I want to thank Lookout Eugene-Springfield for the recent column on the proposed Amazon warehouse project and the “perils of principled protest.” The column articulated something that has been simmering beneath the surface of Eugene’s civic debates for years: Our city’s instinct to oppose development on moral grounds often ends up undermining the very outcomes we claim to want.

The column captured that tension with clarity and honesty. Too often, we treat every proposal — whether it’s housing, infrastructure or economic development — as a referendum on our values rather than an opportunity to shape something better. The result is predictable: delays, stalemates and missed chances, while the underlying problems only grow more difficult to solve.

What resonated most was the reminder that protest without pragmatism isn’t progress. Eugene deserves thoughtful engagement, not reflexive obstruction. We can hold strong principles and still recognize when a project offers tangible benefits to workers, families and the broader community. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

The column invited readers to step back from the noise and reconsider what responsible civic participation looks like. That perspective is sorely needed right now, and I appreciate it being put into words.

Thank you for contributing a voice of reason to a conversation that too often gets lost in short‑sighted absolutism. 

Curtis Taylor
Eugene