Letters the week of 12/06/01

Cult of Wayne

Wayne Laugesen, youıre a freaking idiot and I donıt appreciate you using me and my five-year-old daughter to further your pathetic opinions about the latest Hill riot. (Re: Wayneıs Word, "A reason to riot," Dec. 6-12)

"The children were nestled all snug in their beds..." Please! We live on the freaking hill! My kids actually ask for earplugs due to yelling, drunk students EVERY weekend! Your questions were loaded and your interview was manipulative. You asked Crosby "Are you mad at the police?" Could you have directed her anymore to get what you want? Fortunately she has more common sense than you apparently, responding: "No, Iım mad at those stupid college students"‹a quote you conveniently left out.

When does tear gas to disperse rowdy crowds become acceptable to you? $50,000 in damages... $60,000? $70,000? When your house burns down from couch fires? If I were a cop, I would have especially enjoyed arresting the jerk screaming: "I know you! *^$! your mother, you ^*&%! cop!" Or how about reporting on the students who were chanting: "Burn another couch!" or: "Show us your bush!" or: "Show us your tits!"

You, my friend, are the cult, and itıs called the "sixties system sucks cult"... yet you drive on the roads, print your papers and attempt to shock for popularity. As for your sweeping condemnation of the Uni-Hill Neighborhood Association having an anti-student agenda, it is again clear that you are completely unaware of the efforts and collaborative events we have supported with responsible students who actually care about the neighborhood they live in. I guess the fact that the homeowners have invested thousands into their homes and that most students are on their parentıs gravy train has nothing to do with your "bizarre phenomena" of the predominant homeownersı interest to keep it sane on the Hill.

Last weekend was ridiculous and your article is even worse. Your reporting is totally irresponsible, Wayne, and you are an idiot. And for the record, I do not mind students living next to me or even having a party. What I do mind is a total lack of consideration for anyone else, violence and destruction. There is quite a difference there, and you fail to distinguish.

Catherine Chipman/Boulder

Editorıs note: The above letter was edited for space.

Great article about the University Hill riots. Keep up the pressure on that prize hypocrite, Tom Russell!

D. Read Spear/Boulder

Before you make assertions using a video as your basis in fact, suggesting that the public view the video to see what youıre describing, please be sure that the video is clear. This video on Boulder Weeklyıs website shows nothing but two segments of who-knows-what, because itıs too dark to make anything out.

Now, instead of showing the Boulder Police to be negligent, youıve only defeated your own point and made yourself look silly. Sadly, a score for the Boulder Police.

Chris/Boulder

Editorıs note: Unfortunately, the streaming video is dark and distorted and made worse by some Web browsers and monitors. The original video, shot and supplied by Catherine Chipman, is not.

I want that book

Wayne Laugesenıs article on Sheriff Bill Masters was fascinating and informative. ("Gunning and drugging for freedom," News, Nov. 29-Dec. 5) I am unable to locate his book, Drug War Addiction: Notes from the Front Lines of Americaıs #1 Policy Disaster, which was referenced in the article. Do you have any information on how a copy of that book could be attained?

Jim Fabinski/Boulder

Editorıs note: Accurate Press in St. Louis plans to begin shipping the books to stores in late December. Advance copies can be ordered by calling: 1-800-374-4049.

Atheist bashing

Wayneıs Word is a very intelligent and enlightening column, and I usually enjoy reading it. However, I was disappointed when reading the article "Lo, the poor atheists" (Nov. 29-Dec. 5).

I expected Wayne to have a better grasp of what the point of removing the religious symbols from the Columbine display is about. You seem to confuse Secularism with atheism. Based on your intelligence, I am assuming that you have simply made an error, though the two things are often manipulated as if theyıre interchangeable. The religious symbolism was removed from the Columbine display because of the separation of church and state‹not because atheists are forcing their beliefs on others. This is secularism, not atheism, and atheists are bound to the same laws as theists.

While artwork asserting the belief in God had to be removed due to separation of church and state, by the same token so would any artwork asserting that there is no God. This is an example of the short-sightedness of many theists: they equate the absence of religious representation as the promotion of atheism. The point of separation of church and state is to create a neutral environment that doesnıt establish any particular belief. Theists and atheists can walk the halls together and hopefully neither group will be oppressed or attacked for their respective beliefs. Also, you are mistaken for thinking that the religious symbolism was removed to avoid offending atheists. Secularism does not protect only atheists. It also protects the followers of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Satanism, Taoism, Christianity, and etc. It was not atheists who took down the religious display. It was secularism.

Vince Darcangelo/Boulder

Iım afraid that Wayne Laugesen has succumbed to a common misunderstanding of Atheism. He refers to the atheistsı "belief in no god" and the atheist agenda that "no god exists". However, to be an atheist, one need only lack "theistic" beliefs. As atheist scholar George H. Smith notes, an atheist does not assert that there is no god; he simply does not believe there is a god.

Iım often surprised how easily people miss this distinction. The prefix "a" means "without," so an atheistıs belief system is simply without god, not anti god. Perhaps "anti-theist" is a good term for someone who denies the existence of god. Some will dispute my point because of what a dictionary says. But a dictionary, by its own definition, reflects what people commonly mean when they use a word. Hence, it would be misleading if a modern dictionary listed only my definition of atheism, as unfortunately thatıs not how people use the term.

What all atheists have in common, as Mr. Laugesen even cited, is their "non-belief." Since atheism is fundamentally about lacking any theistic beliefs, the atheist does not have to justify his position. The burden of proof is on the person who actually holds a belief about the existence (or non-existence) of god.

Some people may claim that my notion of atheism is really agnosticism, but they are wrong. The term comes from the Greek, agnostos, meaning unknown or unknowable. Hence, saying that youıre an agnostic does not get you off the hook: Many people believe god(s) exist, but also claim that knowledge of such a fact is unknowable. They are both agnostics and theists, and base their belief on faith. As Mr. Laugesen points out, the anti-theist can deny the belief in god(s) and hold that position on faith.

So Mr. Laugesen is incorrect in characterizing "atheists" as intolerant folks who want to enforce on others their assertion that there is no god. It would be like accusing all vegetarians of eating tofu.

True atheists do not assert that there is no god; they simply do not believe in god. But even those who hold anti-theistic beliefs should not be condemned unless they seek to forcibly impose their beliefs upon others.

Brian T. Schwartz/Boulder

This is in response to the editorıs note below by my letter to the editor about Wayne Laugesenıs "Lo the poor Atheists" column, in the Dec. 6-12 edition:

I am very sorry to inform you that your statements below my letter were historically incorrect. That Hitler renounced Christianity and became an Atheist is a myth largely propagated by Christians. It originated from the illogical belief that no Christian could commit such horrible acts and that Hitler must be an Atheist. This myth is a prime example of the bias against Atheists. The Christian belief is that Atheists are evil thus Hitler must have been Atheist. If Hitler was an Atheist he was so secretly and did not openly announce it as you say in your note. But letıs let Hitler tell us his beliefs in his own words: "My feeling as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter"‹in a public speech April 12,1922. There is some indication that he was edging toward a belief in a non-Christian supreme being after 1935, but in October of 1941 he said: "I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so." Hitler widely used Christianity to his advantage, was allied with the pope, and had stated that the Jews had to be destroyed because they killed Christ (another Christian myth). When I send a letter to the editor I like to make sure I have at least a pretty good idea of what the facts are, I suggest you also check up on facts before you make notes about letters.

Nathaniel D. Selby/Boulder

Editorıs note: Hitler frequently denounced Christianity. Some examples: "Christianity is a rebellion against natural law, a protest against nature."‹Hitler, Oct. 10, 1941; "Christianity is an invention of sick brains."‹Hitler, Dec. 13, 1941; "The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity. Bolshevism is Christianity's illegitimate child. Both are inventions of the Jew."‹Hitler, July 12, 1941.

Many dead friends

Thanks for Terje Langelandıs article, "Americaıs Madrassa," about the School of the Americas (Cover Story, Dec. 6-12.) But it's not merely true, as you say, that "critics ALLEGE the institute has in fact taught soldiers how to terrorize and kill the people of their own countries." The U.S. Army admitted it five years ago! The New York Times article of September 22, 1996, page 13, starts:

"Training manuals used by the United States Army's special school for Latin American military and police officers in the 1980s recommended bribery, blackmail, threats and torture against insurgents, according to documents made public by the Pentagon late Friday."

I've put the whole article on the Web at vote.org/soa.

I have many dead friends buried in Guatemala thanks to the "School of Assassins."

Evan Ravitz/Boulder

December Dilemma

I was happy to see Boulder Weekly address such a timely and appropriate issue as "The December dilemma" that interfaith families face during this season (Stewıs Views, Dec. 6-12). I just wanted to point out that the recent workshop for interfaith families led by Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, mentioned in this article, was sponsored by Stepping Stones, a Boulder/Denver initiative to reach out to interfaith families. Stepping Stones has brought many innovative programs like this one to the Boulder/Denver community and I would like them to be acknowledged.

Neshama Aliza Fried/via Internet

Starve a CEO

I loved Pamela Whiteıs article "Starve a CEO, feed the poor," (Uncensored, Nov. 29-Dec. 5).

I would like to tell your readers about another worthy charitable organization that you probably have not heard about. It is The Brain Trust. It exists to provide emergency money to brain-injured persons who are at high risk of losing their homes, apartments, etc. We have no paid workers, and a 100 percent volunteer board. If you would like more information, call 303-413-1319.

Don Vogenthaler/Boulder

Bless the homeless

Now, as the days grow colder and darker, we string up lights, light candles and are grateful for the warmth and shelter of our homes. It is also a time to think of ways we can help those without homes‹not only in Afghanistan, but right here in Boulder.

As someone who has been involved in North Boulder community planning for almost a decade, I wish to express my support for the proposed new location for Boulder's homeless shelter. Close to its present North Broadway location, it seems to be an excellent choice of site. Right on the transit line, it will be easy to get to, and most importantly, the site is large enough to allow the shelter to expand sufficiently to meet its growing need.

I appreciate that the City has a process in place to get input from all concerned neighbors, and it is my hope that the proposed new shelter will be approved and welcomed by the community.

As Tiny Tim says, in Dickensı Christmas Carol, "God bless us, every one!"

Rivvy Neshama/Boulder

Guts & talent

To live in America on this planet is to live in paradise comparatively. To live in Boulder, Colo., is to live in both paradise and privilege. To have the Saturday Night Live writers and performers intelligently, wryly and so accurately take on the hypocrisy and deception of the administration and certain foreign policy truly is sublime (yes, to the ridiculous). And I just want to be one of the first to step forward and say thank you to them on behalf of all of us. We owe them a great appreciation and respect for their guts, talent and commitment.

Grant D. Cyrus/Boulder

Dead or alive

Picture for a moment if you were to see an article about President Bush in a widely read and important newspaper from a foreign country and this article had large headlines which read: "Targeting George Bush." Now imagine that in the centerpiece of this article was a more than 6-inch picture of Bush with a large bullseye target drawn on his upper body. Can you imagine the outrage this might provoke in the U.S.?

But on the front page of last Sundayıs Camera Insight section, Dec. 9, was such a picture and an article about Saddam Hussein reprinted from the Los Angeles Times. No matter how we may regard him, this man is the head of a country; yet somehow it is perfectly acceptable given the bellicose and militaristic environment prevalent in the United States to run an article and picture such as this. It seems the response to any problem is increasingly a violent and militaristic one and our president can talk about wanted "dead or alive" without even a nod to the rule of law.

Ellen Stark/Boulder

Old penis stories...

Before the subject completely fades away: I wonder about a group of men who have been passed over for admission into graduate school because of gender‹who have lost custody of their children and who write a check for a chunk of their salaries each month in the name of an ex-spouse. What if this group of men had painted female genitalia to string across a public building in tolerant, broad-minded Boulder?

Kathleen Calongne/Boulder

Qwest sucks

Here's a little tip for anyone else who doesn't like hearing an advertisement ("For only 75 cents...") instead of a busy signal. You can call the phone company and tell them to turn off the continuous re-dial message, and you'll get your good old busy signal back.

John McIntosh Jr./Boulder

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