LET TERS
DO NOTHING?
Accusing someone of insensitivity by
“having a political agenda” when they
ask for better gun laws is an easy way
out of contributing to real solutions, and
is actually a case of having one’s own
political agenda. Asking for better laws is
a huge sign of being nothing but sensitive
to the victims.
Some try to distract the issue by saying
“it’s too soon.” It’s with deep respect to
victims that I wish for better laws. What
are we supposed to do? Wait and give more
troubled souls with assault weapons more
time to kill more people? Again, action is
not disrespect. It’s respect.
People asking for better gun laws are
not looking to gain anything personally
(except safety). They’re not attempting to
take anything away from those wanting to
legally obtain a gun and own it for legal
reasons. Sadly, many of the lobbyists/
politicians fi ghting so fervently to stop
new gun laws do have political agendas
(having more to do with profi t rather than
freedom or liberty).
If better common sense gun laws are
enacted and actually enforced, those law
abiding/mentally healthy gun owners
would lose nothing, especially not their
freedom nor their liberty.
Doing nothing solves nothing, every
time, without fail. If not the laws, the
culture must change now.
VIEWPOINT
A heartfelt R.I.P. to the victims involved.
Love and warmth to their families and
friends, as well as to those we all know
and love. Hug your loved ones tightly and
infi nitely.
Joe De Rieux
Creswell
OUR VIOLENT SOCIETY
Tragedies like the Roseburg massacre
will continue to occur, and there is nothing
we can do about it. We are a violent,
gun-crazy society and no amount of gun
laws, current or future, and no amount
of “thoughts and prayers” will alter that
fact. The distinction between criminals
and “law-abiding citizens” is ridiculous
— most mass shooters are law-abiding
citizens until they choose not to be. We
have met the enemy, and the enemy is us.
Spud Smith
Oakridge
WEAPON MONGERS
The UCC shooter had 14 guns. Who
in this world needs 14 freakin’ guns? The
situation practically screams “sociopath!”
Prosecute the seller(s) as accessories to
murder. In Oregon, if someone serves
alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person who
then goes out and does damage to others —
such as a highway massacre of innocents
— then the server can be held liable for
that harm (ORS 471.565).
Media reports have stated that the
UCC shooter obtained his guns “legally.”
This means that the seller or sellers can
be identifi ed. The tragedy was perhaps
preventable, if some greedy weapons
monger had only exercised a bit of socially
conscious overview and restraint.
If we can’t seem to rein in the mass
murderers, we can at least make it hard for
the pre-event profi teers.
Vip B. Short
Eugene
ADDING TO THE INSANITY
How insane is it that the only solutions
being offered to protect our kids from
being killed by gunshot in school are more
guns for the teachers and body armor and
bullet-proof backpacks for the children?
See wkly.ws/22w. To paraphrase Donald
Rumsfeld as he sent our troops into Iraq
with canvas-sided Humvees, “You send
your kids into battle with the clothes you
have.”
Michael T. Hinojosa
Drain
THE REAL CULPRIT
As per usual, Bonny Bettman
McCornack is “spot on” regarding seeking
funding replacement for library services
[presentation at City Club of Eugene 10/2].
She, as in times past, understands
the shenanigans the city of Eugene uses
HOSTEL TERRITORY
I own and operate the Eugene
Whiteaker International Hostel. It’s come
BY A M Y SCHNEIDER
A Terrifying Reality
REFLECTIONS ON THE UCC SHOOTING
B
efore Oct. 1, I was in the habit of
introducing my hometown with a bit
of apologetic nonchalance. “I’m from
Roseburg. It’s an hour and a half south
of Eugene. Pretty small. You’ve probably
passed through on I-5.”
I now envision a future where I introduce my
hometown, and a bell of recognition dings in people’s
minds — Roseburg, a place where one mass shooting
among far too many shootings has devastated a
community.
I grew up in and around Umpqua Community
College. As a young girl, I learned how to swim and
jump off the diving board at UCC’s swimming pool.
My dad attended nursing school at UCC in the ’90s.
My high school graduation took place at Jacoby
Auditorium on UCC’s campus. I spent my fi rst year of
college saving money and working a cashier job while
taking calculus and chemistry at UCC.
It’s surreal to see my little hometown campus
bombarded with unspeakable violence and then
descended upon by the entire nation.
I hate to admit this, especially now, but I’ve
harbored embarrassment of my hometown. I know it’s
a sentiment many former Roseburg residents share. It
still feels like a betrayal to say it.
I moved away in 2009, fl eeing what I perceived
4
to defl ect attention from the real reason
there is a lack of money for library
services and a whole host of other funding
shortfalls. Time and time again, the city
provides property tax waivers of the Multi-
Unit Property Tax Exemption program
(MUPTE) to developers at the expense of
funding our services!
Yes, the average working taxpayer
picks up the tab for all these tax breaks.
I am sorry for the lack of funding that
is available, and the “sluggish property
tax revenue” that occurs due to these
property tax waivers, but the answer lies in
eliminating these programs!
The taxpayers would not need to be
asked to pass a levy if the city would be
transparent with one big reason there is
a funding shortfall. The library levy is a
“city service fee redux”! It’s just the same
shenanigan again, removing an essential
service from the general fund, and seeks to
establish a separate and additional funding
scheme.
Shame on Rep. Val Hoyle for even
voicing support for this, instead of going
after the real culprit in all this funding shell
game, the MUPTE!
Terry Steiner
Eugene
OCTOBER 8, 2015 • EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
to be an overly religious, painfully conservative town
with an anti-environmental undertone and a lack of
“things to do.” I was 19. The world seemed so big, and
Roseburg seemed so small.
On Oct. 1, I found myself murmuring over and
over, aware of how cliché it sounded, “This kind of
thing couldn’t happen in Roseburg.” My eyes roamed
my computer screen in disbelief. My throat caught and
my mind immediately went to unfathomable places,
terrifi ed at the remote possibility that any of my
Roseburg loved ones could be on campus.
I called my dad. He answered. “I’m not anywhere
near UCC,” he said before anything else. I started
crying.
I ache for those who won’t ever again get to hear
their loved one’s voice on the other end of the line.
The thing is, despite my initial reaction, Roseburg
is the kind of place where tragedy like this can happen.
We live in a time when a school shooting can happen
anywhere and at any moment. This is the terrifying
reality.
In the days following the shooting, I heard stories
of Oregon schools evacuated because of bomb threats,
rude behavior in classrooms scrutinized for any hint
of violence, students hesitant to go to school because
school doesn’t feel safe.
I hate that we feel this fear. I hate the thought that I
should come up with a plan for the next shooting, just
in case it happens here. I hate that this loss is only one
in a vast sea of losses to armed gunmen on a rampage.
We have a gun problem. We have an anger and
entitlement problem. We have a mental health problem.
But most of all, we have a passivity problem in
which we sit idly by, just waiting for the next shooting
to happen.
I know my community, and I know a lot of people
in Roseburg won’t agree with me when I ask and
advocate for better gun laws as we move forward. I
realize it won’t change many minds. I disagree with
you, Roseburg, but I love you. I hope you can still love
me, too.
I am amazed by my community and how it has
come together since Oct. 1, united to memorialize the
people we’ve lost and celebrate what we still have.
The outpouring of love, everything from donated
coffee and pizza to songs, fundraisers and poems, is
deeply inspiring.
My mind roams over treasured memories of home
— the gorgeous view of the Umpqua Valley from
my dad’s house, rolling hills enshrouding a cozy
community; the Umpqua Valley Arts Center in fall,
bright colors with a backdrop of soccer fi elds; the
grassy hill of Stewart Park with the Umpqua River and
its clear water fl owing on.
Today I can say that I’m incredibly proud to be
from Roseburg. I stand Roseburg strong with UCC and
the wonderful people of Douglas County. We will get
through this. ■
Amy Schneider of Eugene is a staff writer and special sections editor at
Eugene Weekly.