Letters for October 21, 2004

More words about words

Re “Find another word” (SN&R Letters, October 14):

Obviously, James Jones missed the point of my letter, but he also proved it. Racially offensive terms are upsetting and should not be used. I understand his feelings about lynching; 95 percent of our native populations in California were wiped out in relatively recent history.

Mr. Jones did not bring up the original subject, the use of “Redskins” [as a team mascot name]. Perhaps he’s a sports fan. He says we don’t need Indians using racially offensive terms to prove a point, but how many African-Americans use them regarding sports teams? How many are members of these teams? Is this classy?

Instead of attacking another person of color for fighting racism, perhaps some self-reflection is in order. Not once in his letter did Jones condemn the veto of Assembly Bill 858. In my letter, I obviously condemned all racist terms. Bigotry is bigotry; no one group is a victim of it, and no one gets a free pass.

Anthony Burris
Sacramento

SN&R scores 10 points

Re “The big 10” (SN&R Editorial, October 7):

This editorial is a nice summary of our situation. How many times must we be shown evidence of the incompetence and outright deceit of our current federal administration before we “get it”?

The most recent chapter in this sordid four-year scenario is the latest confirmation (of many) that Iraq neither possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) nor was a threat to the United States as President George W. Bush claimed when he decided to invade that country.

But this is just one of many egregious faux pas.

Any corporate chief executive officer/management team with such a record would have long since been ousted by its board. So, why are we split on what to do?

Is it that just a small percentage of American voters—only those who died (plus families and friends) in the 9/11 attacks and in our military—have sacrificed for the “war on terror”? Perhaps we revel in our tax cuts (to be paid for by our children and grandchildren), embrace the president’s religiosity or enjoy the power of invading and occupying a small sovereign nation. Or, is it that because of the media barrage, we just no longer care much, matching the president’s response on network television earlier this year when asked about the lack of WMD in Iraq: “Well, what does it matter?”

Chuck McIntyre
Sacramento

What would Jesus use to cover his Bible?

Re “Best place to get bound in leather” (SN&R Best of Sacramento, Writers’ choice; September 30):

Ah, the perfect example of Christian hypocrisy: taking your Bible to Cal-Na Bindery to remove the “old” cover (to be tossed into a landfill?) and get it re-covered in a dead-animal hide. Contrary to popular belief, leather is not a byproduct of meat, which thou-shall-not-kill Christians eat daily, but contributes about a third of the profit of the meat industry.

What would Jesus cover his worn Bible with? A brown recycled shopping bag, like we used to cover our textbooks with in school.

Christians, wake up and smell your hypocrisy! Do you make up the SN&R readers who voted “Slaveway,” a corporation with one of the worst workers’-rights records, as the third “best” grocery store? You need to question your religious leaders, your politics, your beliefs and most of all your everyday actions. That’s what Jesus would do.

Sharie Lesniak
Sacramento

Let’s talk genes

Re “Frankenfood: A global food revolution with local roots” by Melinda Welsh (SN&R Best of Sacramento, September 30):

Thank you for the sidebar on the Calgene Flavr Savr tomato and the brief history of genetically engineered food.

It would be great to see a more in-depth article on this subject, as California voters in some counties are considering initiatives about genetically modified crops in this election.

Olga Mandrussow
Sacramento

Corrections

Re “Tollbooth cookies? Yum!” by Jackson Griffith (SN&R Scene&heard, October 14):

The writer incorrectly referred to the Pollbooth Knockdown concerts at the Grand on October 15 and 29 as the “Tollbooth Knockdown” concerts.

Re “Lookin’ for a kiss” by Jackson Griffith (SN&R Music, October 7):

The writer incorrectly listed band bassist Dan Marquez as “Dan Perez.”

These have been corrected on the Web site.