Commissioners’ Brown Noses
To The Editors:
Re: “Lake Warriors,” by Sam Boykin (November 21). In the Palisades development question, the county commissioners had an opportunity to break from their traditional pattern. They could have made a courageous decision based on intelligence and foresight that actually looked beyond their brown noses and the next election. Instead, they followed the usual pattern of basically giving the developers what they want. They try to cover their duplicity by talk of the “toughest water quality standards ever imposed” in a comic attempt to look like leaders.
When Lake Wylie was first established, the promise was that it would provide inexpensive power, drinking water and recreational opportunities for all the citizens of the area. The lake is now surrounded by exclusive communities for the wealthy, like the planned Palisades, with true public access becoming more and more limited. The bottom line is the driving force behind these developments is not the integrity of the land and the effects on the quality of the water and the natural environment. Decisions like this have far reaching, long-term consequences. They should be arrived at only after exhaustive research and thorough investigation into all sides of the issue. Unfortunately, this type of wisdom, patience and openness is not often found in politicians. The people of this area, our grandchildren and their children deserve better.
Clarence Boshamer
Charlotte
Red Cross Gets Cross
To The Editors:
In response to Lucy Perkins’ recent commentary “The Red (Double) Cross” (CL, November 21): Apparently, Ms. Perkins is under the misguided impression that the American Red Cross did not begin helping people affected by the tragic events of September 11 until we announced the refocusing of the Liberty Fund on November 14. Actually, Red Cross workers were on the ground immediately responding to the World Trade Center and Pentagon disasters as well as the crash of Flight 93 in Pennsylvania, and many are still in New York City.
Despite Ms. Perkins’ assertion, pressure did not force the Red Cross to serve over 11 million meals, write checks totaling over $59 million to 3,053 families, provide over 188,000 one-on-one crisis counseling sessions and help 32,000 other families with financial assistance, shelter, clothing and other basic needs. The Red Cross provided the majority of this assistance prior to the November 14 policy change. Pressure did not cause the Red Cross to send 29 volunteers from Mecklenburg and Iredell counties to Washington, DC, and New York to serve food, do casework and offer professional counseling to those whose lives were ripped apart. It was not pressure that required this of the American Red Cross — rather, it was our mission. And as should be expected of us, the Red Cross has provided more humanitarian aid than all other agencies combined in response to this disaster.
Ms. Perkins also misunderstands how the American Red Cross used the donated blood. Within hours of the disaster, we were offering the long lines of people who showed up to give blood options to wait and give blood in the future and explaining that we were not sure if the donated blood would be needed for survivors of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks or whether it would be used for patients in our area. Even given those options, many people insisted on standing in line to give blood.
Some component of every unit of blood that was collected in the aftermath of September 11 (and that met quality and safety requirements) was used or is being used to help patients in need. Platelets are being used to treat cancer patients. Plasma is being used to create factors needed by those with hemophilia and other rare blood diseases, and red cells have been used to treat trauma and surgical patients and those who suffer anemia. A small percentage (around 3 percent) of the red cells that were collected in September were discarded because they had exceeded their 42-day shelf life, but considering the industry standard for blood banking is 2 percent, we barely exceeded the amount that is typically outdated during a normal time period.
Yes, the American Red Cross was dealing with an unprecedented situation, and like many of the organizations that were trying to help, we stumbled at times. The Red Cross is so accustomed to helping our community and our country be prepared for disasters, that even as we were assisting people affected by September 11, we were also planning to utilize some of the funds that were donated to bolster projects that would help our country deal more effectively with the next potential attack. But the American people spoke loudly and clearly saying that wanted all the money donated to support response to the September 11 tragedy to go to individuals and families who have been directly impacted. We listened and changed course. As Ms. Perkins pointed out, all the money donated to the American Red Cross Liberty Fund will go to victims and their families — to the tune of an additional $11 million for victims’ families over the next several weeks’ time.
The Red Cross has taken its lumps, primarily from national media. We have accepted criticism from some people in our community; and we have taken reasonable steps to rectify the situation. But we will not tolerate false claims or exaggeration of the circumstances.
Everyone is entitled to express his or her opinion — that is what makes our country such a unique and wonderful place. We merely ask that those like Ms. Perkins, who express their opinions as columnists, base them on facts and not misconceptions and inaccuracies. Stefanie Groot
Public Affairs Officer
Greater Carolinas Chapter,
American Red Cross
Hal The Urban Poet
To The Editors:
I thoroughly enjoyed Hal Crowther’s “Sidewalks of New York” article (CL, December 5). It was one of the most unusual examples of prose that I have read. Although he wrote of people, places and things, there was a second level of communication, for me at least, which conjured up wisps of images with poetic hints of emotions. Like they say Paris is; so is New York City to anyone who has really lived there and survived on his own. There are only a few writers, mainly poets, who can truly write about the great cities of the world. Hal’s short piece comes mighty close to qualifying.
Charles Blackwell
York, SC
Tara the Atheistic Socialist
To The Editors:
This is written in reference to “Killing Off Their Own Kind” (Citizen Servatius, November 28). Ms. Servatius’ writing betrays her education — or lack thereof — as being that obtained in a (socialist, unpatriotic, atheistic/agnostic) institution. If the history you have been taught was accurate and authentic, you would know that America was founded by conservative, predominantly Christian individuals!
You “wimpy” liberals advocate state government that would ultimately lead to a police state much like communism; Serbia of recent history, or presently in the Sudan and the Taliban!
Rather than the rape, murder, brutal and barbaric treatment of citizens which is characteristic of the above forms of government, we Christian conservatives “. . .go to the polls. . .” to elect candidates who support freedom, liberty, and the rights of individuals! Which reminds me — these assurances of life in America have been preserved at the expense of thousands of lives plus untold misery due to suffering and disability by those Americans who have given their literal best! (I doubt Servatius learned that in the history courses she has attended!)
Oh, it is not a “bother to go to the polls” — rather, a priceless privilege which we exercise. Now do you know why we go?! “Let’s roll!” — President George Bush. God bless!
Charles Nicholson
Concord, NC
Lucy the Astute Observer
To The Editors:
Sometimes I am embarrassed to tell people I’m a Christian; for example, when I see the kinds of letters that Creative Loafing printed from people blasting Lucy Perkins for her column on overzealous Christian evangelism (“Christ! What’s Wrong With You People,” November 28). I thought her comments, even though they were written in a style that was aggressive, were exactly right when it comes to the kind of in-your-face preaching many Christians subject other people to. Yes, Jesus said to spread the word, but that doesn’t mean doing it to the point of turning other people off, and surely not in a way that communicates a smug sense of superiority. How is that going to do any good? I find Ms. Perkins to be a very astute and very funny observer of the world today and I hope my “fellow” Christians won’t convince CL that she doesn’t have a place in your paper.
William K. Royall
Charlotte
Taking The Consequences
To the Editors:
Sometimes I wonder if the concept of responsibility ever occurs to some folks at Creative Loafing. So many articles seem to discuss victims, always innocent, but somehow suffering from the callousness of “society.”
I just read Amy Rogers’s article, “Struggling in a Wealthy Town” (December 12). It begins with a charming photograph of its subject, Temika Black, a very beautiful lady. She is described as a single mother of three, unable to afford her rent or car payments. She is struggling to make a life for herself and her children, while maintaining her three years of sobriety.
Yet, Ms. Rogers’s description of Temika Black simply blanks out the truth of those comments. Without a husband, or even a stable boyfriend, Miss Black has had three children. Having been a fatherless child herself, Miss Black passes that legacy on to her own kids. Single motherhood is a well-known contributor to poverty.
In addition, two references are made to Miss Black’s prior addiction to illegal drugs. In other words, while the rest of us were picking up the tab for her food stamps and rent subsidies, she had enough money to go out and buy drugs. It’s wonderful that she has broken out of that self-destruction, but let’s not pretend it didn’t happen.
Temika Black made some horrendous choices as a young adult. Some of them were merely repeating the mistakes of her own mother. She spent a decade mortgaging her future for shortterm pleasures. But does the article talk about how she is making sacrifices to repay that debt? No, a “Wealthy Town” is expected to pay the consequences for her.
Adults make choices in our lives. When we make good ones, our lives and our children’s lives are enhanced. When we make bad choices, there are consequences, consequences that cannot simply be passed off on innocent bystanders.
Rev. Christopher S. Cole
Charlotte
The Everyday Struggle
To The Editors:
Great weekly. I think Lucy Perkins and Tara Servatius are incredible. I despise newspapers today simply because they seem to “dumb down” when they write. A friend of mine who works in the media tells me this is a necessary Evil. Well, apparently not. You have columnists who write as if they are speaking to an equal, not to the lowest common denominator.
Re: “Struggling In A Wealthy Town.” Great story, sadly you could put almost any face on it and it would remain the same. I have friends (yes, I do) who are very wealthy and seem to think that all it takes is hard work and anybody can be rich. I also have friends who are not so wealthy that are working two and three jobs just trying to provide for their families. They struggle everyday always one or two paychecks away from homelessness. They have to choose between one spouse staying at home to raise children or that spouse obtaining a job just to pay for childcare. I have been all over the world, this is the greatest country I have visited, also one of the wealthiest. So why do so many go without? We send money overseas to feed the hungry. Is this a human thing or is it an American thing? When is enough money enough? Is it right that one citizen on one side of town is dining on caviar and champagne and yet on the other, one is going without? One man lives in a mansion, another in a cardboard box.
There must be another way and no, I am not advocating socialism. Who has the power to change this? If it’s the politicians then perhaps they should only live as well as their poorest constituents, instead of voting pay raises when so many are going without.
John Galt
Charlotte
This article appears in Dec 19-25, 2001.
