Early Wednesday morning, vandals attacked three locally owned small businesses in the campus area.
Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a giant news item, although given the proximity of the businesses to our area and the fact that students are frequent shoppers in these stores, it would be newsworthy. Ordinarily, an editorial probably wouldn’t be written about it. If we did tackle the topic, it would be straightforward and easy: Vandalism bad, local businesses good.
And in this case, we do believe those things. But the vandalism reported in Thursday’s paper (“Vandalism victims mull likely connection,” ODE, Feb. 6) seems to have a link adding a terrible dimension to the story. At all three locations were found copies of a recent Emerald containing a story about those same businesses speaking out about shoplifting (“Businesses hope shame can stem shoplifting,” ODE, Feb. 4).
At first, we were dumbfounded. Was the perpetrator someone angry that their “right” to shoplift was being threatened? Could someone really get angry about such a ridiculous idea?
Then we heard that anti-capitalist phrases were scrawled on the newspapers that were left behind. Surely, this is a red herring. Anti-capitalists intent on destruction of the system are generally planners. They generally do not put their fists through plate glass windows in the middle of the night in 30-degree temperatures and leave blood behind. This act implies intoxication and irrational anger, not ideological (if misguided) attempts at social change.
In any case, the community should be outraged. Local businesses are critically important to the quality of life of any city — and this is especially true in Eugene, where the culture is one of specialty and community. Shoplifting and vandalism endanger small businesses as well as the city’s spirit.
Additionally upsetting, though, is the potential chilling effect of an apparent tie between a media report and an act of retaliation. If the intent of the vandalism was to punish the businesses, then this is an act of terrorism, and the community should speak out.
So we are speaking out. The original story about shoplifting was not sensationalized or inflammatory, and it could just as easily have been produced by some other media outlet. At first, we did have a sinking feeling of being involved, until we remembered that no one committed crimes in response to other stories that could have angered readers: tuition increases, volleyball players quitting the team or student group funding increases and decreases. Why this article?
There is no quick answer, but we hope that those responsible are caught and prosecuted. We extend our sympathy to the stores involved. And we hope that local businesses continue both to be a valued part of the community and to speak out about issues that threaten their ability to survive.