to choose a non-drug alternative, but Rep.
DeFazio’s bill would make this decision
more difficult, or impossible, for many
Americans living at home.
David Oaks
Eugene
PARK BLOCKS FAMILY
Police in Eugene need to understand
that people who are homeless often gather
in the Park Blocks as “families.” Folks
who are unrelated meet, gather and often
move around together as what sociologists
call “fictive kin.” They come together as
families to provide one another with mu-
tual protection and both emotional and ma-
terial support. The “families” collectively
also defend against attacks on or abuse of a
family member.
When the EPD sought to question and
then arrest two young men in the Park
Blocks recently, this sense of family kicked
in and others in the park then also joined in
their highly vocal condemnation of police
actions. Past negative experiences with
police by people who are homeless, some
of whom were gathered in the Park Blocks
that day, have led most who are homeless
to see police as anything but “friends.”
Police are more often than not feared
and seen as the “enemy” by Eugene’s
homeless population due to the treatment
they have experienced. It is unfortunate
all around, since many officers do not like
the role into which they have been placed
vis a vis people who are homeless, seeing
this as not what they were trained to do and
often sympathizing with those who are un-
housed.
Ken Neubeck
Eugene
BLACK LIVES MATTER
The purpose of this letter is to address
Black Lives Matter. I am not in fact a part
of the black community, but a part of the
Hispanic community, although I do sup-
port it and believe more people should be
aware of it.
Protests that relate to Black Lives Mat-
ter have been portrayed as violent out-
breaks in the U.S.; consequently, these
people that want to make a difference are
wrongly depicted as those who want to
create more problems.
With the increase in police shootings
and blacks being more likely to become
victims of these shootings after the mur-
der of Michael Brown, Americans believe
the flag does not represent freedom any-
more but represents the complete opposite.
Therefore, more people have been sitting
down or taking a knee during the national
anthem.
Lives are being lost and injustices keep
occurring. Does the African-American
population have to decrease in greater
amounts for the country to realize that we
have a problem?
With the amount of Americans that re-
spect African-Americans, there should be
more who want to do the same. Not that
they should disregard the national anthem
but they should join the fight in aspiring
to become a part of the change. As Gandhi
once said, “You must be the change you
wish to see in this world.”
Yes, all lives do matter; but Black
Lives Matter, too.
Alyssa Jacinto
Eugene
Michael J. McCourt, DPM & Sarah Rincker, DPM
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The anti-97 ads are deceptive. The
Koch brothers, Monsanto and Big Pharma
are pouring cash into Oregon just to pro-
tect their record profits. Fortune magazine
shows Pfizer alone has stashed $74 billion
offshore.
Their deceptions include half-truths,
lies and innuendo.
One ad claims “doctors across Oregon
say.” Only a few do: Actually, more than
48,000 nurses and physicians support
Measure 97 because our health care system
is so underfunded.
Other ads outright lie by calling this a
sales tax. Measure 97 taxes corporate sales
above $25 million. It’s not a consumer
sales tax. They misinform when they say
The Portland Mercury is in opposition, be-
cause the newspaper is actually in support.
Then there’s the tricky graph claiming
Oregon’s corporate sales tax isn’t last in
the nation. On closer inspection, the light
gray print shows the graph isn’t about cor-
porate taxes, but about pre-profit supplies.
The state has a vested interest in keep-
ing businesses healthy and able to produce
revenue. That’s why after a law is passed,
they create exemptions.
Nazia Swartz
Eugene
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eugeneweekly.com • November 3, 2016
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