvette Alex-Assensoh, vice president of “Equity and Inclusion,” on social media. Many of my marginalized peers were celebrating the release of it. And some say this fabled letter is “better than nothing.” Being the “critical thinker” that the colonial institution prides itself on teaching us to be (sarcasm), I immediately questioned this letter and its celebration. I had seen this before — it’s an old war tactic, evasion of accountability. It happened to us when we were starving on reservations, displaced in this very land, waiting for supplies from “Indian agents” promised to us by treaty. Promises made in so called “international law” of supplies that never made it to us. Fake apologies, false hope, another broken treaty. I know my history and relationship with the colonizer. I know they want me tranquil. I know they want me silenced. I know they want me to believe their lies. I’m no fool; we come from too strong of lineage to be gullible and believe this plagiarized absurdity. Yes, plagiarized, word for word, straight from the University of Minnesota’s Katrice A. Albert, VP of offi ce of Equity and Diversity, and Danita M. Brown Young, vice provost and dean of students. The UO did not even take the time to show even the slightest amount of respect or regard to our communities affected by mockery, hate crimes and racism during this heightened time of cultural appropriation. “Administration at a university that condemns plagiarizing has stolen another university’s letter about ‘respect’ while simultaneously defunding and shutting down student-run activism and organizing on campus,” a source, who wants to remain 4 October 31, 2013 • eugeneweekly.com public policies that mitigate, rather than exacerbate, the situations about which they complain. James Stauffer Eugene BEYOND GUINEA PIGS It appears to be true that EWEB decision makers have committed the vile and reprehensible act of voting to install “smart” meters on the residences and businesses of Eugene. This level of disregard for the health of the humans and animals in Lane County is beyond horrifying. EWEB is now in the same bag as Monsanto and all war criminals, (Colin Powell for instance) and insane “developers” who want to annihilate a beautiful, tranquil meadow off River Road. (Green! Sustainable! Bullshit! Why don’t they go to some blighted eyesore of a place and turn it into a piece of Paradise? That’s green development.) Clearly EWEB doesn’t care about the hard evidence that this technology may endanger the health of your young daughter’s eggs and her future fertility and what may happen if she does conceive. BY K AYL A GODOWATUF TI Fake Apologies, False Hope A I doubt most homeless folks chose that way of life. Does Ms. Hannah believe it is coincidence that increasing homelessness parallels the rise in poverty? Is there no connection between the neo-liberal austerity policies, offered as a solution to recession, and the dearth of public resources to help the unemployed? Is there no cause-effect relationship between 40 years of economic policies that precipitate the transfer of wealth to a small group of citizens, outsource and automate millions of jobs out of existence and reward and encourage the investor class while denigrating and deprecating the working class? The fear-mongering exaggerations of “garbage everywhere, needles everywhere” and “we cannot use our parks” are not an accurate description of the diversity of people who have found themselves homeless. And there is no mystery about how to reduce these problems: Jobs! Every study has shown a direct relationship between the reduction of homelessness and crime, and the reduction of unemployment. Perhaps Hannah and her ilk can offer some ideas for better governance and anonymous, tells me. My source continues, “It’s also important to note the letter was never sent to the student body. Only the ASUO listserv seems to have received it, according to a UO instructor, which only has about 50 people maybe? Even if it had been a ‘real letter’ in the UO administration’s own words, many fi nd it odd that a letter about ‘respect’ is coming from the very same people who have clearly done their best to make sure that students of color, economically disadvantaged and disabled folks, etc., are systematically more disenfranchised on this campus every single day.” It’s clear where the funding and support goes. Athletics get upgrades every year. Multicultural, women’s center and student groups all remain in the dusty lower levels of the EMU. As a dignifi ed individual who has been taught the strength of my lineage, by my elders, I scoff at this insulting attempt to appear compassionate toward marginalized folks in our community. Let’s not be naive and convince ourselves that the same sexist, racist, oppressive, colonist institution that is responsible for the mockery and marginalization of our disenfranchised communities gives a damn about us. Let’s not play pretend and fool ourselves into believing “The University of Nike” can just cover up the fact that it is responsible for the economic, classist, sexist, privileged and racist divide that plagues our town, with a plagiarized letter. It’s always this time of year when these colonist power structures love to evade the responsibility of their history of genocidal bloodbath and mockery of our heritage, unique cultural lineage and identities. I am aware that the UO has many “artifacts,” crafted by my ancestors from the “Oregon Territory,” that it has acquired by grave robbing and desecration. The “world’s oldest shoe”? Crafted by my ancestor from Fort Rock. The archeological world has deemed these “artifacts” to be worth thousands upon thousands of dollars. To us, of course, they are priceless. I know the UO profi ts fi nancially on the backs of my ancestors and our culture, so don’t take me for some fool when you release a letter to ask your students to make responsible costume choices that wasn’t even tailored especially for our community. Because this Indigenous woman has not forgotten our history here and we have a score to settle with the settler colonial government and all of its oppressive institutions for taking away our rights, poisoning our land, and sending out promises that have never had any positive results for the marginalized or oppressed. These fraudulent promises are only made to systematically silence us and break down the power of oppressed peoples. Kayla Godowa-Tufti is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs of Oregon, and the descendant of Indigenous peoples of Oregon, Washington, California and Nevada.
