Eugene weekly., December 01, 2016, Page 15, Image 15

FLUSH THE TOILET
eugeneweeekly.com comments:
“Tech is more like Gandalf than Sauron in its relationship to the Shire. For now, Gandalf is bringing some
exciting fireworks to the Shire, which entertain but don’t particularly impact the daily lives of many of our
nobler residents. As the author alludes, the scouts of Sauron already did come through the Shire, but
haven’t really left that much of a mark — yet. Those in the Shire who choose to follow Gandalf now may
be in for the adventure of their life, not always pleasant, but upon their return could be the key to
ensuring sustainability of the lifestyle we all enjoy. A grinding decline into 'equal opportunity poverty for
all' may be our future 'alternative lifestyle' if we choose to insist that the wrenching socio-economic and
technological changes in the wider world will leave us alone as long as we just keep ignoring them...”
— Chris Hazen on “And in the Darkness Bind Them: Inside Eugene’s cult of tech," Sept. 22
“Possibly the best writing I’ve ever seen in the Eugene Weekly. It captures an important part of the beating
heart of Eugene — its magnificence, its humanity, even its human flaws and errors. It’s also energizing and
gives hope. Let’s cut through the bullshit and actually work through the problems we face. Onward.”
— Nathan Zebrowski on “Citizen Terry: No waste goes to waste on Terry McDonald’s watch, Aug. 25
Kudos to our next CIC, POTUS, Donald J. Trump.
He pulled off the biggest con in history.
He played the fear card on the American sheeple like a
Stradivarius (if Stradivarius had made dog whistles or
bullhorns).
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 democracy, 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
Nov. 17
MISGUIDED WRATH
Well, I feel very sorry upon hearing of the tragedy at
Orlando. But as I took up my Bible, I opened at the story
of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. After
re-reading chapter and verse, I can’t help but think God is
giving us an example of his punishment for perverts and
deviants. You cannot escape the eye of the Lord!
Lon Miller, Drain
June 30
BUTT SEX
ILLUSTR AT ION BY JEFF DRE W
Lon Miller, [Letters, 6/30] when I was reading your
response to the editor in the Weekly, I opened up the Bible
and opened it to Ezekiel Chapter 16: “Now this was the sin
of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant,
overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and
needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before
me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”
The Christian God did not mention a thing about the
lovely butt sex that must have been going on in Sodom
when accounting for the sins of Sodom. Arrogant people
who turn away the poor and needy are the sinners of
Sodom!
As a decent person, people being shot at and killed
certainly qualify as the needy in my book.
Bonnie Doran, Eugene
July 21
TAYLOR DEFENSE
William Kennedy’s “attack” of James Taylor [“The
Good, the Bad and the Noodly,” July 14] is nothing short
of a pebble sneering at the ocean.
Michael Billings, Eugene
July 21
EW BURN
DONE WITH HIDING
As I write this I stand over a pile of wadded up and
crushed copies of Eugene Weekly, and in front of me is a
pile of burning Eugene Weeklys. This wasn’t malicious,
simply coincidental, but I realized that the Eugene
Weekly does so much for so many people who never read
the poorly written articles within your “paper.”
I picked up several stacks of EW as packing material
for moving. This protected my various glasses and china
quite well, kudos. Once done moving into my new house,
it was time to fire up the barbecue, and EW was again to
the rescue as the cheap printing material is fantastically
flammable.
These events gave me an epiphany: If literally nobody
reads EW anymore because of the corporate bias blatant in
their poorly written articles, what are people using EW for?
I listed the top five uses for EW: #1 toilet paper for the
homeless; #2 packing material; #3 BBQ starter; #4 floor
covering to collect animal droppings; #5 paper crafts like
origami/ paper maché.
Please get better journalists, editors, and stop being an
embarrassment to our city.
Stefan Strek, Eugene
Sept. 1
The fencing of places where homeless people camp isn’t really about trash. If it was, the city would
be providing trashcans and portable potties at locations all over Eugene, along with a lot more
managed shelter. Instead, it spends money on services that people have to walk to, carrying all of their
possessions, and policing to keep them from camping.
What the fences are really about is trying to force the homeless to hide, to be invisible, so their very
existence doesn’t offend the middle class and give the lie to the American way of life. The talk about
trash is meant to justify this and demonize the homeless — to portray them as trash.
As activists, we need to understand the difference between protest and resistance. Protest is useful
in focusing public attention on a problem, but it doesn’t make those in power do anything. Protest may,
in fact, provide a useful social safety valve for people to vent while allowing the politicians and the
middle-class folks who elect them to continue business as usual.
Resistance, on the other hand, creates a cost for business-as-usual that makes it more difficult to
continue doing it. It inflicts pain and is much harder to ignore.
As a resistance response to the fencing, I suggest that activists publicly designate the fenced areas
as dumps for homeless trash and feces, and encourage the homeless to use them to deposit their waste.
Create a real problem that the authorities cannot ignore, a cost to business as usual. Tell the community
that we are done with hiding and we don’t recognize their authority.
Lynn Porter, Eugene
March 31
EDITOR’S NOTE: Eugene Weekly does not condone pooping as a form of protest.
eugeneweekly.com • December 1, 2016
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