Take Back the Night
Whistles, hoots, “hey babys” and hollers are commonplace occurrences for women to hear every day, directed toward them while walking down the street, driving in their car or any other location. Although this is a societal discomfort, that is usually where it ends. But every once in a while, it does go too far and women are not only objectified, but attacked, hurt and even raped.
One out of every six adult women, or about 230,000 adult women in Oregon, has been the victim of forcible rape sometime in her lifetime. It’s a fact that most women are raped by people they know, but that is not true in every case. Women should not be afraid to walk alone at night, should not feel like her short skirt is a provocation for a sexual attack or that she ever invites rape.
A lot of people are bored with the repetitive messages and statistics about rape and sexual violence, thinking they have heard it all before. But rape is still extremely prevalent in our society; therefore it is an enormous crisis.
Violence ends when we educate each other, stand up for ourselves and hold perpetrators accountable. Don’t be a statistic, fight for your right to stay safe.
Statistics gathered from www.oregon.gov/DHS
Amy Theberge, publications manager,
Women’s Resource Center, PSU
Peace
Thanks, Riggs, for a particularly thoughtful opinion piece [“Come together,” April 27]. You hit a couple of very important nails right on the head. There is so much more than enough to go around. Seems so silly the amount of time we spend grabbing.
Christina Luther, assistant director,
Int’l ed., PSU
Bay of Pigs, etc
It’s especially telling of Mr. Adad’s political bent that he uses quotes from Chomsky [“Happy anniversary Castro, Qaddafi,” April 26], an icon in Communist Cuba. Admittedly, America is far from perfect but I think a little historical reflection is warranted. Mr. Adad has probably never been to Cuba, so he likely is speaking from what he has read. However, there are two works I recommend for your impressionable young scribe. The first is “Beyond all Hope” by Armando Vallares and the second is “The Black Book of Communism.” By the way, I am married to a Cuban and through the years have lived with and shared in their suffering under this latter-day Stalin. (Cuban saying: A bad bug lives forever.)
M O’Shea, writer
Canada
Pearl Jam
Good review of the album [“The vitalogy of Pearl Jam,” April 24]. I like your style of writing about music. Good descriptions. However, you forgot to comment on the best song on the album, “Marker in the Sand.” What’s up with that? Anyway, nice review.
U2 is selling out huge venues, but the media hasn’t forgotten about them, called them unpopular or irrelevant. They have said this about Pearl Jam though, and they were wrong.
Laura, student
Canada
Vih, engineer
So Cal
This is one of the best, straight-ahead rock reviews I’ve ever read. Excellent job.
Sameer Bhalla
Boston, Mass.
Excellent review! (And, an excellent album.)
Garrett Socling
Jersey Shore, Pa.