Backhanded Apology

In my July 25, 2019, letter to the editor, I suggested that people boycott and picket all city and county sponsored meetings. That may have filtered down to action, as there have only been about 10 speakers at each of the two Eugene City Council public forums since the rules changes in January 2020.

However, the picketing idea may have become too extreme when a picket was set up for 15 minutes inside of the Elk Horn Brewery. I apologize if my words were in any way interpreted to encourage the disruption of the interior space of a Eugene business that routinely helps veterans and the homeless with free food and whose owner was homeless for two years.

I have decided to set an example for both Eugene Wake Up and the Homeless Advocates who don’t like the insinuation promoted by Eugene Wake Up that homelessness is somehow associated with crime. I will from now on refrain from literally laying flat on my back writing posts on Facebook that complain that others are not doing enough.

I hope that the next Facebook post that I make will be to state that my business in Roseburg has been set up, featuring valet style storage of personal belongings and bikes for a fee as part of a fair trade crafts store that simultaneously takes on climate change, living wage jobs at home and abroad, and homelessness.

John Thielking

Eugene