Downtown Mall

Just have to say those two words to the FM committee still pushing for the street closure. Some of them, relative newcomers to our town, don't remember that unfortunate couple of decades which some say killed downtown and sent all of the shoppers to VRC. We had streets closed to traffic, and they were, at great expense, later re-opened for cars. It's one of those institutional trauma things that no one wants to talk about.

Closing streets in downtown Eugene is bad for business. I don't even drive in downtown, I always bike, and I'm all for getting rid of all cars and parking lots, but that's not the world we live in. Closing the street would hurt the farmers too.

Last night at our SM meeting a couple of members of our "sister organization" came to see what open meetings are like. Actually one of them has been one of our associated members since the beginning, and knew all about it. One of the effects of their presence was to remind us that there are many individuals who make up an organization, and committees or even Boards don't always speak for them. When presented with our research and projections, many of the members of the FM might agree that closing the street isn't such a rosy concept, but the information isn't necessarily being given to them to consider the decision fully. Seeing the farmers at our meeting gave us hope. It was a highly significant step forward.

We've struggled with how to dialogue with them, since it seems inappropriate for us to contact their membership directly with our concerns, at least by mail. The formal meeting we had didn't make much progress, though we all claimed to want to cooperate. The public forum that ought to be in process for a decision like this isn't in place yet, and media coverage can distort issues, so we're going slowly, person by person, to just communicate with our friends. Most members of SM and LCFM are friends, which is one reason why this push for street closure has stung so badly.

It's ruining relations between our markets, something we've been working on diligently, since it is clear that both organizations benefit from whatever collaboration we can make. We all trade back and forth across the street. There are hundreds of long, friendly relationships. Tuesday Market depends on our cooperation. It seems like it is falling apart, and there's a lot to lose.

We think the people driving the decision are few, and in a kind of delusion. They got caught up in a lovely concept that isn't firmly grounded in what is already going on. It looks like a crusade.

At a recent ceremony the words "high and holy" were applied to our time there, and our purpose. It was religious language but had a much broader meaning, and it struck me that "holy" is a word often used to describe passion. It's just short of sacred, and it snaps us into a mindset of deep respect, reverence, and attention. To have a holy purpose is to be above the mundane, to be driven by something universal, to be set apart in a space that really matters.

Religious terminology sends us to a spiritual place, and the ancestral memories of holy purpose go way back to the primitive, way into the astonishment and wonder we experience when watching the Aurora Borealis, lightning, the view from the top of a mountain, the witnessing of the birth of a child. As humans we are drawn to call things holy to set them apart, to mark them and to create space around them where the concerns of the mundane may not matter all that much.

Think about the "high horse" people get on, the passion of crusaders for the environment, the singlemindedness of protesters, activists, defenders of children, all of the causes and stances that people take so seriously. Frequently people involved in causes use hyperbole to express their fears, to try to motivate the apolitical or apathetic, and to promote their causes.

In short, it's my opinion that the individuals pushing for closure of 8th are on a crusade that they are convinced is a holy mission. Their arguments for closure are thin. Everyone agrees that LCFM would benefit from more space, but instead of really working for alternatives, this closure is being presented as the only option. All of the mundane concerns such as how we will actually manage it on the ground are brushed aside, and the fact that a 41-year-old "sister" is opposed to the move is dismissed as inconvenient. All of the arguments for it, that it will create a vibrant destination, are talking about something that is already in place. People already come, they stay all day, they shop all over the area, and none of that needs to be rescued.

Frankly, in my observation, the LCFM is suffering from organizational trauma, and these crusaders think they have a mandate to save it. It's a dangerous position, and the singleminded passion is a destructive force. Quite a few of us came to our meeting last night vulnerable, hurt, dismayed, and frustrated by our position in this drama that has been created against our will, and is wasting our time, effort, and sapping our emotional strength. Many are angry. We're tending to lump all of the LCFM members in a group we can't work with and don't want to interact with. Thirty-plus years of working together is being tossed aside and destroyed, spreading their organizational trauma far and wide.

We're afraid. We're appalled that we are dismissed, when we can see our strength, stability, and community, see clearly how we come together to make solid decisions. We built up our immensely successful market with diligence and care. We have depth. Kim is serving her 20th year as Manager of Promotions and Beth has over a decade, Vi also. Many of our members have given their lives to our organization. It's not just a location.

Downtown is our land, and although we just rent it, we take care of it, too. We've made downtown vibrant and alive, and are working on significant challenges like the scene at the Free Speech Plaza, the sustainability issues that have reduced our garbage footprint so tremendously, and the other many fronts on which our volunteers and staff work. We had 20 volunteers at our meeting last night. We have depth.

When hyperbole surfaces at our meeting, we tend to try to ramp it down. We don't encourage drama. Passion is great and necessary but the truth is mundane. The truth is that we would survive a street closure, and the anticipated drop in income we expect it will bring, and we would be able to fix whatever issues came along with it, over time. We will find solutions to the FSP problems and the other issues we are working on, and we will even manage to repair and retain the friendships hurt by these recent differences with the farmers.

But we do hate to waste our time and energy dealing with deception, delusion, and derangement. Let's get this thing out of the way and get on with the real work on the ground. Saturday Market starts in less than a month. There is so much work to do! No time for drama.

The picture above is the Jell-O mask that I made for the figure, still not put together but almost ready. One of my fellow Jell-O artists, David Gibbs, said that the day of the show is a high holy day for us...part of my exploration of those words. I agree with him. Having it be the same day as Opening Day of the Saturday Market is almost unworkable for me, but somehow I will make it work. I wonder if I am so immersed in my project this year as a defense against the drama. Might explain a few things.