LET TERS
A WARRIOR'S FAREWELL
I am a chief petitioner for the Freedom
from Aerial Herbicide Spraying Bill of
Rights.
I am coming to the end of the activist’s
path, trod by our beloved Audrey Moore
(Josephine County) and Jan Wroncy (Tri-
angle Lake). I am dying of cancer after a
long healthy life.
This is not a fight any of us chose. We
did not put ourselves in harm’s way. The
timber companies came to our homes with
their herbicide poisons.
My friends, neighbors, colleagues and
co-conspirators, I am so sorry to be leaving
you so soon.
Timber Guys: Examine your con-
sciences. You cannot say you didn’t know
or were just following orders after 40 years
of widespread harm.
Lynn Bowers
Eugene
LOCAL FASCISM
It appears that our little city has gar-
nered international attention once again.
Sadly, Eugene’s most recent notoriety is
related to our long-time problem of bold
and outspoken white supremacists and
their newfound momentum for all things
“fasci.”
The UK Daily Mail released a NYE re-
port that, while hyperbolic, described an
atmosphere of escalating activity, recruit-
ment and hate crimes from area Nazis.
While most online readers know the Daily
Mail is a garbage rag, locals count The Or-
egonian as a legitimate news service.
Neither story was a “New York Time-
sian” level puff piece, but they did provide
another platform for white supremacist
ideas; both reports eagerly contextualized
the Nazis' re-energized activity in the cur-
rent political climate.
Yet, they failed (miserably) to contex-
tualize the confluence of those factors in
the history and characteristics of fascism,
a system for which white supremacists are
gleefully wielding a torch.
Perhaps it is a consequence of jour-
nalistic objectivity, but this lack of con-
text tends to be woefully lacking across
the board in recent reports on white su-
premacy in America. Folks who take care
to consider history and study society and
political systems see this as a glaring er-
ror that could doom humanity to repeat the
mistakes of our past.
I don’t want us to drop the ball on
this challenge, because the consequences
of fascism are too widespread.
For local readers who are interested in
developing a deeper understanding of the
social and historical context of how fas-
cism is developing, a “Nature of Fascism”
class is hosted every Saturday at 2 pm at
the Growers Market.
Candice King
Communist Labor Party of Eugene
LEVIN IS WRONG
Rick Levin’s cover story on Troy Mon-
roe — the “rebounder” on the corner of
Coburg — in the Jan. 4 issue of Eugene
Weekly treated its subject with condescen-
sion and cruelty.
Before Levin has introduced Monroe
into the article, ostensibly written to pro-
mote Monroe’s fledgling career as a fit-
ness coach and nutrition adviser, Levin
establishes his authorial disposition as one
of smug patronage. Monroe’s profile is
presaged for three paragraphs by Levin’s
facetious accounts of humankind’s striv-
ing for “sexy immortality” through diets,
cosmetics and “plastic surgery disasters,”
wherein the disastee looks like a “shrink-
wrapped cadaver.”
Levin ends this digressive preface by
ditching his bloviated standard English to
say “[Y]’all can stop scouring the ends of
the earth. The Fountain of Youth is within
us!” This parodic tone disadvantages Mon-
roe to the reader’s credulity by biasing the
very topic of discussion as humorously in-
admissible.
In his arrogance, Levin believes being
a journalist grants him dialectic say-so; in
this instance Levin’s impartation of a deep-
er truth is that jumping on a trampoline is
as dumb as any other fitness gimmick.
“Not to be a stickler,” he writes, buttress-
ing himself in a caveat, “rebound exercise
is at best aerobically mild.”
The article’s last column of text is al-
most wholly dedicated to quoting Mon-
roe’s blog where Monroe expounds upon
“medical genocide” perpetrated by “in-
ternational Communists.” Undoubtedly,
Levin knows the best way to disabuse
someone’s authority is by appending it to
the reek of conspiracy.
I can’t imagine the self-satisfied plea-
sure Levin felt printing those quotes.
Bryce Jones
Eugene
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
There’s a female ginkgo biloba just out-
side of Villard Hall at the University of Or-
egon that is posted to be removed Jan. 15.
It’s proposed to be replaced with a male
ginkgo, but in an attempt to spare the ex-
isting tree, I’d like to bring to attention that
the inconveniences of the “mess” produced
by the fruits of the female do not outweigh
the benefits the tree provides.
Not only does the existing tree provide
canopy, add substance to the arboretum
and attract wildlife, but the nuts of the
ginkgo biloba have been well known for
centuries to possess a plethora of scientifi-
cally-proven medicinal uses.
The fruit’s scent is somewhat unpleas-
ant, but removing a well-established tree
just because the fruits don’t smell great
doesn’t seem fair, and in fact appears to
contradict the Campus Tree Plan. Further-
more, the Ginkgo fruits are only produced
for two months out of the year.
Surely the genetic diversity of an arbo-
retum with a mated pair of living fossils
is better than one containing solely males.
By removing this tree, the UO community
would miss out on a great opportunity to
educate and inspire students, faculty and
visitors who might not realize how valuable
these extraordinary female trees can be.
I encourage anyone with the power to
revoke the removal of this fine specimen
to do so, and urge you all to acknowledge
that what some recognize as flaws can ac-
tually be occasions to grow and learn as a
community.
Rebecca Snowdale
Eugene
EAT YOUR ETHICS
In 1976, when I was a young “back-to-
the-land” hippie, having just started the
Newport Farmers’ Market, if someone had
told me that one day you would be able to
buy “organic” food at Safeway, I would
have laughed.
But some 40 years later, not only is
there “organic” food at Safeway but at
Walmart and Costco, which are putting the
small farmers who started and nurtured the
movement out of business.
When Big Ag saw the premium prices
that “organic” products were getting, they
jumped on the bandwagon, bastardizing
organic practices to fit their economies
of scale. Is this a good thing for consum-
ers? Does cheaper organic produce from
Mexico have the same quality and care for
the environment that local organic can pro-
vide? Is Earthbound organic lettuce mix,
grown in greenhouse factories and packed
in plastic boxes with gas to extend its shelf
life, as nutritious? And what kind of carbon
footprint does that have compared to a bag
of locally grown lettuce mix?
For the past five years my farm, Phoe-
nix Farm Enterprises, Inc., has had a great
partnership with Ninkasi Brewing. Ninka-
si pays half of their employees' CSA share
as a health benefit. This is a win-win-win
for Ninkasi, their employees and Phoenix
Farm.
Just imagine what it would do for the
local farm community if Symantec, the
city of Eugene or EWEB offered their em-
ployees the same benefit?
It is time for conscientious consumers
to “put your money where your mouth is”
and eat your ethics.
Angela Andre, farm director
Phoenix Farm Enterprises, Inc.
Springfield
Every dollar donated to ShelterBox USA during the Show will be
matched up to $10,000 by Show Management. Make your donation
at the Eugene Delta Rotary exhibit with the actual emergency aid
supplies & tent delivered to families worldwide who have lost everything
during natural disasters and humanitarian crises. ShelterBoxUSA.org
annual
January
19-21
Clear Clutter. Flip Flops. Top Yard Sale Secrets.
PRIZES & Book Signings Follow
Feed the Painted Ladies
$5 Entry
“Backyard Nest”
DIY Kit or Finished
International Homes of Cedar
4
January 18, 2018 • eugeneweekly.com