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4A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 O PINION The First Amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridg- ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition their Government for a redress of greivences. Letters to the Editor Policy Th e Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside Th e Sentinel readership area will only be published at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Tricks and truths of sexual assault By Caitlyn May, editor cmay@cgsentinel.com E very 98 seconds, a sexual assault occurs in the United States. Th at is a fact; there’s data and research — provided by the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (RAINN) — to prove it. I’ve met Ann Curry twice. It was in her capacity as an alumna of the University of Oregon and, in both instances, she tossed away the public relations machine that is the business of higher education and urgently pressed towards the truth; the truth of reporting; the truth of the business. Th e truth is the truth. She talked about her thoughts on native advertising — the new practice that yields a partner- ship between journalism and advertising. “Orange is the New Black” will buy an ad in the New York Times if the Times agrees to run a story on female inmates in America. Th e story may be factual but only exists because a company paid for an ad. Curry said it made her uncomfortable because journalists should tell readers exactly what story we’re trying to tell and why. It made her uncomfortable because we shouldn’t trick people. And that’s why, as a journalist and a woman, it’s diffi cult to watch coverage unfold on Weinstein, Lauer, Moonves and Kavanaugh. It feels more like tricks than truths. It makes me anxious; the same sort of anxious I felt when Curry gave a tearful farewell aft er being fi red. And when Rose McGowan was ostracized. And when Weinstein’s abuse was so systematic and well-known that it reached the lowest common denominator — becoming ma- terial for sitcoms and award shows. I watch senators rally for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s career by classifying sexual assault as a teenage “rite of passage,” and I feel the same anxious sickness as when men tell me to smile. Th ey knew; they knew and did nothing. Weinstein’s banishment, Lauer’s termination — they’re just tricks. Th e truth is that corporations terminating sexual harassers and abusers now that the culture has changed is just a new way to exhibit power over the women. Firing these men so swift ly, based on the same truths that have been swatted away for years, shows it was always within their power to do so. Th ey just chose not to. Th ey chose not to until the potential loss of profi t rather than the reality of broken lives forced their hand. Th eir greed simply played the Cyrano to their sympathy so that it may be perceived as morality. It feels the same as watching the very senators who utilized military families during elections now second-guess Christine Blasey Ford, insisting the accusations against Kavanaugh shouldn’t derail his career — turning the same blind eye to the 18,900 military members who experience unwanted sexual contact according to the most recent data. Maybe those 18,900 service members were drunk. Because when women are drunk, the same sect attempting to dismiss Blasey Ford reasons that a woman has full authority of her faculties and therefore remains at fault. Th ese characteristics, however, don’t seem to apply for the abuser. Instead, they undergo a metamorphosis that defi es logic and reason and can only be attributed to the ugly depths of ego that says it’s not his fault. Because, for him, a heightened blood alcohol level excuses him from the burden of blame and the responsibility of guilt. He was drunk; it’s not his fault. She was drunk; what did she expect? It’s why college basketball players get to keep playing despite facing a forcible rape charge — because there is an argument that accusations shouldn’t ruin their lives. It’s an argument indicative of a broader narrative: Th at accused men’s lives hold a greater value that can be tarnished while the accuser’s life isn’t worth half as much. A collegiate basketball career weighs more than a lifetime of emotional health and stability. Th e women are speaking up and the system is tumbling down. But the troubling thing about this fl awed revolution is that the system was built in the fi rst place. Th ere was an institutional decision to protect the abuser as an “asset” and discredit the victim as a “liability.” Even in the instances when men fi nd themselves the recipient of a pink slip, a debate emerges over what they’re owed and the disturbing argument that they are entitled to their bonuses and salaries. More so than she was entitled to her body. More so than she was entitled to her choice to say “No.” A choice guaranteed by the freedom of speech granted to her — essentially — a full 144 years aft er he earned the same right by simply proclaiming he had it, granted to him by God. And when people ask why women don’t come forward, it’s because they don’t understand all of this. Th ey don’t understand that 94 percent of women experience PTSD aft er being assaulted and 13 percent attempt suicide. Th ey don’t understand that 994 accused assailants will go free for every 1,000 accused. In other words, 99 percent get away with it. And they don’t understand that while one woman is deciding whether or not to come forward — whether or not she was raped “enough” for it to count — she doesn’t even get two minutes (120 seconds) to make the decision without it happening to another woman somewhere else. LETTERS Some veterans have no knees to kneel on Some NFL players have ex- ercised their 1st Amendment right to take a knee during our National Anthem. Our armed service members have fought and died to sup- port the right of free speech. A signifi cant amount of our wounded warrior veterans don't even have knees to kneel on if they wished to. Th ink about for a second… —M.F. Gotcher Cottage Grove Great ‘First Harvest Moon’ Th e autumn was brought into the Grove well this past Saturday at the Harvest moon Benefi t Concert. We were de- lighted to have so many young Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Send letters to: nhickson@cgsentinel.com or cmay@cgsentinel.com HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS Oregon state representatives Oregon federal representatives • Sen. Floyd Prozanski District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@ state.or.us • Rep. Cedric Hayden Republican District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301 Phone: 503-986-1407 Website: www.leg.state.or. us/hayden Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us • Rep. Peter DeFazio (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 • Sen. Ron Wyden 405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: wyden.senate.gov Phone: (541) 431-0229 • Sen. Jeff Merkley Email: merkley.senate.gov Phone: 541-465-6750 C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-3325 Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher Gary Manly, General Manager ..................................................... Ext. 1207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Allison Miller, Multimedia Marketing Specialist ....................... Ext. 1213 amiller@cgsentinel.com Editorial people attend. Th ere were quite a few fami- lies with kids and youth at this kid friendly music event at the Cottage Grove Armory. All the artists who preformed were very impressed with the warm welcome shown by Cottage Grove. About $1,400 was raised by the show and was divided equally among the four par- ticipating organizations, Mu- sic Money 501C3, KSOW real rural radio, Cottage Grove’s Swinging Bridge and Cougar Mountain Farm. Th e organizing committee has a lot of people to thank. First of all our generous spon- sors. Please help our commu- nity by shopping locally and supporting these businesses who help make this a reality: Th e Brewstation, Brad’s Cot- tage Grove Chevrolet, Banner Bank, the Opal Center for Arts and Education, Green Day Garden Supply, B&A Automo- tive and Boyce and Sons land- scaping and building supply. Also the City of Cottage Grove helping with the venue and supporting the techni- cal needs for a quality, down- home show. Lastly, thank you to all of the volunteers who showed up to help with set up, educating our community at the info ta- bles, and with the thankless task of taking it all down again aft er the show. So thank you for your support, coming out, dancing and being a part of what makes Cottage Grove a great place to live! —Dana Merryday Cottage Grove Big, loud truck just a sign of vanity I live on a second fl oor apartment. I can hear and see these things at all hours. Big trucks. I was out shopping recently one morning only to fi nd upon my return that one was parked in my very clearly assigned parking space. Aft er parking, I told them that they needed to move on. My request was returned with a most hostile response. Someone who drives a new, noisy, $50,000-plus truck who has obviously never seen any scratches in the bed is surely only doing so for reasons of vanity. Th is sort of conduct must end. Usually it is young males who responsible. Where they get the money for these trucks is beyond my comprehension. — Charles Ames, Cottage Grove Ned Hickson, Managing Editor...............................................541-902-3520 nhickson@cgsentinel.com Caitlyn May, Editor. ....................................................................... Ext. 1212 cmay@cgsentinel.com Zach Silva, Sport Editor ................................................................. Ext. 1204 zsilva@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Mandi Jacobs, Offi ce Manager ...................................................... Ext. 1200 Legals, Classifi eds ................................................ Ext. 1200 mjacobs@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor ............................................... 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