Great MTV Article
The article about the MTV thing was great (“Drivel, Sex and Marketing!,” by Sam Boykin, Apr. 23). When I was reading it, there were some quotes from the kids that I kept reading aloud to my friends, and we then commented on them. I’ve been reading Creative Loafing for the past five years I’ve been in Charlotte, and I must say this has got to be my favorite article yet. Keep it up.
— Chris Spencer, Charlotte
CityFest Only For Some Of The City
For the past week, I’ve been so angry about the CityFestLive line-up (“The Best of the Fest,” by Timothy C. Davis, Apr. 23). I’m so tired of the event organizers throwing this promise of a huge event for everyone in my face. They’ve been slinging this crap for the past few years and each year I’m even more disappointed. Of course, they’ll throw in Hootie and the Blowfish, some tired detoxed 70s group and a couple old time shag groups, but what demographic group are they trying to reach? This CityFestLive thing is nothing more than an overpriced concert for white American youth. It’s just sad! I hope next year when the organizers are planning this grand event, they make an effort to remember the other types of people that live in this city. Do you think African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians enjoy live music?
— H. Bailey, Huntersville
Rachel’s Choice
In the April 23 edition of Creative Loafing, Richard Hornsby compared Rachel Corrie’s death to what happened September 11, 2001 (“Terrorists With Bulldozers,” Letters to the Editor). What was he smoking and where can I get some? Rachel Corrie was fully aware that she was standing in front of a bulldozer, was she not? I have not read one letter that stated the obvious fact — Rachel Corrie chose not to move out of the way once that bulldozer went into gear and began moving. I believe her death was very unfortunate and sad, but she deliberately chose to put herself in harm’s way, thus choosing to die for her cause. Now, surely Mr. Hornsby does not believe that everyone in the World Trade Center had advance knowledge of the planned attacks for that morning and they decided to band together and stand in their offices in an attempt to protest the planes hitting the buildings. Instead, many never saw it coming and those who did never had a chance. The bottom line is, Rachel made a choice while those victims of September 11 had no choice. I think Mr. Hornsby would see more clearly if he would get his head out of the clouds.
— Mandy Derglin, Rock Hill, SC
Some Lives Are Cheap
In response to various Letters to the Editor (Apr. 9 & 16): None of us born and raised in this country can understand what it must be like to live in a desolate, apartheid-like ghetto ruled by an occupying army, such as Palestinians do. Rachel Corrie was someone who wanted to understand, but even more, she wanted to help — and she was murdered for it.
People like Julie Smallman and Arnold Weinstein who believe that this is a lie, or, like Ira Chase, who believe that to think such notions are racist, have obviously not seen the photos — of Rachel standing on top of a mound of dirt, arms out, eye level with the driver, wearing a bright orange vest, screaming, right before the driver buried her in dirt, ran her over and then put it in reverse and backed over her crushed body.
Palestinian blood has always come very cheap for Israel; what is significant about the last few weeks and months with the deaths of Corrie and others is that Israel has made it clear to the world that the lives of those who seek to end the ethnic cleansing in Palestine, regardless of nationality or race or religion, are equally cheap.
— Darren Dlugo, Charlotte
All The News That’s Fit To Squelch
I agree with “De-fogger” by John Grooms (CL, April 30). Last Friday, two American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan during an ambush along the Pakistani border. On Saturday morning, there were two sentences about it in the Observer on page 11, and on Sunday there was a paragraph about the incident on page 5 or 6, and neither one of the soldiers was identified. We didn’t hear from our son Jim, who is stationed in Afghanistan, until Monday, and we spent a sleepless weekend wondering if was dead or alive. However, that’s not really the issue. I can’t figure out why all the news from Afghanistan is being squelched. Al Qaida and all its imitators are much more of a threat to US security than Iraq ever was, yet everyone seems to have forgotten all about the troops there, and the media yawn over the deaths of two young American soldiers. Jim says they get shot at frequently — he was on the Quick Response Force that went out to help the ambushed platoon, but he says the ambushers had fled back across the Pakistani border by the time they got there, and they can’t go after them because Pakistan is currently our “ally” because they supported us in the Iraq invasion. George Bush is due to declare the fighting officially over in Afghanistan — I wonder if the families of the two dead soldiers would agree with that. By the way, Jim’s deployment has been “indefinitely extended,” along with other soldiers’, due to the Iraq war — another news item that has gone unreported.
— Amy Keith, Charlotte
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This article appears in May 7-13, 2003.
