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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 2016)
VOLCANIC EVENT To witness a significant shift, a divi- sion of perception, can be hard to accept for some when it truly changes. For others, it’s just another event without significance or meaning in the nexus of life and death. My way of relating the recent event in our country to something tangible and mean- ingful in my life follows like this. Mount St. Helens’ eruption was vio- lent, the energy release was felt through- out the world, just as this election has been. The mountain showed signs of an inevitable massive eruption years prior to the May 18 explosion. On Nov. 8, we wit- nessed something many will be shaken by for the rest of their lives. Significant events shape who we are or what we are or were becoming, so in that respect I am grateful. I have heard many state that if Trump was elected they would move to Canada or elsewhere. If that is your will, so be it. I sup- port your choice to leave or stay. I wrestled with that very idea myself. My decision is to stay and let the air settle awhile. I expect that with such turmoil there will be interest- ing and horrific events not far in the future. We will witness and have active participa- tion in those outcomes. That’s why I am staying. After Mount St. Helens erupted, many said it looked terrible, ugly and awful. Some living close to the mountain moved far away, far from what they per- ceived to be a dangerous violent destruc- tive enemy. Others stayed and rebuilt their homes and continue to live with the moun- tain as their neighbor. They have accepted Loowit for what she is, a strato-volcano which will occasionally blow up as it did in 1980. If you go up to St. Helens now, it is just as beautiful to behold as any of its many sisters. The one difference is Loowit has a scar now, a tattoo on her north flank to indicate who she is within the Cascade system. The Cascades are a young family of mountains, volcanoes that are incredible to witness just as our country is. A volcanic eruption is like an elec- tion. Some are violent and include the destruction of parts of the main players (Lincoln, Kennedy and other assassinated candidates) while others go on rather un- eventfully. Our recent election, I feel, has been rather ugly to behold and might be for some time. I have faith in knowing that following destruction, often, not always, comes a calm, a beauty, balance. Jonathan Guske Eugene 4 GRAMS for 3.5G $$$ DAILY THANKS, TRUMP One thing The Donald has done for us throughout the long campaign is to broad- en our vocabularies. Think of it: Words like narcissist, mi- sogynist, xenophobe and demagogue have slipped into common parlance right along- side racist, bully and pussy. Mike Helm Eugene LOOKING BACK Election 2016: Hindsight is 20SAND- ERS20. Rick Blake Springfield beads fro ld Kudos to our next CIC, POTUS, Don- ald J. Trump. He pulled off the biggest con in history. He played the fear card on the Ameri- can sheeple like a Stradivarius (if Stradi- varius had made dog whistles or bull- horns). He exposed to the world the truth of the “Ugly American.” After the party of “I hope he fails” managed to plug the toilet of our democra- cy, Trump as the biggest, greasiest, shiniest turd, was able to rise to the top. America’s chicken hawk karma has come home to roost. The next four years will be a test to see if love can really trump hate. If not, I think Mother Earth will flush the toilet on her own. Michael T. Hinojosa Eugene or FLUSH THE TOILET m a ro und the w 2833 Willamette • (541) 683-5903 www.harlequinbeads.com @EUGENEWEEKLY eugeneweekly.com • November 17, 2016 7
