Right-wing writers such as Jerry Ritter (Letters 12/23) like to claim that Portland burned during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Nonsense! Mostly a number of dumpsters were set on fire with no buildings suffering serious structural damage. Compare this to Detroit in 1967 or Los Angeles in 1965 and 1992 with over 1,000 buildings burned in each. The great Portland fire of 2021 joins the ranks of other right wing delusions such as the stolen presidential election, government pedophile rings and microscopic tracking devices in COVID vaccines.
More histrionics arise from Ritter as he blames gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek for not “addressing the Marxist mayhem ravaging Portland.” Kotek and others passed emergency legislation to protect BLM protestors whose constitutional rights were routinely being disregarded by Portland police and federal agents. Ritter apparently does not believe that civil rights should extend to people of color and their allies.
Kotek as Kate Brown on steroids? If that means someone who will save the lives of tens of thousands of Oregonians through an aggressive approach to COVID, someone who fights climate collapse, protects our forests and fisheries and someone who promotes equity and safeguards the rights of all Oregonians, then sign me up.
Chuck Areford
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
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