Category: The Editor’s Desk

Word up

My journalism class at Monticello High School, which produces our school newspaper, the Hoofprint, reads your paper every week. I’m writing this letter from my classroom where, just moments ago, those students saw the headline “Teens, like, totally want to protest” for an article on young protesters [Ask Ace, March 25]. I promised them I’d write, and encouraged them to write, too.

I’ve been teaching high school for almost six years. Some students talk that way, some are just learning how to express themselves well and many are eloquent and articulate. It reminds me of how my dad used to correct my grammar or count how many times I used “like” in a sentence. I would tell him adamantly, “Dad! Listen to what I’m saying, not how I’m saying it!”

So come on, C-VILLE. Stop, like, stereotyping teens, yo.

Louisa Wimberger

Patriot missive 

In response to Ted Rall’s article “Don’t support our troops” [Afterthought, March 18], I must say I am outraged at his insensitivity for those who are fighting or will fight for our country, and the families and friends who must endure not only the horrors of war and the agony of wondering whether beloved family members will return home, but also the endless, mean-spirited ranting of those who owe their First Amendment right of freedom of speech to the same troops they wish to demean. To say Americans should not support our troops or wave the American flag and to compare President Bush to Hitler—and our heroes in uniform to Nazi soldiers—shows not only a lack of thoughtfulness, but misses the point completely.

Whether this, or any war, is wrong is irrelevant to the matter of whether or not our troops should be supported. These women and men have vowed to support our country and our nation’s leadership regardless of the costs, and over the centuries they have done just that. In his zeal to denounce this war and what he feels it stands for, Rall has made the time-honored mistake of confusing support for our troops for support of war. Almost no one relishes the thoughts of war or the consequences of war. Let us not compound the problem by making our troops the new enemy. Let us remember that the waving of the American flag is not a sign of the support of any war, and neither are parades and homecoming parties for our troops. They are symbols of pride in America and joy that the Americans we love have returned home.

I will continue to support our troops through prayer and expressions of love for our troops and the families who wait for them. I will wave the American flag. I will encourage others to do the same. If Rall chooses to do otherwise it is his choice, but I find it a sad and distressing sign that as a nation, we are failing to learn that by not supporting our troops, we are not solving the problems of hate and violence, but are once again rekindling them within ourselves.

Maribeth Hynnes-Messaou

Career counseling

I’ve never seen more slanted and biased writing than that of Ted Rall. He is absolutely laughable, completely devoid of valid logic, and obviously needs a real job. Iraq is looking for human shields. I would suggest Ted Rall apply.

J. Evan Smith

Radio, radio 

I have a word of correction and one of clarification regarding non-commercial radio in Charlottesville [“America at a distance,” InReview/Media, March 4].

Correction: “This American Life” has already been available in Charlottesville, thank you. WMRA airs it on Friday evenings.

Clarification: BBC news has already been available, for an hour at least, on WTJU.

Charlottesville has a wonderful variety of good quality, non-commercial radio. It’s hard to beat it anywhere in the country. This new station makes for even more variety.

Mark Buckner

Skip balloons, build support 

I appreciate Ted Rall’s reminders of the hypocrisies and inconsistencies behind the pro-war platforms of disarmament, terrorism-quashing and despot-toppling [“Don’t support our troops,” AfterThought, March 18]. His arguments against Bush-think are cogent. I disagree, however, with his call to withhold support from our troops.

Rall’s presumption that “everybody in uniform knew what they might be in for when they signed up” is overly simplistic. First, many troops enlisted during the Clinton years, when military force was used more conservatively for the purposes of preserving human rights, as in Bosnia. I doubt many Americans could have imagined a president who would dismiss domestic and international will, bulldoze over the U.N. Security Council and employ attack as a diplomatic strategy. These recruits could not have predicted that they would become pawns in a global (though unilaterally initiated) Hatfield-and-McCoy reprise.

Furthermore, the Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines are marketed as right-wing versions of “Road Rules,” appealing to youthful lust for adventure and sense of purpose. Recruiters don’t school androgen-drunk high school grads about the insidious effects of Gulf War Syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other byproducts of executive branch-sponsored fun, such as death and dismemberment.

We can’t assume that our troops are warmongers just because their boss is. I agree that we should refrain from shows of support that might be misrepresented or misconstrued via media as celebratory. Since war is no party, let’s skip the balloons and fireworks. We can support our enlisted fellows in quieter, more personal ways, such as public prayer and vigil or programs such as Adopt A Platoon (www.adoptaplatoon.org).

Ashley Hatcher

Entitlement issues

I want to object to the title of the March 11 cover story, “Charlottesville’s new homeless.” The problem of low-income people and high rents is not unique to the City. It is a problem shared by our entire area and it cannot be solved by the City alone.

The article states that there are 613 housing units in the city where poor people can use Section 8 vouchers, but only 458 in Albemarle County, which has twice the population of Charlottesville. The City has more than 1,000 people on the waiting list for Section 8 rental assistance, while the County has only 475…because (and you have to look in a sidebar for this) the County has closed its waiting list, indicating that it has no intention of even trying to meet the need in the foreseeable future.

The County is, by every statistical measure, wealthier than the City and imposes a lower tax burden on its residents. Thus, the County can far better afford to do something about this problem than the City. Yet your article, by continuing to refer to our community as “Charlottesville,” seems to imply that homelessness is the responsibility of the City only. The City is already shouldering most of the burden for the entire area. I wonder how many of the 1,000 people on Charlottesville’s waiting list came from the surrounding counties?

It really hurts to see, everywhere I go, the C-VILLE cover referring to “this so-called world-class city.” I’m proud of the effort my city makes for low-income folks. Charlottesville is a world-class city. Albemarle County, on the other hand, deserves the Marie Antoinette award for its efforts on behalf of the poor.

Elizabeth Kutchai

High costs

Thank you for tackling an issue that I have wondered about for many years. I’ve been coming to Charlottesville since I was 6, and have lived here since 2000. Over the past 17 years, I have seen the city change dramatically, and the high cost of living and increase in homeless people has always had me feeling a bit confused about what was happening in this town.

When I was laid off from my first job in Charlottesville, I was faced with finding a job, and not finding many decently salaried positions, I wondered how people making less than $10 an hour were expected to make it in this town. I was fortunate enough to find a good job, but so many have not. Hopefully your article will turn on the lights for many in this town. Just because we have wealthy people living in this town should not dictate the standards of living for everyone else. How many people make a millionaire’s salary in this town, or in this state (and increasingly, this country)?

Eleanor Takseraas