Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 12:00 am
What a thoughtful gift!
To Miranda Evans (D-H story on Young Voices, Nov. 22): What a wonderful and thoughtful choice you made for your birthday party! That was such a great idea and I hope it catches on with other kids. I'm sure you and your friends had more fun with the SafeHaven animals than if you had stayed home opening up gifts you didn't really need.
You must be a very nice young lady and a pleasure to know.
Charlene Dunten, Albany
Great art: See for yourself
Great art is closer than you might think.
The Fairbanks Gallery on the Oregon State University campus presents art exhibitions throughout the year that are fascinating, mind-bending, and free to the public. Gallery Director Douglas Russell has a real talent for finding interesting, thought-provoking, and entertaining artwork to show.
As a visual arts OSU student who has helped to design some of the recent exhibits, I've had the pleasure of getting very up close and personal with some of the artworks. For example, the November exhibit of drawings by Portland artist Pat Boas put a fun twist on the tradition of natural history illustration.
Don't take my word for it, though. See for yourself. The gallery's new website (www.oregonstate.edu/fairbanksgallery) includes a schedule, directions, hours, contact information, and the ability to join an email list.
When you go, make sure you look over the gallery's home, historic Fairbanks Hall. The building was constructed in 1892 as a men's dormitory in an eclectic architectural style, and once housed several well-known athletes as well as "Pinto" Colvig, the first Bozo the Clown and the voice of Goofy for more than 35 years.
See you there!
Noah K. Strycker, Corvallis
Deprive gangs of pot revenue
Arresting citizens who possess marijuana for personal use takes valuable resources that could be better spent on policing violent crime and addressing the recent epidemic of dangerous methamphetamine abuse.
One marijuana arrest consumes approximately nine man-hours of police time in arrest, transport, booking and paperwork. Federal, state and local enforcement of marijuana laws cost 7.7 billion of taxpayer dollars per year.
It is understandable that people would be concerned about decriminalizing marijuana.
However, history has shown that prohibition of popular recreational drugs, like alcohol, does not work, and education and regulation of substances, like tobacco, is the best way to protect adults and children without the intended social ills associated with lucrative black markets controlled by criminals.
According to a recent Harvard study, regulation and taxation of marijuana similar to alcohol would reap billions every year, while also drying up the source of profits for criminal gangs.
I am writing now to ask you to please do your part, publish my letter and thus help inform and educate the public about the foolishness of retaining prohibition on marijuana.
Ana Maria Archuleta, Sweet Home
Offended by 'Indian' mascots
Laura Clair (Mailbag, Nov. 23) stated that "their mascot shouldn't be changed because of one man being offended." I'm sorry to say it's more than one man. But as always, the "Native Americans" are still treated as no-class citizens, as they have been for hundreds of years. Since the white man came and decided he wanted all of our country.
By the way, please don't call me an Indian. I am "Choctaw." And might I add, very proud. Not our fault a man from another country got lost, thought he was in India, and thus gave us the wrong ethnicity. We are many different tribes, just as people from other countries are.
Look at it this way. If the mascots and teams had been named after African Americans, Hispanics, atheists, or Jewish people this wouldn't even be up for discussion. The ACLU and others would jump on this so fast you wouldn't know what hit you. I suggest you go online and find out why "Indians" were called redskins. It's not a pretty picture! I suggest the schools do a better job of teaching you about the American tribes.
Yes, I am insulted by the use of these names, as well as the fans dressing in our sacred headdresses. How dare they, after slaughtering our people. Something for the white man to be proud of. Huh!
We were mothers, children, old men and women, also young men who hunted and only killed what animals they needed to live and no more. My tribe was farmers. They taught the white man how to grow the crops. What did they get in return? Slaughtered.
The Caucasian people came here took our land without so much as blinking an eye. Placed us on reservations, not fit for animals, to starve while they lived very well on our lands. Made treaties they broke over and over, because they wanted what we had and took it.
And our tribe was one of the five civilized tribes. Maybe you should read up on the different tribes to understand them better.
I have a lot of respect for the teams that use names like Bears, Lions, Eagles etc. It shows more class and hurts no one!
Can the white man come up with names related to their ancestors to use and be proud of? Maybe not! Land thieves, child and woman killer doesn't sound good, does it? There are more names that could be used here, that you would find insulting and derogatory, to your race. But I won't type them. Because everyone deserves respect for their heritage.
Yes it's an insult to our ancestors and me, for anyone to use the derogatory names that whites gave my people, as a name for a mascot or team, simply for enjoyment of the game.
Think about it! How would you feel, knowing you had your country taken by other people, only to have insult added to injury by the use of derogatory names? I dare say you would care then.
Marie Little, Albany