From You
Letters
From You!
Kappa Alpha
originally published April 5, 2006
Thank you for reporting on the Mar. 6 meeting between residents of the Hancock Corridor and adjacent neighborhoods, members and alumni of the KA fraternity, and University of Georgia officials [City Pages, Mar. 15]. Clearly, this meeting was the beginning of a long conversation between the fraternity and the new neighbors it has chosen. The dialogue pointed up several important issues that bear continued consideration as the KA project moves forward and other fraternities contemplate relocating from University property on Lumpkin Street and River Road.
First, it is difficult to account for the ignorance or lack of regard that led the KA alumni group, as represented by Mark Cross of Athens, to think it acceptable to build an antebellum plantation house in the middle of an historic African-American neighborhood and then parade annually through that neighborhood in Civil War garb. This lack of understanding is not a good beginning for a relationship that will depend on respect and tolerance from both sides. However, it was a positive and useful step for Mr. Cross and a handful of KA brothers to attend this meeting. And, as Flagpole reported, residents of the Hancock Corridor clearly and passionately articulated to them the hurtful meaning of these symbols and acts from their perspectives. We may wish that the KA members and alumni didn’t have to be instructed about these things at this late date, but we can hope they heard, learned and will alter their architecture and rituals so as not to be an ongoing insult to the Hancock Corridor.
Second, the ACC Commission is right to consider defining Greek chapter houses as a "special use" for zoning purposes. In selecting a new site for its chapter house, KA’s alumni group considered only proximity to campus, proximity to bus lines, and the applicable multifamily zoning. As evidenced by their scurrying to submit an application before a possible moratorium, the KA group was not interested in discussing with the neighbors or the city prior to securing the site whether or not their project was actually well-suited to a largely residential neighborhood. At the meeting, the KA brothers struggled to give a clear picture of the number and sorts of events that occur at a fraternity chapter house. They acknowledged three sanctioned parties per semester that can include all members plus three guests each (125 times four = 500!). Then they acknowledged an additional six UGA gameday non-parties in the fall. And monthly chapter meetings. And smaller (than 500) social events, some downtown, some not. It is clear that a Greek chapter house is foremost a social center for 120-plus young men, their friends and their alumni brothers. Its purpose and rhythms are very different from those of a residential neighborhood. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but neither is it necessarily appropriate wherever there exists a corner of multifamily zoning in a convenient neighborhood. If the fraternities themselves are not willing to more carefully consider the appropriateness of potential sites with regard to the taxpaying citizens who will be affected by their presence, then it is incumbent on our Planning office and our elected commissioners to do so on a case-by-case basis.
Finally, the meeting also highlighted the need for the University to better and more swiftly address the needs of the fraternities that must relocate to make way for the expansion of North Campus across Lumpkin Street. The KA project will move ahead on Hancock. We understand the Sigma Nus have purchased property a few blocks away. Apparently, the fraternities are shopping rather than waiting, and the consequence may be that a vibrant, historic neighborhood is forever changed. From the community’s standpoint, it would have been far preferable for the University to have had a clear plan in place and offers on the table prior to announcing the eviction of these organizations from their campus properties. But perhaps it is not entirely too late. The Greek system has a long history at UGA, and Greeks have long been campus leaders, usually, though not always, in positive ways. However, much has changed at the University and in society since the Greek system was the very center of social life at UGA. With effort, creative thinking and willingness to reconsider long-held relationships, the Greek system could play an important role in the University’s efforts to increase academic rigor and bring learning into its living communities. This will not happen, though, if the University, through action or inaction, pushes Greek chapter houses off campus rather than cultivating their participation in the long-term development of the physical, intellectual and cultural matters of the campus.
Allan Aycock AthensLetters
From You!
Infinite Wants
originally published April 5, 2006
If I could, I would like to respond to Mr. Jack Schatz’s well-informed and thought-out letter [“Corporate Ooze,” Mar. 22]. I agree wholeheartedly with much of what Mr. Schatz has to say, at least factually. I am, however, thinking of a few points which need to be brought to light in the matter. Namely, the ways in which corporations have molded our outlook, through advertising and its subsequent invasion and subversion of culture under the guises of entertainment, and also the increasing encroachment on our most fundamental bodily constitutions. In this respect, I am thinking of bodily pollution in all its forms and, most importantly, food and water. If I may be so bold, I think Mr. Schatz’s choice of “conscience” as a check to these institutions is greatly misunderstanding the situation. Respect - a terrible and fearful reverence - is needed for life, for there is nothing without struggle and nothing without consequence. Our future generations will be reaping the maligned crops of our apathy and misunderstanding, and in this we will also.
Man does have infinite wants - this is life, this is the condition and engine of life. Yet we have not respected these conditions and are constantly seeking the easy way - wanting an existence without consequence, without pain, and without the insight that comes from hardship.
Jeremy Jacobs LavoniaLetters
From You!
The Da Vinci Code
originally published April 5, 2006
Whether or not we want to accept it, we live in a world where people are singled out and discriminated against because of, well, anything that separates one from the herd. This includes race, sex and belief systems.
On one level, The Da Vinci Code is an entertaining yarn. It is also a nasty attack on Christianity and Catholicism in particular. I believe this is a large part of its appeal, red meat to anti-Catholic bigots.
In his comments [“Fodder for Thought,” Mar. 22], Old Smiley rejects the defensive posture of groups like the Catholic League. Like the NAACP, the Catholic League was formed in response to oppression. You may wonder, didn’t Catholic discrimination go away with signs that read “Irish need not apply?”
Until very recently, when they were forced to act otherwise, the U.S. Senate Democrats blatantly sited Catholicism in their reasoning to reject out of hand candidates for the federal bench. The State of California dropped the statutes of limitations requirements for people wanting to sue the Catholic Church under allegations of abuse. There have been law suits filed for allegations of misconduct going back to the 1930s. Where does one get witnesses and how does one defend themselves against a 70-year-old charge? This is the reason for statutes of limitations.
Locally, I know a gentleman who was fired from his job when his supervisor was transferred. His new boss didn’t trust Catholics because of the Sacrament of Confession and said in private that she would never hire another Catholic.
I get the subtle response of people who find me anachronistic and quaint. I have had acquaintances suddenly grow cold and disappear after finding out that my faith is important to me. Apparently being a fallen-away Catholic is politically correct. I have been accosted so many times that I am surprised when I don’t get a negative response. There is so much disinformation about Roman Catholicism, especially propagated by secular humanists.
If you are thinking that perhaps I should just keep my faith a secret and this would solve some of these reactions, you might have a point. I would ask you how private do you keep the important things in your life… do you share politics, music, philosophy? I would want you to understand that it is through the light of faith that I encounter the world. This is real to me. Everything is impacted by my understanding of creation and my relationship with God. If you are an adherent to a religion I am sure you understand. Otherwise I ask for tolerance and perhaps even respect for the beliefs that created Western civilization.
As for “Old Smiley?” Sir, I don’t think you get it. The Da Vinci Code? What is a casual choice for some is filled with angst and foreboding for others. There will be plenty of other films to see. Will you support this outrage, or will you increase peace by personally choosing a film that entertains, and not entertainment wrapped in hate?
Terry Stewart AthensLetters
From You!
Taken Back
originally published April 5, 2006
I know advertising pays the bills at Flagpole, and I’m not complaining to you so much as to the owners of Elations, but I was taken aback by the bare ass of what looks to be a 13-year-old girl in the ad in this week’s Flagpole [Mar. 22], and then I saw the tag line for the store, “For the adult in all of us.” The adult in me says there is something creepy, bordering on pedophilia about this. I sort of yawned at the flap over the Savannah’s ads, but this got my attention. I’m not saying that 13-year-olds aren’t sexual, but the ad seems to be marketing girls to grown men, and call me a prude, but I think that’s gross.
Kristen Smith EmailLetters
From You!
Ann Coulter & The Media
originally published April 5, 2006
Mainstream media grant Ann Coulter's inordinate over-exposure because her propaganda serves the government’s increasingly oppressive and unconstitutional interests. So why does a venerable free press outlet like Flagpole waste its readership’s time with a hardly critical piece like “In Your Heart You Know She’s Right” [Mar. 29], that arguably celebrates Coulter’s formulaic wordplay and closes with author Katherine Burgess’s sophomoric self-disclosure that she feels less “challenged” by Coulter’s words than her so-called “absolute confidence?”
If Coulter were so “confident,” she would hardly need so much of the police (i.e., government) protection that the article notes. Far more confident Martin Luther King, Jr. never had so much protection. I certainly don’t either. As a psychologist, I can tell you with great actual confidence that too many lay-people (and experts) confuse “confidence” and “arrogance.” It would have been a pleasant change to see Ms. Burgess explore that differentiation in Coulter’s case.
A novel or “alternative” feature on Coulter could and should have explored her difficult-to-explain rise to prominence. For example, it would have been informative to learn for whom Coulter has worked; where she went to law school, college and high school; where she grew up; the role of Christianity in her upbringing and to whom of any note whatsoever she is related - by blood or special association. Frankly, it would be telling to learn the extent to which ever-under-reported cronyism or nepotism explains or doesn’t explain Coulter’s otherwise bizarre ascent to celebrity. I reasonably suspect there’s a very untold story somewhere therein.
Ivan Smason, Ph.D., J.D. Santa Monica, CALetters
From You!
Well Done!
originally published April 5, 2006
Thanks for printing the letter from Denise Grier [“Bumpersticker Trouble,” Mar. 22], concerning the “Bushit” bumpersticker and the ticket she got in DeKalb. Please convey to her my gratitude for displaying the bumpersticker, for holding her own with the police officer, and for disputing the ticket. I couldn’t agree more with her that civil liberties are being excised one at a time. My congratulations to her for refusing to buckle under. Well done! She gets this week’s James Madison award for citizen support of the Bill of Rights!
Bernard DeMartini Shepherdstown, WVLetters
From You!
Poverty Thoughts
originally published April 5, 2006
The endless question of abject poverty versus the challenges of extreme wealth met at Cedar Shoals on Monday night [Mar. 27] at the newly formed PPA meeting. Much has been written and established as the Classic City was found to be running the poverty index’s infamous top five in the nation. The horror of this calamity is the great context of brain, intellect and educational inequity squeezed into 122 square miles better known as Athens-Clarke County.
It was amazing to see the 750 or more who suffered crowded conditions to hear the news once again. The challenges of poverty will not be corrected simply by holding meetings. Using old patterns of incomplete metaphors and clichés to sooth old wounds that will not go away will not satisfy the question. What is needed is the action and the dedication to face the hard facts and stand to the truths, an equal day’s work deserves and warrants an equal day’s pay. Who will judge this question? Who will redefine “a right to work state?” The greater Banner-Herald ignored civil rights guru Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery’s social education lecture, attended by 150 civil rights interns. A local radio station will rerun the speech. I personally thank Judge Steve Jones for his participation.
Is it feasible to believe the economics of greed will bend to those who demand a living wage that will continue to grow with the economy? Is it possible to believe General Motors is bankrupt after offering the country employee discounts on their vehicles during the last part of the annual 2005 sales season? Will illegal immigrants lead the cast of new social freedoms gone wild? What might they learn from the youths in France who want to work in an equity-based economy? Will our ignorance continue to lead the dance?
Keith T. Johnson AthensLetters
From You!
Window Fixed
originally published April 5, 2006
Thanks for printing the letter about the busted window in my car [“1985 Honda Accord,” Mar. 15]. I am very pleased to let you know that the individuals I mentioned in that letter have indeed come and talked to me. The guy directly responsible has both apologized and paid me for the replacement window. I have to say that I honestly did not think that either would occur and I am glad to be proven wrong. There is still hope in this crazy, mixed-up world. Once again, thanks.
Leif T. AthensLetters
From You!
Lessons To Learn
originally published April 5, 2006
Fear-mongering is not something I support, but signals lately from our national leadership make cold beads of sweat break out on this furrowed brow. In the face of a disastrous war in Iraq that slides from debacle to catastrophe, our leaders now reaffirm for us their demented reliance on a policy of preemptive force against enemies real or imagined. This President’s descent into deeper and deeper states of delusion makes him a threat to us all. He appears to be moving steadily towards an attack on Iran. Since he has no troops, it will have to be an aerial assault. I think that assault will be nuclear. Katrina’s biggest lesson for us is just how great a disaster this man is able to ignore. I think he will unleash such chaos by 2008 as to have grounds to cancel national elections and embark on a constant state of national emergency, from which we will not emerge as a free society. If recent history is any guide, our sleepwalking Congress will march right off the cliff behind their “Fearless Leader.”
Jim Baird ComerIf you are having problems with the site, or have questions or suggestions, please contact us here. Thanks!
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