Thanks for Nothing
To The Editors:
Thank you, David Walters (“A City for Learning,” October 12) for pointing out that I and tens of thousands of other University area residents are living in a “dystopia” of ugliness that’s “typical of the tawdriness of our throw-away consumer society.” I had no idea I was raising my children in the “wastelands” of suburban isolation, let alone reinforcing in them the “societal mindset that clings to this community-sapping sprawl.”
Now that you’ve enlightened me, I feel kind of silly for moving here after spending 13 years in the greater Boston area (the urban and educational mecca which you never tire of visiting).
I guess I was snookered by the opportunity to escape Boston’s soul-crushing rat race, nasty winters, horrendous rush-hour commutes, impossibly high cost of living (housing, day care, insurance, transportation) and other benefits of world-class city living.
What was I thinking? How could I have made a conscious choice to give all that up in exchange for University City’s “sea of suburban schlock”? I mean, now that you’ve opened my eyes, it’s so damn obvious that things like affordable housing, a backyard, friendly neighbors, quality elementary schools, excellent medical facilities, a terrific library, convenient parks and recreational opportunities — all within a 30-minute commute of downtown Charlotte — add up to nothing more than a “nowhere land.” The hardest part is going to be explaining to my children how lousy their life is after all, since we live in University City. “Sorry, kids. Turns out this sucks. David Walters said so.”
Pete Moore
Charlotte
No Historical Perspective From Media
To The Editors:
In the wake of September 11, I’m struck by the lack of real information coming to us from our mainstream press on events past and present in Afghanistan. We can start by looking at the 1980s and 90s when the Soviets were fighting their version of Vietnam in Afghanistan. During this little Soviet-Afghan war, the United States sent more than $4 billion in lethal weapons and training to seven different Afghan resistance groups. The war against the Soviets and their successor, President Najibullah, claimed 1.5 million lives and savaged Afghanistan’s economy, but throughout, US media portrayed the mujaheddin (Taliban) as “freedom fighters,” no matter how anti-democratic or anti-female they may have been.
The Taliban have been called Islamic fundamentalists by everyone from Peter Jennings to Oprah. In fact, they are far from being a traditional Islamic state. The religious schools the Taliban came from developed out of a 19th Century movement founded in India that rejects many fundamentalist texts and teachings of Islam. The 55-nation Organization of Islamic Conferences has withheld recognition of the regime.
Throughout the recent media orgy, reporters have yet to follow the lead of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), a Republican administration veteran who says the US bears responsibility for fostering the extremism in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden was the recipient of a large chunk of that $4 billion in American tax dollars. So just as we did with Saddam, we coddled them, financed them, then when it suits us, turned them into evil ones, or should I say “evil doers”! It makes it extremely difficult keeping up with whom to hate from one year to the next!
What bin Laden or his group did was horrendous, and it’s just as horrendous to deny us the right to gain perspective through knowledge of all the facts. As they’ve withheld so much information about our covert role in Afghanistan, don’t you wonder what they haven’t told you about our dealings in say, the Middle East? This kind of hate is not born of jealousy of our possessions and material wealth. We’ve left bloody footprints all around the globe, many for good reasons and many for bad; both sides of the story should be told, or how can we ever understand how someone could do something like what happened on September 11? So before giving the gift of hate, ask yourself who deserves that special gift that costs a person as much or more hurt to give it, as it does the person who receives it. And demand from our government and media the information necessary to make rational decisions after seeing the whole picture, not just enough of the story to make us jump and ask how high!
Kelly Pauley
York, SC
Where is Muslim Outrage?
To The Editors:
For all the preening blather about religious tolerance for the Muslim-Islamic community since the atrocities of September 11, there are some glaring inconsistencies. The evil of September 11 and the culturally imbedded violence against women perpetrated by Muslims dwarfs even the sickest imaginations in Hollywood, yet we are implored to differentiate — the “peace loving” Muslims are somehow different from the more fervent Muslims who murder and maim “infidels” of other faiths. Yet they all read the same book — the Quran.
Why, then, will no Muslim leader of any national or global stature come right out and condemn what has happened? Why will no Muslims rise up with the same righteous anger we have as Americans, and go after the bin Ladens of their faith as we are now forced to do? Why will no Muslim nations commit troops or direct military action to the coalition?
The deafening silence of Muslim religious and political leaders implies their tacit approval of what has happened. Their cynical appeals for tolerance, understanding and differentiation simply don’t pass the smell test. Where is the Muslim community rushing to the aid of the families of those who died? Where is Muslim outrage over the inhuman treatment of women in Afghanistan and other Muslim nations? Meanwhile, the continued defiant and inflammatory Muslim rhetoric from bin Laden goes unchallenged by any Muslim leadership.
I don’t see even a pretense of religious tolerance practiced by Muslims — not towards Christians or Jews or anyone else. Evil is evil — it doesn’t matter what scripture it is fish-wrapped in and we all know it when we see it. Until we see decisive public actions of reparation, religious tolerance and aggressive policing of their own house by all the world’s Muslim leaders, trusting the word of a Muslim is a fool’s paradise.
Ben Williams
Charlotte
Joys of Motherhood
To The Editors:
I can’t quite pinpoint exactly which statement in Tara Servatius’s letter to her baby nephew Landon (“Letter to the Future,” October 10) disturbed me the most. While Tara acknowledges a single pregant female’s options of either having the child or aborting it, she fails to acknowledge another very important choice — adoption. While I have no fertility problems that I know of at this point (I am single and have not tried to have children yet) allow me to take a moment to speak for women who struggle with infertility issues whether single, married or divorced. My impression is that they would be quite angered by Tara’s omission of the adoption solution, and outraged by her references to having a child as a “cost” or a “burden.” I work with infants every day, and as moms and dads, single or not, come in to pick up their child, I see no trace of preoccupation with “costs” or “burdens” — I only see indescribable acknowledgement of feeling blessed with 10 tiny fingers, 10 tiny toes, and a little face that lights up at the familiar smell, touch, and sight of their loving parent. Her reference to “concerts, clubs, and friends” as “things of the past” as if they are a terrible loss is saddening. There are women who, given the chance, wouldn’t think twice of forgoing such short-term gratifications in exchange for a lifetime of motherhood.
Tara’s reference to her single sister as being “alone now in a way that she never quite was before” couldn’t be more wrong. Her sister shares a bond now in a way she never quite did before. . .not with friends, colleagues, or even siblings. From what I have learned, the love a mother shares with a son or daughter is rewarding and grand beyond measurement. As an aunt, I hope Tara censors herself before reflecting the “male critical” point of view she espoused. Landon needs to form his own unbiased opinion of how men and women balance out in our society. And I hope Tara re-evaluates her statement, “Either way, as a woman, you lose.” Believing such a statement is a terrible way to go through life. With all the joys, laughter and blessings a child brings to one’s life, it would be much better stated, “Either way, as a mother, you win!”
Jennifer Creves
Charlotte
Reinstate Daniels
To The Editors:
Ahmad Daniels, Director of Minority Affairs was fired for saying what most aware Americans know to be true. The truth is that when America is experiencing a crisis, most people come together for the purpose of defeating whatever it is that has caused the crisis. When the crisis is over and everything has gotten back to so-called normal, racism, bigotry, prejudice and/or discrimination has a tendency to rear its sick, evil head again. World War I, World War II, The Korean conflict, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War all prove this to be a fact in America’s history.
To fire Ahmad Daniels for speaking the truth about America’s past is an unjust American act. Is it that when a crisis comes along, some people forget about being rational, logical, or reasonable? Throwing justice, or fairness out the window during the time of a crisis does harm to America’s integrity.
Come, Mr. Harry Jones, be a real American. Reinstate Ahmad Daniels to the job he takes great pride in doing and is good at.
Mack Monroe III
Charlotte
Don’t Just Gripe, Do Something
To The Editors:
In response to Lucy Perkins’ “The ABCs of Oppression” (CL, October 10): What a cop-out! Ms. Perkins is quick to point out the disadvantages and shortcomings of North Carolina’s ABC goals but offers no advice, recommendations or arguments on how to fix the situation. A very “scholastic,” “conformist,” and “think within the box” column. It’s very. . .collegiate and immature. It’s very easy to point your finger at something and say, “That’s bad!” or “That won’t work.” The hard part is developing a solution to the problem and successfully implementing that solution.
Granted, it would be better if we could generate more free thinkers in our schools, thereby developing creative individuals who not only know what the problem is. . .but how to fix it as well. Ms. Perkins, you can start by outlining a creative solution to building a smarter, better educated population of students that graduate from our schools. We need to start somewhere. A standardized test will give us a base line from which we can improve. Let’s find a testing method, or an education method that fosters excitement in learning the “ABCs” and real-world skills.
Solutions won’t come cheap however. Who is going to pay for improvements? Who is going to create, develop and implement the plan? Who is going to organize a coalition of parents that will force the issue and make it priority one — and get all Mecklenburg County residents excited about it? This won’t be easy. Nothing will be accomplished if the only “hand-raisers” are those who point to the problem. We need hand-raisers that know how to fix the problem.
Grant Holtzworth
Charlotte
This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2001.
