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WW
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letters to the editor via mail, e-mail
or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include
the author's street address and phone number for verification.
Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less.
NOOSE WITH AN EDGE
I'm writing to comment on a Nov.
8 article, "Rac_sm?" by Philip Dawdy. The question that
hasn't been asked is "why?" Why did coworkers of
Lynice Morgan see fit to construct a noose in the work-place;
why did her supervisor have one hanging in his office?
I, too, believe that nooses and talk of gang-bangers could
be "racially intimidating." Even if it hadn't been intended,
a noose suggests a hanging, which represents death, recognizable
across cultures. Not a joking matter, folks.
And what exactly is a "reasonable" African American? Why
hasn't anyone called attention to the problematic procedure
of someone determining African Americans as "reasonable"
or not? Is it truly unreasonable to question the
motives and actions of others when we continue to live in
a racist society? Give me a break! If you can get arrested,
beat and/or killed for DWB (driving while black) and, as
far as I'm concerned, JBB (just being black), all people
of color have to be on their toes and watching their backs.
In a nation whose past is bloodied by thousands of lynchings
and senseless, racially motivated mob killings, the noose
can be as offensive a symbol as the swastika. Just because
white folk don't get it, doesn't mean it can't come across
that way.
We live in a complex society where social responsibility
is to watch what you do and say, and to educate ourselves
out of the darkness of ignorance. When we forget our collective
history, we also succumb to societal stupidity. A situation
like this reinforces my belief that white America suffers
from a severe case of memory loss.
Elsie Achugbue
Tigard
HANGING CADS
As a 40-year-old white male, I was shocked to find out
I have been been racially insensitive, and have unknowingly
been perpetuating hatred. I'm referring to the hangman's
noose ["Rac_sm?," WW, Nov. 8, 2000].
I was raised in rural Clackamas County. My father, born
in 1900, was a ranch hand/cowboy in the '20s and '30s. As
a child, he taught me many things about the old West, one
of which was tying a hangman's noose. While none of my friends
were impressed with my shoveling or wood-chopping skills,
they thought the noose was "cool," as young boys will do.
So whenever I would find a piece of loose string, cord,
whatever, I would fashion a noose and give it to whomever
would be around. Still do occasionally. (While I never tracked
what happened to them, I'm pretty sure nothing more than
a G.I. Joe was ever hanged by one.)
Besides the mechanics of the noose, while showing me how
to tie it, he explained to me how and for what it was used.
In what he referred to as "the old days," the noose was
used to execute criminals, convicted of murder or stealing
a horse. Murder, for obvious reasons; a horse-thief because
in those days a horse was a person's lifeline (transportation,
farming, etc.). He also explain how laws have evolved, and
that this was no longer used. Race was not brought up.
What does it symbolize for me? Behave yourself!! This
is what happens to criminals. As lynching is not part of
my heritage, the thought had not crossed my mind. But I
can see how it could be offensive to someone who has experienced
that kind of awful hatred.
This is where communication comes in. Maybe, like me, the
people playing with these pieces of rope were not aware.
(To me, the Confederate flag just meant you were from the
South, not necessarily a redneck. I didn't know....)
For those of you I have offended, please pardon my ignorance.
It helps to know what bothers people.
Charles Willcoxon
Northeast Flanders Street
HIPPIE HUGGERS
I'm responding to your article describing the band Disco
Biscuits [Music Listings, WW, Oct. 18, 2000]. I've
never seen them before or heard their music, but I realize
that the Willamette Week never misses an opportunity
to bash "hippies" or anything remotely related to "hippies."
Yes, I also get annoyed with lazy young people from rich
families spare-changing it on Hawthorne. But, believe it
or not, the Willamette Week has many readers of the
hippie persuasion who are intelligent, mature people with
discriminating musical tastes. If your objective is to alienate
these readers, I think you're doing a great job. Maybe,
just once in a while, your writers could attempt to critique
this type of music based solely on its musical merits, and
resist the temptation to denigrate the audience and mock
their values and lifestyles.
David Rosen
Southwest Dolph Street
THE SAFETY DANCE
While Philip Dawdy's comprehensive article on recent high-school
football injuries ["Blood Sport," WW, Oct. 18, 2000]
was poignant, I had to laugh later when I picked up The
Oregonian's Science section and read the following Research
Notebook headline: Ballet dancers injured as often as athletes
who play contact sports.
The Oct. 18 article indicates that research performed by
a psychology professor at the University of Washington revealed
that the injury rate for dancers studied over an eight month
period was 61 percent--comparable to that of athletes in
"collision sports" such as wrestling and football.
Granted, the study did not mention "life-threatening injuries"
as your article did, but I find it curious that so much
worry and outrage is dedicated to football. Or is it? Perhaps
Willamette Week is simply looking for the next pot
to stir, and what better target than a politically incorrect
activity where boys are encouraged to be aggressive and
strong rather than peaceful and sensitive.
Call me an old-fashioned bigot if you like, but I say boys
will be boys and most of them are going to spit, fight,
drive too fast and knock each other down, football or not.
It's called testosterone, and it's a volatile substance
when used outside
a structured setting like organized high-school sports.
Curtis D. Smith
Northeast Alberta Street
Philip Dawdy responds: The study to which Mr.
Smith refers collected injury data from 46 members of the
Pacific Northwest Ballet Company in Seattle over a period
of eight months; the catastrophic injury data for high-school
football has been collected yearly for the last 18 years
and drew from millions of players. Also, nowhere in my article
did I suggest that high school football was politically-incorrect;
indeed, I played--and loved--it.
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