HESITANT TO REPORT
BIGOTED COVER
EUGENE TO ORLANDO
In response to Keith Southworth’s letter
[“Rape Confusion,” June 9], I question his
reasoning behind the statement that “rape
victims should either report to the police or
move on in life.” He suggests that women
should be required to report rape within
48 hours, but doesn’t consider the reasons
why they may be hesitant to do this.
Maybe they feel ashamed, humiliated or
terrified as a result of this traumatic event.
Maybe the rapist has threatened to harm
them or their family. Maybe they worry that
their report wouldn’t be taken seriously,
which is a valid concern. Is it possible that
some people are falsely accused of rape?
Yes. It’s also true that when rape is reported
several years after the fact, it is difficult to
prove anything one way or the other.
However, I strongly disagree with
Southworth’s assertion that American
women are likely to go about “creating
delusions” and “convincing themselves” that
a consensual sexual encounter was actually
a rape. This is not strictly an “American”
issue, and it is, unfortunately, more likely
that a woman (or man) will be pressured into
believing the opposite: that a rape was in fact
an “OK” and “normal” sexual experience.
Kendra Lady
Eugene
Eugene Weekly had a point going with
the cover about immigration opponents’
arguments, until it chose to write
“RESPECT ARE COUNTRY.” That is
equivalent to saying the people who hold
those positions are stupid, don’t know
the language they are attempting to force
on immigrants and hypocritical. That is a
bigoted generalization by the staff of the
Eugene Weekly.
And in the article itself, a racially
based political group led by a Senyor
[sic] Carrasco is quoted with his picture
in emphasis, “Taking away the language
is the last blow of colonialism.” What
Carrasco seems to not understand is who
is colonizing whom, and whose society is
being changed by whom. To make these
blunt analogies between the genocidal
activities of European colonists and today’s
U.S. citizens reacting to social change is a
distortion, to say the least.
H. W. Hutchins
Eugene
“Everybody get out of Pulse and keep
running”
Those eight words were the first I saw
and I will never forget them. June 12, 2016,
2 am, Orlando. It took hours to sink in, to
understand, to feel. Once it did, the tears
began to well. My heart sunk. Sixty-three
hours and 46 minutes after that moment
where dancing and laughing crumbled
into bodies falling and cries for help — I
have finally picked up my pen and paper in
hopes to digest.
Hopes to digest the fact that this world
that holds so much love and beauty is the
same one that holds a kind of hate that isn’t
any way close to human. To hope to digest
how sick and heartbroken my beautiful
LGBTQ brothers and sisters feel. My heart
and hands reach out to you all at this time.
Your pain does not go unnoticed.
To the victims: Your names will not
be forgotten, your potential will never not
be missed and your tragedy will not be
invalidated. What has happened to you has
shook me to my core. The images I have
painted in my head of you ducking on the
ground and hiding in those bathroom stalls
are all I can see. Forty-nine of you didn’t
make it out of that club.
To the ones who did: I can’t even begin
VIEWPOINT
EDITOR’S NOTE: As noted in the article, “Respect Are
Country, Speak English,” complete with grammatical
error, was taken from an actual protest sign at a Tea Party
rally.
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
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.
BY ALICE C ALL A H A N
Attention Parents
DON’T GET YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION FROM THE MOVIES
I
have followed with frustration and sadness
the response to the film Vaxxed which has
been showing at the David Minor Theater in
Eugene. The film inaccurately represents the
science of vaccines and autism, and I worry
that it may mislead parents in Lane County.
I am a mother to two young children, and I feel
the weight of responsibility to make wise decisions
about their healthcare. I am also trained as a
scientist, and I’ve found that my background in the
scientific process has been a valuable tool in helping
me to make smart choices for my family.
I do not want to dwell too much on the problems
with Vaxxed, but it does make for a useful example
of how to assess the accuracy of health information.
For example, when presented with new
information, it’s smart to think carefully about
the source. Is the narrator of this information
trustworthy? Is he or she well trained with expertise
in this area? Are there conflicts of interest that may
compromise the honesty of the source?
The director of Vaxxed is Andrew Wakefield,
and his history is full of red flags that should
make us skeptical of his trustworthiness. In 1998,
he published a small study of just 12 children
that attempted to link the development of autism
to vaccines. But investigations into Wakefield’s
research uncovered a number of problems, and his
paper was retracted from the medical journal. He
6
to imagine the trauma you are suffering.
I hope you can find a way to heal your
internal wounds.
To the shooter, whose name I don’t
even want to speak: I’m not going to say I
hate you. I’m not going to say these things
because even they have an underline of
emotion. What you did held no emotion.
What you did was not human. I only am
not saying I hate you because now is not
the time for hate. That is all I will say to
you, whatever kind of monster you are.
Finally, to my people: my loved ones,
my community, the ones who I dance
with on Saturday nights. Now is the time
to join hands, to spread love and to fight
against the spewing hatred. My mind is
scared, my spirit is sad, but my heart is full.
From Eugene to Orlando: I promise you
your light is being honored.
Quincy Wise-Dorbolo
Eugene
June 23, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com
had fabricated data and conducted invasive research
procedures on children without their parents’
consent.
Wakefield was also on the payroll of a law firm
planning to sue vaccine manufacturers, which was a
gross conflict of interest. In hearings with the U.K.
General Medical Council, Wakefield was called
“callous” and “unethical,” and he was subsequently
banned from medical practice. I do not recommend
trusting this man to give you advice about the
health of your children, whether packaged as a slick
documentary or in any other form.
When assessing health information, we should
also be wary of conspiracy theories. Viewers of
Vaxxed may be intrigued by the tale it weaves of a
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
cover-up. Ignoring for a moment Wakefield’s lack of
trustworthiness, a closer look at this story shows no
evidence of a cover-up at the CDC. It did not destroy
data, and it did not lie about its research results.
Wakefield dishonestly spliced together sound bites
and scary images of syringes (much larger than any
you’ll see used to administer vaccines, of course)
to convince viewers of his version of the tale. And
while you may find a handful of celebrities and
politicians voicing support for the film, they are
not trained in immunology or infectious diseases,
and they also are not trustworthy sources of health
information.
Instead of listening to celebrities and conspiracy
theorists, let’s stick to the science. Many studies,
conducted by scientists around the world (not just at
the CDC) and including millions of children, have
concluded that there is no relationship between
autism and vaccines. Research suggests that autism
is a genetic disorder that begins before birth, before
our kids get any shots. The real tragedy is the vast
amounts of time and money wasted studying this
thoroughly debunked claim. It’s time to put those
resources towards research and services to improve
the lives of autistic people and their families.
Vaccines are thoroughly tested before they are
approved for use, and their safety is continuously
monitored. Vaccinating your kids on time keeps them
safe from diseases that can cause pain, suffering
and death. It also strengthens the immunity of our
entire community, reducing our risk of outbreaks
of preventable diseases and protecting our most
vulnerable citizens — newborn babies and those
with compromised immune systems such as cancer
patients. On this, every major medical organization
and the vast majority of scientists and medical
professionals agree without hesitation.
Who can we trust to give us accurate information
if we have questions about vaccines? A great place
to start is with one of the wonderful pediatricians
practicing in our county, folks with years of medical
training who care deeply about our children and
our community. If you want another perspective,
don’t look for it at the movies. Save movie night for
entertainment value, and look to trusted, evidence-
based sources for health information for your family.
Alice Callahan, Ph.D., is a science instructor at LCC and the UO and
the author of The Science of Mom: A Research-Based Guide to Your
Baby’s First Year, published in 2015 by Johns Hopkins University Press.