Symbolism over Safety
Eugene’s City Council just voted to “pause” its use of Flock license plate cameras — right as multiple hits from those cameras helped bust a burglary ring targeting Asian American families. You can’t script timing that bad.
Opponents say these cameras will track trans people. That’s simply not true. Flock cameras don’t track individuals. They don’t use facial recognition. They capture license plates tied to vehicles involved in crimes. That’s it.
I’m gay. I live here. And I’m tired of seeing marginalized identities used to shut down tools that actually help protect us. These cameras have helped solve everything from car thefts to homicides. That’s not theoretical. That’s documented.
Meanwhile, police staffing is low and public trust is shaky. But instead of investing in tools that work, the council chose symbolism over safety. Again.
If this is what “progressive” public safety looks like, it’s not working. Not for the people actually getting hit.
I hope City Manager Sarah Medary and Police Chief Chris Skinner push back. I hope the council starts listening to residents who want real accountability — not just optics. And I hope Eugene Weekly stays on this — not just to critique the tech, but to track the consequences of losing it.
Curtis Taylor
Eugene
Common Sense from Srader
Doyle Srader uses common sense, suggesting to “step back from confrontation, think about unmet needs (EW, 10/16).” As studies have revealed, 56 percent of college graduates backed Kamala Harris last year. But among non-college educated voters, her support was just 45 percent.
Similarly, among those making more than $100,000 a year, she won 51 percent to Donald Trump’s 47 percent while losing those earning less than $100,000 by the same margin. There may be two Americas, one with power and privilege, another struggling to survive.
Trump during the campaign mentioned that beautiful word: groceries. He doesn’t come up with solutions for food prices, education or health care — on the contrary. But he offered recognition to those who felt abandoned and illusory targets for retribution as many populist politicians have in Europe and elsewhere.
Formerly, it was Jews, Gypsies and communists. Now it’s immigrants (i.e., “criminal drug dealers”) blamed for the misery and lack of access to middle class privilege. Srader’s piece doesn’t address the deception, the lying and the obfuscation to achieve success at the expense of the gullible voter who feels unseen. Yes, it’s about the Dems dropping the ball. It’s also about false promises, smoke and mirrors, channeling hate and racism and unparalleled naivety in the presence of a con man who ironically sells “delicious Bibles.”
maRco Elliott
Eugene
A Lefty and Proud
Jerry Ritter likes to associate people on the left in one lump sum, one cut from whole cloth. I beg to differ (EW letters, 10/9).
Although “the left” overwhelmingly despises Donald Trump (who doesn’t, aside from MAGA?) independents are alienated from the guy to an overwhelming degree.
“They were CAHOOTS funded,” and I say, why not? I ran a local community family soup kitchen, and I had first-hand knowledge of their good work.
Honestly, I am in favor of (responsible) enforcing immigration law. I support funding of local police, and I think that the police should enforce the drug violence that goes along with it.
Over the years Ritter has been an honest voice of conservatism, both in Eugene Weekly and the RG. And I welcome him as opposing cameras on Eugene’s city streets.
I am a former Rethuglican supporter, until after the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon. I recall the campaign of Barry Goldwater (The Conscience of a Conservative — remember?), and I supported the man. Now, however, I am a lefty and proud of it.
Michael Peterson
Eugene
‘At the YMCA!’
The Eugene Family Y will give the Navy access to youth who participate in Y activities, joining youth in fun activities during the week of Oct. 27.
After the Y received some accusations of being “woke” because of programs about racial and LGBTQ issues, the Y administration decided to address the national cultural problem of divisiveness by allowing the Navy access to their youth.
A further belief of the Y administration is that the Navy recruiters will not be recruiting during that week at the Y. Of course not. Most of the Y youth are not old enough to enlist. Military recruiters’ work is only partly to get signed enlistment contracts, but mostly to create a positive image of the military to facilitate recruiting.
We all know active duty military and veterans who are nice people — our neighbors, our dentists, our fellow employees, our family members, our friends. Some experienced benefits from enlistment, some suffered extensive injury, death, sexual assault, moral injury, etc.
You can be sure that military recruiters never tell potential recruits — and certainly not youth at the Y — that the overarching military mission is to kill people and blow things up.
It is not clear how the Y administration thought that promoting Navy week at the Y would solve divisiveness. It is clear that gaining a “Navy Week” at the Y is a big win for the Navy.
Carol Van Houten
Eugene
ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS
Spooky Season is Here
Hey Eugene, it’s spooky season. I wanted to highlight a cast of some very real villains in our midst. Instead of checking under their bed for monsters, renters should be checking their lease to see if their apartment is owned by a REIT. Real Estate Investment Trusts are publicly-traded Wall Street landlords, and their presence is growing in Eugene.
These companies go by vague-sounding names, like American Campus Communities and Greystar, but REITs also include the ranks of Blackstone and Blackrock. Nearly everyone has already heard of Blackrock and Blackstone scooping up single-family homes, so I’ll save their crimes for another day.
American Campus Communities owns several buildings just blocks from the UO. Greystar already has a sizable portfolio in Eugene serving both luxury and low-income tenants. Just a few weeks ago, they acquired a property on the new riverfront development, adding to their holdings in north and west Eugene. In August, Attorney General Pam Bondi settled with Real Page and Greystar on a nationwide price fixing scheme. What is alarming is that Greystar continued to use that price fixing software for nearly a year following the Biden administration lawsuit. To me, that’s a flagrant disregard for fairness and speaks to the need for communities like ours to establish safeguards.
It’s spooky out there, and no one is coming to save us from these predators. Our local leaders need to step up and take a stand against the REITs.
Brianna Camp
Eugene
Will It Last?
It appears that Donald Trump has somehow managed to put together what may well be a historic peace deal between Hamas and Israel. Normally, I’d be suspicious of the reporting coming from the media, but when a decidedly left-wing site like Huffington Post has nothing bad to say about this all, I have to sit back and wonder: Has this despicable man and his administration actually done something both important and right?
After all, this is the Middle East, where there have been hopeful occurrences since Israel became a nation state, but possibly, is this a fantastic turn of events?
Sadly, this peace deal could garner Trump a large surge in his approval ratings. Hopefully, this surge will pass, as after this all goes down, the majority of the people worldwide will be easily reminded what this administration is doing to the psychological and material well being of this country.
Still, what matters most for me personally is the issue of which the outcome is more important. Is returning dear ones to their families in Gaza and Israel — and possibly finally bringing some kind of peace to the region, along with ending the genocide committed by Isreal in Gaza — more important than Trump becoming more popular to us liberal and progressive folks?
I’m not making any judgments here: I’m just being real as my first thought on hearing the news was, “Oh shit, this may help this administration further its goals.”