The Pacifica Forum was a discussion group in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
, United States. It was hosted by retired
University of Oregon professor Orval Etter.
It culminated a long slide into extremism by ceasing operations after Etter's death and has not been reconstituted.
Purpose
According to the group's founder, Orval Etter, the Pacifica Forum's purpose was to "provide information and points of view" on "war and peace, militarism and pacifism, violence and non-violence." The group was named the Pacifica Forum after a San Francisco-area supper club that had discussed similar issues.
When it was founded in 1994, the Pacifica Forum had a generally
left-wing orientation. However, in recent years it has also hosted
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
speakers. Two regular members and presenters at the forum made a very public disassociation in August 200
when it changed direction, publishing a guest opinion in the ''Eugene Register-Guard'
that expressed mild criticism of having a neo-Nazi like Mark Weber as a lecturer along with extensive detailing of how the extremist slant would hurt the group's efforts to focus on the evils of Zionism.
After hosting two
Holocaust denial, Holocaust deniers, it was listed as a hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
A 2008 report by the SPLC stated, "The number of people attending Pacifica Forum meetings is less than half what it was two years ago — and it's mostly a different crowd. Among those who left were Mariah Leung and Jack Dresser, who regularly made presentations on Israel and Palestine as well as on other topics related to war, peace and justice. Dresser, a former Army psychologist during the Vietnam War, told the Intelligence Report that after the Anelauskas lectures, he spoke to Pacifica Forum attendees about the psychology of racism and its consequences, showing photos of lynchings and anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda posters. "Since Pacifica Forum is a public forum, Mariah and I had no objection to attendance by the self-described 'white separatists' and even entertained some hope of modifying their views," he emailed. "However, we could not allow them any control of programming in a forum with which our names were regularly associated. Orval declined to exclude their influence in programming decisions, and we thereupon formally dissociated ourselves." Its regular attendees respond that the forum is not a membership organization, and does not hold any positions itself. It offers a platform to all political views, including
Zionism and
anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
.
Orval Etter
Orval Etter was an emeritus professor of planning, public policy, and management, a musician, and a pacifist who was a conscientious objector during
World War II.
Etter died in 2013.
University of Oregon
Other than its meeting place, and having a retired professor as its founder, the group is not affiliated with the university.
The group previously met in a room at the
Erb Memorial Union
The Erb Memorial Union (EMU) is the student union building of the University of Oregon (UO) in Eugene, Oregon, United States.
History
The building was constructed in 1950. It was named for Donald M. Erb. Two subsequent additions were built in ...
at the
University of Oregon (UO).
In January 2010, it was moved by UO to the less centrally located
Agate Hall
Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancie ...
at the edge of campus. In March 2010, the group was moved to the Baker Downtown Center, still part of the UO campus but located in downtown Eugene, with UO citing "declining attendance" as the reason for the move.
Controversies
The Pacifica Forum was described by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2010 as a "formerly left-wing discussion group that has increasingly embraced right-wing extremism."
It was listed as a
white nationalist hate group
A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race (human classification), race, Ethnic group, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any o ...
by the SPLC in 2009.
Valdas Anelauskas, a
Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
immigrant who describes himself as a
white separatist, hosted a series of Pacifica Forum talks in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Another speaker, Jimmy Marr, described
Martin Luther King Jr. as a "moral leper and communist dupe", and that the
American Civil Rights Movement was funded by
Jewish communists and the
USSR in an attempt to incite violence. Orval Etter and many other attendees strongly reject this perspective.
The group hosted right-wing intellectual
Tomislav Sunic
Tomislav (, ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, that is widespread amongst the South Slavs.
The meaning of the name ''Tomislav'' is thought to have derived from the Old Slavonic verb "'' tomiti''" or "'' tomit" meaning to "''languish ...
, former
Croatian diplomat and author of ''Homo Americanus: Child Of The Post-Modern Age'' as a speaker in June 2008.
David Irving was also a featured speaker during the same month, speaking on his imprisonment in Austria for
Holocaust denial.
In November 2007, Mark Weber of the
Institute for Historical Review, appeared at an event organized by the Pacifica Forum. Weber was billed by the group as "America's most prominent revisionist historian". The Weber event was promoted using a flyer that depicts a snake curled in the shape of a
Star of David
The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles.
A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
and the headline: "Free Speech versus Zionist power". The meeting was attended by an estimated 60 people.
Orval Etter attended both the Irving and Weber talks, and states that both men are legitimate historians. The SPLC claims he stated, "I admit that there were some bad things done to Jews during World War II, but I don't believe that everything they claim is truthful."
Etter and other regular attendees say the same of the SPLC, and gave a series of talks during 2009, based on the research of
John Tanton, who criticizes the organization for inaccuracy.
The former president of the University of Oregon,
David B. Frohnmayer
David B. "Dave" Frohnmayer (July 9, 1940 – March 10, 2015) was an American attorney, politician, and academic administrator from Oregon. He was the 15th president of the University of Oregon, serving from 1994 to 2009. His tenure as president w ...
, criticized the Pacifica Forum and stated that its views do not represent those of the university. The forum is the only group Frohnmayer has singled out in this way. It has also drawn criticism from the University of Oregon
Hillel
Hillel ( he, links=no, הלל, lit=praise) is a Jewish masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to:
Given name
* Hillel the Elder (110 BC–10 AD), Babylonian sage, scholar, and Jewish leader
* Hillel, son of Gamaliel III (3rd century), ...
, a
Jewish student group.
The forum had access to campus facilities, despite attempts by local anti-hate campaigners to evict it, due to a university policy allowing retired professors to host meetings on campus.
In December 2009, speaker Jimmy Marr gave a presentation entitled: "National Socialist Movement: An Insider's View of America's Radical Right". During the presentation, Marr invited those in attendance to join him in giving the
Sieg Heil salute. Marr also showed video footage from a
National Socialist Movement National Socialist Movement may refer to:
* Nazi Party, a political movement in Germany
* National Socialist Movement (UK, 1962), a British neo-Nazi group
* National Socialist Movement (United Kingdom), a British neo-Nazi group active during the lat ...
demonstration in
Phoenix, Arizona. According to a report in the ''
Eugene Weekly'', the video shows one of the speakers pointing at a protester and shouting: "YOU are a
Jew! A traitor Jew!".
To the frustration of some Pacifica Forum members, Marr's hardcore Nazi views were completely embraced by Etter and set the tone for the group's programs, contributing to the exodus of former supporters of the Forum who no longer could stand being around people like Marr (https://www.dailyemerald.com/news/pacifica-forum-member-walks-out/article_51e4bdd8-1de4-5e11-bd96-08783e442921).
On January 8, 2010, Pacifica Forum held a meeting entitled "Everything You Wanted to Know About Pacifica Forum but Were Afraid to Ask".
[ Of the seventy-five people in attendance, about half were protesting the forum.][ The protest was organized in reaction to Marr's December speech.][ The forum's supporters responded that the group champions free speech and has nothing to do with Neo-Nazism.][ One angry and tearful UO student spoke to Valdas Anelauskas, saying that statements he had made in the past had made her feel unsafe.][ At that point ]ASUO
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
student body president Emma Kallaway asked the Pacifica Forum members to leave the building.[
In early 2010, a ]swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
was found spray-painted into the carpet of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Queer Alliance, in the basement of the Erb Memorial Union. A computer was also vandalized with black paint. It was speculated to be related to a recent discussion by the Pacifica Forum held about the meaning of the swastika.
Response
According to the SPLC, Orval Etter responded to accusations of antisemitism by stating: "If you rub a substantial number of Jews the wrong way, you're anti-Semitic ... In that sense, I have to admit that the Forum and I, in particular, are anti-Semitic." Etter and the forum's regular attendees contest this and most of what the SPLC has written about them, arguing that the forum is not pro- or anti- anyone, but an open discussion group that holds no positions. A report in the '' Oregon Daily Emerald'' stated that Etter did not consider himself antisemitic.
References
{{Reflist
External links
pacificaforum.org Official site
University of Oregon
Defunct organizations based in Oregon
Organizations based in Oregon
Freedom of expression organizations
Antisemitism in the United States
White nationalism in the United States