Of Coliseums, Whiners and Tyranny
To The Editors:
I am obligated to correct the many mistruths in “Keeping The Hive Alive”
(by Susan Shackelford, November 28):
1. Fact: The citizens of Charlotte already decided the arena issue on
June 5. No dimpled chads or overvotes, just a plain old-fashioned landslide. More voters punched the Against button than had ever voted for any candidate for Mayor or City Council in Charlotte’s history. The word for government that acts against the will of the people is “tyranny”.
2. Fact: George Shinn is not the issue. I saw the polling internals — anger at the Hornets’ owners ranked about fifth among reasons why citizens voted No. The top reasons were that our 13-year-old Coliseum doesn’t need replacing, and that public money should not subsidize one private business. Orlando and Greensboro have recently rejected similar deals, and private money paid for facilities in San Francisco and Denver.
3. Fact: Sports teams and arenas don’t generate economic benefits. www.arenano.com. still hosts two dozen independent studies from sources like Pepperdine University and the Federal Reserve, showing that the only beneficiaries are team owners and players, and that low-skill part-time arena jobs like concessionaires and parking attendants actually lower the area’s median income.
4. Fact: The ACC Tournament is coming to Charlotte this season. And in 2008. However, the NCAA Final Four will no longer consider any facility under 30,000 seats. And their seating minimums for NCAA Regional sites make the 24,000 seat Coliseum more viable for this and other events than the proposed smaller arena.
5. Fact: Sports teams do not contribute to a city’s “world-class” status. New Orleans lost the NBA Jazz. The Kings left Kansas City for Sacramento. Los Angeles lost two pro football teams during the past decade. Have the Hornets and Panthers made Charlotte more prestigious than LA or the Big Easy?
6. Fact: The CIAA did not shun Charlotte because of our Coliseum, but because of Raleigh’s centralized location within the conference. Their own press release states: “… Raleigh’s location and proximity to so many alumni, fans and students, not only in North Carolina, but in Virginia, played a major role.”
Al Gore conceded six weeks after an election that was far closer and far more important than the arena vote. Here we are six months after June 5, and the losers remain clueless, selfish whiners. Give up, folks, you’re looking uglier than Katherine Harris.
Charles Held Charlotteans Opposed to Sports Taxes (CO$T)
Worth Repeating
To The Editors:
What a great column by Susan Shackelford (“Keeping The Hive Alive,” November 28)! If only the rest of the supposedly knowledgeable pundits around here would follow her example and report the facts for a change, rather than look for only something potentially controversial all the time. Susan, your opinion is worth repeating. . .to anyone and everyone. Keep up the good work.
Jeff Beaver
Executive Director
Charlotte Regional Sports Commission
Never Mind
To The Editors:
In reference to “Unprotected” by Tara Servatius: I continue to be surprised at the lack of intelligence for people chosen to serve on juries. As victims, do you or I stand a chance of getting a fair trial in 2001 and beyond?
Follow my list of “never minds” taken from the article and you can understand the reason for my concern:
– Never mind the DNA samples taken from the alleged assailant were a perfect match.
– Never mind detectives and prosecutors said it would be an open-and-shut case.
– Never mind the alleged assailant had a criminal history that dated back to 1981, including multiple burglaries, forced entry, assault on a female, and assault with a deadly weapon.
– Never mind that even the judge was shocked by the verdict.
Need I go on? I think I need to, if not for you, but for me, as I am still trying to make sense of it. Ms. Servatius spoke to jurors after this trial; what she discovered is a chilling testimony that we need to carefully screen and test our jurors in our country.
The jurors gave bewildering, bizarre and irrelevant reasons for their decision. Others brought to light biases and prejudices. To think that jurors were confused about basic facts including DNA evidence presented by a specialist in that field; others who thought a great injustice was being served to the victim and yet still voted “not guilty,” making up a story that had no grounding in testimony or facts; and yet another woman decrying decades of prejudice against African-Americans in the South, is nothing short of “gee-whiz. . .how do these people carry on day-to-day activities?” And what about the sad and pathetic “madam foreperson,” who evidently used her legal background to influence her less knowledgeable associates to produce this verdict?
Because the jurors did not perform their sworn duty and responsibility, another criminal will be back on the street. How many more victims will there be before a jury decides a “crime” has been committed? A trial mandates having intelligent and justice-seeking people to serve their time. It is our responsibility to put our prejudices aside and do what is right. After reading “Unprotected,” I have serious doubts about what jurors might be lurking in the courtroom if I am ever a victim.
Name Withheld By Request
Development Now
or Later
To The Editors:
Regarding “Lake Warriors’ by Sam Boykin (CL, November 21), I would like to reiterate one thing that Walter Fields stated. Development has been going on along the river at a fairly substantial clip recently. But I have never heard of this group of “River Protectors” until now. Do these people actually have the welfare of the whole lake at heart, or do they mostly live within a stone’s throw of the planned community and just don’t want that many neighbors that quickly?
Todd Little states that his stepdaughter contracted two bacterial infections from the lake this summer. Can the lake really be pinpointed as the source of the infections? I have three daughters who swim in the lake many times a week during the summer. They did not get sick. I would much prefer Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities handling the sewage that is created along the buffer rather than Carolina Water Service. I have seen the track record of both and I’m sure most residents would agree.
Development of some sort is only a matter of time. It can come in bits and pieces and look haphazardly thrown together or it can come as a master planned community that sees a bit bigger picture than most of us. I have seen many of Rhein Interests neighborhoods throughout the Charlotte area. They are well thought out and are assets to their communities.
I do not mind people voicing their opinions for change. And I commend The Lower Lake Wylie Association for their quickly organized and vigorous opposition, though their motivation could be questioned.
William Cummings
Lake Wylie, SC
Nauseating Clear Cutting
To The Editors:
In response to “Lake Warriors”: I remember in Creative Loafing a few years ago that “Trees” were voted one of the best things about Charlotte. Since then I have flown over Charlotte in a small plane and was shocked at all the woods that have been decimated by “cookie cutter” housing developments. I realize that growth comes with housing needs, but there has to be a better way than to clear cut all of our natural areas.
In Lake Wylie I have seen tracts of approximately 10 acres of woods standing tall in the morning and reduced to smoldering piles of dead trees by the end of the day. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that this type of clear cutting activity makes us nauseous.
There are some examples of growth that are tasteful and probably not devastating to the environment. The Landing in Lake Wylie, which Crescent Resources sold, is very tasteful. I read, however, that they had a lot of sediment runoff and now the planned docks are too shallow for boats; poetic justice. The Village Harbour development and the new Assisted Living Center, both on Highway 49, are very tasteful. Village Harbour was placed in a field without clearcutting any trees, and the Assisted Living Center left a lot of trees.
There are also some examples of growth in the area that are very difficult to watch. The 485 belt and its associated suburban sprawl are going to quickly fill up more highways with traffic and clear cut more woods.
In Lake Wylie, clear cut abominations like the Autumn Cove development, which Crescent Resources sold, has been a nightmare. They have had and are still having significant surface runoff problems flowing directly into the lake. There are also some very distasteful tin buildings and convenience stores “out the wazoo” that are starting to make Highway 49 look like Independence Boulevard.
I think the message that needs to be sent to Crescent Resources and developers in general in the area is that if this area is going to retain its desirability, it needs to be done with discretion. There has to be development that doesn’t strip the woods. Surely houses built in wooded lots must be more valuable and have better re-sale value. We also need to protect the Catawba River. If it gets polluted and/or filled with sediment the value of our lakes and some of our water supplies will rapidly decline. Thank you for your article bringing this to the public’s attention.
Pam Mahaffey
Lake Wylie, SC
P.S. Great Jim Hunt cartoon of Crescent Resources urinating into Lake Wylie.
Smoke & Music Don’t Mix
To The Editors:
In reference to Tim Davis’ item in “Scene & Herd” (November 21): Bravo to Medeski Martin & Wood for playing a smoke-free show at Tremont Music Hall. I’m sure these guys would die for their art, but a slow, cancerous death is obviously not what they have in mind. It was such a pleasure to enjoy good music without having to choke on toxic fumes. The smokers were free to go out into the parking lot and smoke till they turned green, and they could rest easy knowing they weren’t killing the rest of us (not to mention there were plenty of exhaust pipes to suck on in case they ran out of smokes). I hope more artists and venues follow MMW’s lead, though I don’t expect much enthusiasm here in the heart of tobacco country.
Hugh Campbell
Charlotte
Prediction: Lucy To Face Hardship
To The Editors:
I used Lucy Perkins'”Christ! What’s Wrong with You People?” (November 21) in the high school Sunday class I teach. I was hoping to prepare them for college where they will be exposed to much more self-righteous stereotyping such as in Ms. Perkins’ column. Her logic seems to be: I can prove it in a sentence, so I am right, I can condemn and ignore.
She compares evangelical Christians to Islamic extremists, and says she’d prefer hell to the company of her family and other Christians who are imposing their beliefs on her. As a young adult she’s discovering life’s inconsistencies, but as a mature person she will see more inconsistencies, and may find some certainties. For instance, she implies that every church consists of “gossiping, hypocritical, backstabbing” people. I am sure this is true because every company, club, civic group, political party, etc. consists of such people. It is the human condition, and she will never belong to anything until she accepts weakness in others.
Youth is sometimes sheltered from life’s hardships with good health, good education, and good parents who provide a safe environment. But, the first book of the Bible tells us we are a fallen people. Life’s hardships will catch up to all of us — sickness, abandonment, failure in jobs, failure to fulfill our dreams, and the biggest failure, the hurt we cause as we go through life. One thing is certain — one day life will kick Lucy Perkins down the stairs. Her family (who has already forgiven every “gossiping, hypocritical, backstabbing” thing she has done) will be there to pick her up, find all the broken and shattered pieces of Lucy, and help her on her way.
Bob Burnette
Charlotte
Think For Yourself
To The Editors:
Re: “Christ! What’s Wrong With You People?”: Monotheism is a giant Cyclops (raise your hand if you believe) that has fed on the ignorance of the human animal for five thousand years and has no plans to go hungry anytime soon.
Society’s majority rejects the intelligent for their non-conformist views and by taking the “we like the way things are” approach, suppresses society as a whole. The multitudes took on monotheism as a mental escape from their harsh realities. As in any market, certain individuals with a glowing light bulb over their heads found a way to exploit the ignorance of the people for their own benefit, and the intangibility of a God was the perfect can of whup-ass. “Be good now or you better watch out for that afterlife.” Since then, monotheism has developed into a finely tuned business that has leeched society’s majority of their will to think. “Reproduce and have faith so eventually we can be a world power too.” Power by majority.
When Galileo first introduced the idea that the earth was not the center of the universe, he was charged with heresy by the Church. Later, when the church could no longer deny these facts, they consented. Emperor Constantine, during the decline of the Roman Empire, took up religion as a means of gaining friends and followers for his own personal reasons. The Christians cheered because the big guy was on their side now and their persecution had ended. “God’s will” is the darkest blindfold known to man. Use your head, people, and don’t look up to the sky for all of life’s answers because all you will see is nature’s well-explained phenomenon — if you let yourself.
Mark Lane
Charlotte
Been There, Done That
To The Editors:
I’m writing about Lucy Perkins’ “Christ! What’s Wrong With You People?” I loved it ! It was so right on the money with how all we “non-Christians” are treated by the so-called Christians in this world. Why do they have to force their beliefs about how things should be done upon us? I tried that whole church-going thing and I stopped because of all the hypocrisy and showboating. I am saving the article and framing it to put up for all “Christians” who come to my home to know how I feel. Great job, Lucy, keep on writing the truth.
Adam Ketcham
Charlotte
Hang In There, Lucy
To The Editors:
Lucy Perkins writes, “All I know is that if my crazy family and Osama bin Laden are going to wind up in heaven, I’ll take hell. At least the company will be better.” Hang in there, Lucy, I’m right beside you. I have been getting lots of pressure to “convert” (convert from what?) lately from the people around me at work and school. Like Lucy, I hate it when they feel sorry for me for thinking for myself and defending my views with a clear conscience and factual reasons.
Christians thrive on persecution. If they are pissed off about what you are saying, they aren’t going to change their ways. They’re just going to be even more hardcore and annoying. I think the whole idea of of religion is silly, anyway. Just another way to keep grown-ups in the mental binds of children. Can’t things just work out and be wonderful in their own right? Why praise some irrelevant, outdated deity? And why blame “Satan” when things don’t go the way one wants? How juvenile! Christ!!
“Miss Ashley”
Monroe
Cracker Justice
To The Editors:
How unfortunate to see Tara Servatius jumping at the chance to defend the cracker crowd with her column denying racial profiling by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police (“Overturned Assumptions,” November 21). Who gives a rat’s ass how many traffic tickets the cops give to whites or blacks? Tara would have a significant statistic if she could show how many people are pulled over and then not cited for anything, and also show what is the differentiation between blacks and whites.
The alleged injustice is police harassing black men (especially, it seems) by pulling them over for no reason other than race. What also is disquieting about the column is the underlying message that black people must be overstating the issue. She also makes it fairly clear that the two groups mentioned in the article are attempting a cover-up. Of what? When it comes to understanding the issue, the statistics provide a big, fat, juicy nothing-burger.
Tara obviously does not believe the claims black people have made. The numbers don’t crunch so they must be imagining their humiliation. What number would make it significant enough for Tara? How many incidents constitute racism?
Mike Sochacki
Charlotte
This article appears in Dec 8-14, 2001.
