I went hiking on Sunday at beautiful serene Mount Pisgah. While hiking a white male runner breathing hard without a mask ran by me and shouted in my face, “A mask will not save you!”
I wish I could say this happened only once, but later on that same hike another white male ran facing me directly on a narrow trail, without a mask, breathing hard.
When I actually said something this time, I was called a cunt.
I do like to hike locally in Eugene, but unfortunately, I notice this pattern particularly with white men both at Pisgah and on Spencer Butte trails.
Are these angels speaking to my own sense of self importance, about its impending death, the ever changing mind stream, the emptiness of appearances? Or is it just another clueless entitled selfish white male?
Maybe he doesn’t know that I already had the COVID vaccine, and I wear a mask to support the safety of the medically fragile people I work with. Maybe he doesn’t think about the community of friends and family that are medically susceptible to the virus and feels that it is somehow taking away his freedoms.
So I thought I would take an ad out in the paper looking for a school to learn how to eviscerate white entitled arrogance.
There are many skills that I can share, but I would love to become a professional at this.
I can see the headlines: “Proud Boy eviscerated by proud girl.”
Christine Ratchinsky
Eugene
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
Comments are closed.