In the book 15:17 to Paris, to which Alek Skarlatos contributed, he candidly discussed his uneventful National Guard Afghanistan tour, comparing himself to a “mall cop.” One of his assignments was to assure the local cleaning crew didn’t steal toilet paper.
He admitted major blunders: Almost stepping on an unexploded mortar shell. Taking target practice on a derelict Soviet-era tank with .50-caliber armor-piercing rounds and narrowly avoiding killing numerous children. Irresponsibly losing his high-security GPS device that could have caused him and his superiors to lose rank.
With his childhood friends and others, Skarlatos helped disarm perhaps Europe’s most inept would-be terrorist. His buddy Spencer subdued the jihadist. Clumsily assisting, Skarlatos could have easily killed both, including his friend in the process, but for the Moroccan’s AK-47 misfiring. Skarlatos then endangered himself and other passengers by walking through the train with the rifle, fortunately not encountering any armed law enforcement passengers, or there might have been a calamitous shootout.
I asked Skarlatos if Chris Harper-Mercer, killer of nine at Umpqua Community College, should have possessed guns? Skarlatos didn’t know his name, faulting Harper-Mercer’s “irresponsible” mother, though Harper-Mercer purchased some firearms he used. Skarlatos naively contended if everyone could carry guns, that would have prevented massacres, claiming prohibitions wouldn’t help. Skarlatos said he always carried at UCC, last attending in 2014.
Skarlatos’ stump speech champions deforestation, with him not vaguely understanding the causes and consequences of anthropogenic global warming.
Over 100 attended Skarlatos’ Florence outdoor speech: Only three, including me, wore masks.
Frank Smith
Florence
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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