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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2018)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 KeizerOpinion KEIZERTIMES.COM Forget UGB when planning There are those who plan based on their wishes, then there are those who plan based on present condi- tions. The city’s River Road Revital- ization project is just in the talking stages, yet the topic gets tied up with an expansion of our Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) on the north border of Keizer. There are folks who are salivating over the possible opening of hun- dreds of acres north of the city for new resi- dential and commercial development. Building on land that is ripe for development will certainly be a boon for landowners and develop- ers alike. All who are serious about taking advantage of an expanded UGB have to know that it will not happen, if at all, until sometime far in the future. There are many hur- dles, political and fi nanical, to jump before Keizer will see hundreds of acres to develop. Discussions on the revitalization of River Road and Cherry Avenue need to be held without reference to a UGB expansion. Plan as if that will never be an option. Would the context of the discussion change? If you have no extra land to develop then you have to consider changing zoning codes within the current city borders to achieve the mix that is vital to attracting new business and categories, such as light industrial. A reality of our times is that retail is changing quite rapidly. The way people shop is evolving every year. More consumers shop online, brick and mortar store shoppers look for the values big box retailers offer. The retail sector on River Road and Cherry Avenue is but a small iteration of what it once was—that’s how progress and technology work. To revitalize River Road—which is a state highway—our leaders, gov- ernmental, civic and business, may have to look to offi ce parks, non- polluting light industrial and medi- cal as categories best suited for our main commercial street. If retail is the holy grail of Keizer development, it cannot be planned for in a vacu- um. It is important at this stage of discussions to ask what would need to be in place for desired retailers to locate to River Road. Once we know what the end-users want we will be in a better position to design a revitalized River Road. That worn-out saw, “if you build it, they will come” is not very viable these days. Let’s develop incentives for busi- ness to set down stakes in our com- munity. The city council should look at every rule or regulation that affects new commercial develop- ment—reduce or waive fees that will attract a company that adds a minimum number of new jobs. For example, if your business adds 25 new jobs within Keizer, your system development charges (for new con- struction) will be cut by 50 percent. It is important to get new em- ployers inside our city to offer jobs for some of the thousands of Keizer residents who leave town each day to work elsewhere. That would ben- efi t all concerned: residents would have a chance to work where they live, the city gets a new tax payer. Add in rezoning to promote mixed use in our downtown corri- dor and the city will have many new housing units to meet the needs of the city now, not in some far off fu- ture that is uncertain. —LAZ Council should vote for inclusion against hate crimes that marginalize mem- bers of our community. The Keizertimes edito- rial board is correct that Keizer’s city council should prioritize writ- ing a similar unequivo- cal position supporting inclusivity. Cathey Philbrick Keizer our opinion letters To the Editor: Kudos to the Keizer- times for taking the cou- rageous stand regarding hate crimes and prejudice in Keizer. The well- written series of articles under the headline, A Simmering State of Hate was highly informative. I commend Cyndi Swaney and group for re- questing the city council to adopt an inclusivity resolution, a state- ment declaring the city is a safe and inclusive space for everyone. I taught at McNary High School when the fi rst English as a second language (ESL) class started. Initially there were confrontations between some of the Anglo students and the new Hispanic students in the halls and after school. The school began a series of interventions not only to end the student confl ict, but also to support our new students and make it a proud school policy. Similarly, when gender related issues arose a staff member sponsored “The Gay Straight Alliance,” a weekly meet- ing for students and staff to work for inclusivity of LBGTQ students. It defi nitely takes positive institu- tional action to move inclusivity forward. The teachers union, the Salem- Keizer School District and the city of Salem have taken clear stands Where is the outrage? To the Editor: We all now know a hate-bias in- cident has occurred in Keizer (His- panic man assaulted waiting for son, Keizertimes, Aug. 31, 2018). This behavior should not be tolerated. Voices should be raised saying “Not in my backyard!” I would like to apologize to the victim and tell him I would be hap- py if he were my neighbor. It is time for us to support no on Measure 105 and demand an inclu- sivity resolution from our elected city offi cials. Carol Doerfl er Keizer Share your opinion Email a Letter to the Editor or submit a guest column to the Keizertimes. Deadline is noon Tuesday. Email to: publisher@keizertimes.com You don’t have to be a bigot to be a racist anymore By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS What is a racist? There was a time when the answer to that question was pretty clear-cut. A racist was someone who joined a group like the Ku Klux Klan, spewed racial slurs, or supported segregation. A racist was someone who thought that people of other races were inher- ently inferior. In the last decade or so, that’s changed. In a time of expanding defi nitions, you don’t have to be a bigot to be a racist anymore. You just have to have the wrong politics to be branded a racist, or race- baiter or race warrior. Or you can just be associated with someone who has the wrong politics. The Southern Poverty Law Cen- ter has listed David Horowitz, 79, a former 1960s radical turned conser- vative, as an extremist and “driving force” in the “anti-black” movement. Last week, The Washington Post ran a front-page story that reported that Ron DeSantis, the GOP candidate for governor in Florida, “spoke at racial- ly-charged events”—that is, he spoke at four conferences put on by the Da- vid Horowitz Freedom Center. What makes Horowitz anti-black? He is “a vocal opponent of repara- tions for slavery,” the Southern Pov- erty Law Center wrote. He also makes provocative state- ments. Like this one: “Unfortunate- ly, as a nation we have become so trapped in the melodrama of black victimization and white oppression that we are in danger of losing all sense of proportion. If blacks are op- pressed in America, why isn’t there a black exodus?” Horowitz’s tone can be insensitive. I think he’s dead wrong to dismiss black grievances as melodramatic and I believe he overstates white griev- ances. He has written things that make me cringe, but I’ve known him for years and he is no white supremacist. In fact, Horowitz was collaborating with the Black Panthers on a learn- ing center in 1974, when a colleague was murdered; he blamed the group for her death and began to move away from the left. Once the SPLC la- beled Horowitz as an ex- tremist, he was supposed to become so radioactive that others would associ- ate with him at their own peril. As DeSantis learned. According to The Washing- ton Post, you see, DeSantis not only spoke at Horowitz events, he also “recently was accused of using ra- cially tinged language.” After he won the GOP primary, DeSantis called his African-American Democratic opponent, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum “articulate.” The Republican also told Fox News that the last thing Floridians need is “to monkey this up by trying to em- brace a socialist agenda.” “Monkey,” critics argued, is a racist dog whistle. “Articulate” is racist because it can be condescending—as Sen. Joe Biden learned in 2007 after he praised col- league Barack Obama as the “fi rst mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” Biden apologized. Obama later picked Biden to be his running mate in 2008. DeSantis said his “monkey” remark had nothing to do with race. Without proof, one would expect DeSantis to enjoy the benefi t of the doubt. Instead he got a front-page story that implied he’s a race-baiter because he spoke at conservative confabs. Mark Krikorian is executive di- rector of the Center for Immigration Studies, a pro-enforcement group branded a “hate group” by the SPLC. He sees the SPLC as a left-wing po- litical organization now dedicated to other voices Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303 phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com Lyndon A. Zaitz, Editor & Publisher SUBSCRIPTIONS One year: $25 in Marion County, $33 outside Marion County, $45 outside Oregon PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY Publication No: USPS 679-430 POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Keizertimes Circulation 142 Chemawa Road N. Keizer, OR 97303 Periodical postage paid at Salem, Oregon (Creator Syndicate) Nominee could vote to overturn set law Practicing any religion from among all those offered throughout the world has not only been our way of life since the founding of the United States of America but is also protected by the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. It estab- lished every citizen’s right to prac- tice his or her religion or practice no religion whatsoever. The country’s found- ers were of different re- ligious backgrounds and thereby believed that the best way to protect religious liberty was to keep religion out of government. They ac- complished it by guar- anteeing a separation of church and state. They believed freedom of religion would prevent religious confl icts that had torn other nations apart and destroyed civilized societies. The First Amendment prohib- its government from encouraging, promoting and establishing religion in any way. That’s why the U.S. has no offi cial religion. It also means that the government may not give fi nancial support to any religion. Then, too, the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment gives every citizen the right to worship as he and she chooses. Nevertheless, that which the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights es- tablished as the nation’s foundation has not stopped those Americans who have sought to impose their religious beliefs and practices upon other citizens. The most common effort being those Americans who labored periodically throughout our nation’s history to have the Chris- tian faith adopted as America’s ex- clusive national religion. Among us are those Americans who’ve chosen to embrace re- ligiously conservative views, having their ori- gin mainly in the Ten Commandments. They have thereby vigorously railed against philander- ing, lying, self-promotion, the fl out- ing of laws, favoring rich over poor, using fear and falsehoods against others, and worshipping money. Yet they have voted to place such a person with these behaviors in the White House. As more and more information on this person has been revealed, they continue their sup- port in spite of overwhelming evi- dence and now seek through him to place a deciding vote in the Su- preme Court reversing the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, allowing American women to choose. Based on everything we know about Supreme Court nominee gene h. mcintyre Keizertimes marginalizing ideas that used to be mainstream. Politicians such as former Presi- dent Bill Clinton, Sen. Dianne Fein- stein, D-Calif., and the late Rep. Bar- bara Jordan, D-Texas, used to support enforcing immigration laws. Today, Krikorian said, their positions would be “branded as hate speech” by the SPLC. The SPLC also charged Horow- itz with hating Muslims because of his harsh criticism of radical Islamic terrorism and Palestinian groups op- posed to Israel. As a proof, the SPLC includes this statement, which really is a political argument: “The difference between Islamic fanatics, or Jew haters, and Hitler is that Hitler hid the Final So- lution, and the Iranians and Hezbol- lah shout it from the rooftops. And the whole Muslim world accepts it.” And here’s how you know the SPLC’s labeling is highly partisan. In 2016, Richard Cohen, the group’s president, wrote a piece titled, “Black Lives Matter is not a hate group.” “There’s no doubt that some protesters who claim the mantle of Black Lives Matter have said offen- sive things, like the chant, ‘pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon’ that was heard at one rally,” Cohen wrote. “But before we condemn the entire move- ment for the words of a few, we should ask ourselves whether we would also condemn the entire Republican Party for the racist words of its presumptive nominee—or for the racist rhetoric of many other politicians in the party over the course of years.” No, the SPLC would never con- demn the entire GOP as racist be- cause of Donald Trump. Better to cook the frog slowly. Start by isolating David Horowitz. Then let the r-word hang over anyone who associates with him. And then see where that goes. Brett Kavanaugh from his speeches and essays, they prove his conserva- tive religious views even though— in sharp contrast to his alleged mor- als—he is accused by a woman from his past of sexual assault. He does not shy away from rule by religion in government while it is consid- ered highly predictable that he will work not only to end the rights of women to choose but stands to op- pose and end a great many progres- sive measures that came into exis- tence during the 1900s in an effort to improve American lives and bring the promised freedoms in America’s founding ideals to all. In matters of citizen conse- quence he’s known by his record as a lawyer and federal judge as one who seeks, for example, to limit and reduce government social programs, exampled by Social Security, Medi- care and national health care. He’s also made it clear that he’s against immigration reform, criminal jus- tice overhaul, equitable taxation, fe- male equality, and, among a list too lengthy to report here, that he’s in favor of protecting the U.S. Presi- dent from any and all investigations, subpoenas and indictments . . . no matter the offense or act of lawless- ness. (Gene H. McIntyre shares his opin- ion frequently in the Keizertimes.)
