The Battle for Your Soul on the Streets of Downtown Eugene

Eugenians' generally preferred disposition is that of the peace-love-and-happiness-hippie-house-painting-type already described earlier in this blog. But, when the oft-recreational-drug-induced state of oneness with all of nature and mankind is unable to be conjured, an acceptable substitute for most Eugenians is the state of disgruntled anarchist (and often incendiary [in the most literal sense of the word]) protester. Pretty much every day one can find protesters of all shapes and sizes gathering at city hall--and other places around town--disseminating their message.

I am currently very far away from Eugene, so I will have to use my background in the fine arts to present a visual approximation of this daily sight:



Something that compounds this white-knuckle drive for near-constant protest is the unique relationship between frequent residents of the downtown Eugene and the Eugene Police Department. Occasionally, this unique relationship can ascend higher up into the ranks of municipal government, to the extent that a former mayor of Eugene referred to the city as "the anarchist capital of the United States." (Jim Torrey, 1999)

A Scene from Seattle 1999 WTO Protests, Blamed on Eugene Residents

Just a couple of years before the WTO protests shown above, Eugene itself had its own smaller-scale experiment with civil disobedience when several old trees in downtown were slated to be cut down to the chagrin of local residents. Events unfolded something like this:

Given this general atmosphere, it is no wonder how a relatively peaceful Saturday evening could be peppered to include the very public display of one's personal convictions. Such was the case a few Saturday nights ago, when a break from work enabled me to witness this interesting scenario.

In a nation which largely identifies itself as Christian, delivering such a message in a public placed might be embraced--underscoring for passersby their own deeply held religious convictions. Such was not the case, however, in our city of Eugene. As the company trolled through the streets of Eugene, hoping to resonate with some of the downtown residents, they were followed by some of these residents, politely offering an alternative viewpoint on improvised protesting signs made out of cardboard.

Here are some pictures of how things unfolded: