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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2018)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager SOUTHERN EXPOSURE Escape into dystopia T his season’s political theater has surpassed adjectives, leaving “sur- real,” “circus-like,” “outrageous” or “absurd” in the dust — policy based on tweets and politicians graded on their high-school yearbooks. The New Yorker’s Pulitzer Prize-win- ning media critic Emily Nussbaum describes this year’s television season as reflecting “a familiar modern mood, the feeling that we’re all living in crazytown.” The Nation called it R.J. MARX “The Dystopian Boom” — a season with “The Leftovers,” “The Good Place,” “Black Mirror” and “Electric Dreams.” “The opening of Netflix’s dense, trippy new limited series ‘Maniac’ does not give viewers much reason to feel hopeful,” writes the Hollywood Reporter. lebecq’s the burka and the veil. Both novelists take a cynical, almost hopeless turn. “The facts were plain,” Houellebecq writes. “Europe had reached a point of such putrid decomposition that it could not save itself any more than fifth-century Rome could have done. … Europe, which was the summit of civili- zation, committed suicide in a matter of decades.” Doyle to the rescue Orionbooks.co.uk ‘Submission,’ by Michel Houellebecq. Random House ‘Adjustment Day,’ by Chuck Palahniuk. ‘Adjustment Day’ When it comes to dystopian nov- els, Portland author Chuck Palahniuk is ahead of his time, known for measuring modern-day angst long before our current pinball political climate. “Adjustment Day” draws a future America doomed to a return to tribal- ism, a spinning gyre of miserable sub- servience, a mass of humanity beholden to a privileged few — and all defined by racial identity. In a single day, aca- demics, politicians and journalists are killed, Chuck their ears harvested Palahniuk as bounty. Television and radio stations, internet websites, all broadcast the same message at the same moment: “Adjustment Day is Upon Us.” There is no changing the channel. Names on a list are to be system- atically eliminated, but a key tenet of Palahniuk’s is “there is no list.” Inspired by an aged oracle named Talbott Reynolds, the political philoso- phy relies on strict racial apartheid and male dominance. This is a proletariat movement with America’s long-suffer- ing workers rising with blood force. With Reynolds’ aphorisms as guidance, the unemployed, underemployed, the steam- fitters and the press operators “see them- selves slay their oppressors and then rise to rule their own fiefdoms.” Some “hightail it to the border.” Oth- ers “suck death from a tailpipe in a closed garage.” The dirty work of the revolution is driven by men with “nothing to lose.” Recruits are those who hate the society that has “left them no means to achieve the status that all men crave.” Informants are rewarded with cur- rency made out of human skin, meant to be spent within 30 days or to rot away. All citizens are required to carry a copy of a blue-black book — to fail to do so could lead to being reported. Citizens of the former united states (sic) involuntarily shuttle to home- lands: blacks receive the South, renamed “Blacktopia”; whites to Caucasia, and gays to Gaysia; others exiled to their native homelands or warehoused in “retention centers.” ‘Submission’ Similar cultural unraveling occurs in Michel Houellebecq’s “Submission.” The novel provoked a stir after its 2015 publication and led to 24-hour police protection for the author after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks. Set in present-day France, the dysto- pia shift comes as Western culture gives way and the Muslim brotherhood ascends to power. “Many of the usual politi- cal issues don’t matter to them,” Houel- lebecq writes. “To them it’s simple — whichever segment of the population has the highest birthrate, and does the best job of transmitting its values, wins.” The narrator, a professor specializing in the work of 19th-century writer Joris- Karl Huysmans, is fired from his aca- demic position, along with everyone in his department: “They gave us two hours to clean out our desks.” As in “Adjustment Day,” all is set- tled in a flash — money is frozen, guards close down the university. The storm breaks, the fighting begins. “You could make out groups of masked men roam- ing around with assault rifles and automatic weapons. … It was impossible to get a clear picture of who was doing what.” Michel While Houellebecq’s Houellebecq world is less violent than Palahniuk’s, the repression is numb- ing, defeating intellectuals, artists, teach- ers and women. Especially women. “The summit of human happiness resides in the most absolute submission,” in Houellebecq’s fictional society. Women leave the workforce en masse. Palahniuk’s new leaders, like Houelle- becq’s Islamic elite, select their “home” wives, field wives, chambermaids — all required to undergo genetic testing to prove their worthiness. Women are “baby-making machinery” for chieftains. The birth of every child brings a govern- ment subsidy. Palahniuk’s women wear sexless gingham, aprons, clogs — “long sleeves and long skirts were the rule” — Houel- If after these reads you are in a state of utter despair and cable news fails to offer succor, as a palate cleanser I recom- mend Brian Doyle’s sunny, bittersweet novel “Chicago.” Doyle, the late, great Portland-based writer and editor, is best known for his Oregon coastal imaginings and kinship with Pacific Northwest culture. In “Chi- cago,” he writes a fictional memoir about a young journalist working for a Catholic weekly newspaper and experiencing the wonders of 1970s Chicago. His merry band of housemates is quirky, quizzical and loads of fun, as he establishes an intimacy between the most diverse of people, and in his own partic- ular way, with a dog named Edward who is capable of communication at the high- est level. Doyle describes the city down to the rattle of the El train and the whiff of Comiskey Park in a year the team even made a credible go for the title. I lived in the city at the time myself — 1977, when the Sox were in first place for most of the summer — and remember those real- life characters: Richie Zisk, Chet Lemon, Eric Soderholm and Oscar Gamble. (The White Sox finished third in the American League West.) The author zeroes in on details we don’t always observe: “odd fascinating corners and sights” — the city’s obscure fountains, remarkable trees, and “a hid- den aviary with more than a hundred par- rots and parakeets of every color and spe- cies, tended by a tiny old man who could not have been more than four feet high.” Advice from a Doyle character is a welcome antidote for the chronic dysto- pia that feels all too real: “Drive safely,” he writes in “Chicago.” “Be joyful. Be tender. Everything else is secondary to tenderness. Remember that.” R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s South County reporter and editor of the Seaside Signal and Cannon Beach Gazette. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Don’t disregard women’s pain, horror hortly after President Donald Trump’s election in 2016, I wrote a letter to The Daily Astorian detailing my kidnapping, rape and thwarted murder by a well-re- spected community member 45 years ago (“The ugly truth,” Nov. 18, 2016). I was devastated that Trump, with 19 women coming forward with allegations of sexual assault, was nonetheless elected and installed as president. The disinterest and dismissal by Trump’s base of these wom- en’s accountings felt like betrayal. I never reported the crime perpetrated against me because I knew no one would believe me. This week’s events only solid- ified what I already knew decades ago — shut up and bury your pain, or you will be shamed and blamed for someone else’s crime. To this day, I still live with the guilt and shame of what other women suffered as a result of my not reporting, but I digress. For those of you doubt Christine Blasé- Ford’s veracity and fall for the “confused” or “mistaken identity” rhetoric, envision this: Your life is threatened, with a hand over your mouth suffocating you, or, as in my case, a knife to your throat, with your attacker’s murderous eyes just inches from yours. That is a freeze-frame indelibly etched in your brain forever. Shame on all of you who consign wom- en’s pain and horror to the trash heap of “he said/she said.” KATHLEEN STRATTON ZUNKEL Warrenton S Something different than bigger jail? nce again, we face the decision to vote for a bigger, better warehouse for offenders, which then means much higher operating costs. Could we not con- sider other approaches to our legal “justice” system? O From Norway to New Zealand, North Dakota to California, communities are sup- porting incarceration that results in inmates who come to realize their human poten- tial, develop a sense of self-worth and leave prison with marketable skills. Recidivism rates plummet, and communities become safer. I would much rather have my tax dol- lars spend in a collaborative effort between Clatsop Community College and the Clat- sop County Corrections Division to develop educational programs, work release pro- grams and outcome-based incarceration. Staff in the Australian prison system were trained in the “Virtues Program,” a Canadian-developed approach to educa- tion that replaces deviant behavior based on anger and self-esteem issues with aware- ness of human potential inherent in all of us. Using the language of the “virtues” benefits were outstanding and long-lasting, and the cost was minimal. What are our expectations for our county corrections — more of the same, or some- thing different? TOD JONES Astoria Wev best qualified for county commissioner have attended literally hundreds of pre-election question and answer sessions for aspiring public office holders during my 50-plus years of casting an informed vote. None before have been of such local impor- tance as the current county commission race between Pam Wev and Peter Roscoe. Our local home rule is why this partic- ular race is so important. Our county com- missioners are the grassroots level of our local government, and many important deci- sions will be made by those individuals. Our lives may hang in the balance. After attending several local events, and listening to each candidate expound upon their individual skill sets, I noticed that can- didate Roscoe talks about “his accomplish- I ments” while speaking of his past history of involvement locally. Pam Wev doesn’t waste much time on her personal accom- plishments, but rather on her life work his- tory and those skills necessary to be part of a team, mapping the future for Clatsop County voters, and residents. I’ve made my choice, it was easy. Pam Wev is clearly the best qualified candidate to represent my county commission district and its residents. JAMES E. COUGHLIN Astoria Elk are enjoyable part of our environment he article “Gearhart City Council can- didates take on key issues” (The Daily Astorian, Oct. 2) needs clarification. The elk herd is not a City Council issue, as portrayed by the newspaper and candi- date, Jack Zimmerman, but falls under the purview of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). This has been explained in council and informal public meetings. The ODFW did not allow Costco, or Walmart, or urban sprawl to push the herd out of its environs, and into city streets. Most egregious is Zimmerman’s state- ment that the elk herd has hoof rot disease. I have seen elk with this debilitating disease, the symptoms of which are very apparent. The herd spent Oct. 2 in my yard, and I can say that none have this disease. ODFW has confirmed that the herd does not have hoof rot, so I decided to correct the record. It is disturbing that a candidate would be misin- formed, and spread misconceptions. The current council is pursuing a citi- zen’s suggestion to prohibit feeding of wild- life. They continue to provide information to citizens for ways to discourage elk from feeding on landscaping. They post warning signs on how to stay safe from aggressive elk behavior. These actions are within their responsibilities, and helpful to the citizens. I am one of the citizens who considers the elk an enjoyable part of our natural envi- T ronment. I don’t believe I am the only one holding this view. JOHN GREEN Gearhart Please vote ‘no’ on rec district bond hen I first discovered the Sunset Empire Parks and Recreation District, I was impressed with the facilities, consid- ering Seaside has so few full-time residents. I have been gardening in the Sunny Pool Garden for the past two years. While there, I watched while an extensive wheelchair ramp was built, a full-size basketball court reconstructed, and the playground for the youth center refurbished. I suspect these were not inexpensive projects. Now the dis- trict wants to tear all that out (including the community garden) and build a walking track and two indoor courts for $20 million. At the informational meeting on Sept. 17, I learned that the new facility was in the preliminary planning stages. Sur- veys revealed that the respondents desired, in order, an indoor walking track and an indoor basketball court. When asked about property lines, it was stated that city, school district and recreation district lines are somewhat intertwined in the area of the expansion. I also toured the existing workout rooms, and found them small but ade- quate. The middle school just next door to the recreation district property will soon be vacated. The fate of that property is now an unknown. This should be a consideration when planning this project. I feel that it is premature to request $20 million for this project. Remember that a larger facility will cost considerably more for operations. Improvements have recently been made, so let’s get some use out of those, first. Now is not the time to ask the taxpayers to pay for this project. Taxes are already too high. Please vote “no.” DIANE WELLS Seaside W
