Eugene weekly., July 22, 2021, Page 3, Image 3

Youth Radio Festival
letters
DON’T BUILD
UNNECESSARY RESERVOIRS
EWEB needs to hold a public hearing
before putting two reservoirs at 40th
and Patterson (EW 6/3). This forest is a
Eugene treasure, something to save, not
destroy. Mature stands of trees can help
mitigate the climate catastrophe.
Has a search of all possible public
owned property at the proper elevation
for a reservoir been made to see if any
can be found that does not have a for-
est on it? Perhaps a trade could be made
and this property could become a park.
Or one reservoir could be put on this
property and most of the oak savanna
and fir forest could be saved.
I understand we do not need two res-
ervoirs now, and with better conserva-
tion practices we may not need another
reservoir in 10 years. EWEB could help
every household to collect rainwater
from their roofs into storage contain-
ers to be used in an emergency. Water
could be conserved by not watering golf
courses and lawns. Switching to com-
postable means drinkable water would
not be used to flush toilets.
Sue Barnhart
Eugene
GET OVER IT, SOUTH EUGENE
I have lived my 65 years as a white
middle class person with ample oppor-
tunities. I grew up in a small midwest
town where railroad tracks divided my
neighborhood from those of my Black
class and teammates who enjoyed far
less.
But this letter is not about that divi-
sion. I’m writing about the behavior of
some of my neighbors in south Eugene
and the views of some recent letter writ-
ers. Behavior that appears disturbing
and selfish to me. Behavior that cap-
tures what it means to have white privi-
lege.
These neighbors are protesting
EWEB’s planned installation of two
water storage tanks in a small patch
of woods on a butte top near 40th and
Hilyard. After a few years of significant
noise and disruption the tanks will qui-
etly deliver water to thousands of kitch-
en sinks from land that was purchased
for that purpose before I was born.
Neighborhood children will continue to
play in the woods, and EWEB will help
restore the hilltop’s remaining oak sa-
vanna.
July 2021!!
Most of us at some time have had to
weigh our own interests against those of
the common good. For some the costs
are high and they have little or no con-
trol. I would ask my south Eugene neigh-
bors to take a step back and realize how
well off they are.
David C. Hausam
Eugene
THE REAL ANTI-VIETNAM
WAR PROTESTERS
I am responding to Alix Li’s two let-
ters of 6/10 and 7/28. Li claims that
“boomers sold out” and should have
“turned your energy to fighting racism.”
The conventional narrative that op-
position to the Vietnam War was domi-
nated by the privileged white students,
and that the reactionary working class
supported the war is wrong.
By 1968, the movement was a cross-
class/multiracial force that included
students, civil rights activists, clergy,
GIs, veterans, gays and people of color
from working-class backgrounds. How-
ever, anti-war sentiment didn’t always
get expressed as class politics, but rath-
er as part of racial/ethnic empowerment
and feminist politics.
Black, Latino and Asian Americans
were the most militant antiwar activists,
effectively expressing the intersection
of imperialism, racism, genocide, pov-
erty, and economic exploitation.
In his last year of life, Martin Luther
King, Jr. linked Vietnamese self-deter-
mination and U.S. racism, militarism
and working-class struggles. He stated,
“There must be better distribution of
wealth, maybe we must move toward a
democratic socialism.”
The most significant anti-war resis-
tance was in the military, overwhelm-
ingly composed of working-class sol-
diers with a disproportionate number of
people of color being drafted and killed.
Ongoing defiance included desertion,
evasion of combat, attacks on officers as
well as anti-war newspapers and coffee
houses and declining enlistment.
Veterans organized highly-visible
anti-war organizations with mostly
working-class members. Also, they con-
fronted racism, unemployment and in-
adequate health services.
With perseverance, courage and sac-
rifice, boomers challenged a repressive
power structure, ushering in the most
tolerant, inclusive, and environmentally
This month KEPW-LP 97.3FM PeaceWorks Community Radio is
celebrating its 4th year putting youth voices on the air with the Youth
Radio Project. Our Youth Radio Festival includes special interviews, music and events produced by KEPW youth
students to play on air and on our Friends of KEPW Facebook group page throughout July.
Go to KEPW.org for a full schedule and donate to buy raffle tickets.
6pm to 8pm July 24th we will be livestreaming our celebration with youth sharing
what they love about being on the radio, drawing raffle tickets to share prizes from local
businesses and individuals and live music from Dakota, a young local performer.
3pm to 6pm July 25th our virtual Youth Appreciation Concert co-sponsored by
MEPAA and KidzRock will play on air at 97.3FM, KEPW.org and on Facebook with youth
bands from Eugene to Nashville to Alaska, including the H*Fam Band, McKayla Marie,
Anna Fine, Ian W. and beatboxing by Jayden.
For more info go to www.kepw.org or our Friends of KEPW Facebook page,
email stationmanager@kepw.org or call 541-833-0622
Kids Eat Free This Summer!
Free Grab & Go meals for kids and teens 18 and younger
in parks and at community centers. Mondays thru Fridays,
June 28 thru September 3. For a site near you, call
(541) 343-2822 or go to foodforlanecounty.org/summerfood.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN THE
Human Rights Commission
TARGET OF ANY BIAS
(OR HAVE WITNESSED OR HEARD
ABOUT A BIAS-RELATED INCIDENT),
PLEASE REPORT
THE INCIDENT.
STOP THE HATE
ACTS OF INTIMIDATION TOWARDS PEOPLE DUE TO
THEIR RACE, HOUSING STATUS, ETHNICITY, RELIGION, GENDER,
SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND ABILITY ARE BIAS CRIMES
IN THE SECOND DEGREE IN THE CITY OF EUGENE
541-868-2008
4725 Village Plaza Loop
Ste 101
Eugene OR
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M
CALL 541-682-5177 OR REPORT ONLINE AT
WWW.EUGENE-OR.GOV/REPORTHATE
J U LY
2 2 ,
2 0 2 1
3