Letters to the Editor Adult Paranoia To the Editor: Thank you for the articles "Gun Shy" and "The Private Life of Teenagers" in the May 27th issue of the Flyer. For the past month, I have watched the fallout from the Littleton shootings balloon into a wave of paranoia and fear. This country has grown increasingly intolerant and prone to hysteria (not to mention hypocrisy have you heard Newt Gingrich's or Dan Quayle's latest speeches?). For the most part, the media have only been fanning the flames. Just yesterday, I read an article in Time magazine which provided a handy little table, listing each of the participant's names and the relevant facts, as well as presumed contributing factors to their rampage. As I perused the row labeled "Cultural Influences" and read the contents of each box (Game: Quake; Hero: Hitler), I couldn't help but think how incredibly trite it seemed. Every troubled teenager's life could be boiled down to a simple list of emotional problems and unpopular tastes in music and entertainment. What a load of crap. It is reassuring to see someone doing real journalism in this area. A critical, insightful look into the actual events of Mathew Kaminski's suspension and legal difficulties is vastly more entertaining and enlightening than another inflammatory fluff piece on violence in computer games or the need for more prayer in schools. Keep up the good work, Flyer! David Rhode e-mail (Memphis) Grrrrl Power To the Editor: I was so pleased to see your article "Rocking the Boat" (Politics, May 27th issue) about Mary Rose McCormick thinking of throwing her hat in the mayoral race ring. She's got my vote (and I'm a Democrat!). Hey, M.R. "You go, girl!" Kari Anne Tuthill Memphis Amen To the Editor: Thanks and a big fat amen to David Hall and the artists consulted for "Bid-on-Blues" (Art, May 13th issue) for accurately expressing the feelings of frustration that I and the vast majority of my artist friends have been muttering under our collective breaths for years. We are being taken advantage of and taken for granted. Not only do we put our time, talent, effort, and, yes, money (materials ain't cheap, either) into these causes (worthy ones, granted), but the lack of minimum bids, or any percentage of sales going to the artists, or at least reimbursement for supply costs only add to the nagging suspicion that we're getting royally poked. And to illustrate even one more reason I'm not donating to any of these fund-raisers for the foreseeable future: At the last one I participated in, after giving detailed instructions, both oral and written, as to how my piece was to be exhibited, they still set it up upside-down and backwards. And it sold for five dollars more than I shelled out for materials. C. Book Memphis A Fan To the Editor: Mary Shoup and the cast of the Trinity Dinner Theater wish to thank you for your critique of our play In Search of Casablanca (May 13th issue). We were absolutely amazed and delighted with your honest and striking comparative analysis and evaluation of our efforts. We find much joy in our attempt to entertain local folk but also those who traditionally travel from afar. Our brochure mailing list now consists of approximately 1,400 people all over Memphis, the U.S.A., and a few foreign countries. Thank you for attending our play and for giving us our very first review. We will treasure your words. Charlotte Comes Memphis Littleton Answers To the Editor: Did I hear correctly? Did President Clinton, sullenly biting his upper lip, advise the survivors of the Colorado school massacre and the rest of the country that children should "solve their problems with words, not weapons?" What, like he himself is doing in Yugoslavia, or Iraq, or Sudan, or Afghanistan? Politicians express bafflement at this latest school massacre and blame the Internet, or lack of family values. After all, where could the kids of today possibly get the idea that lots of weapons make them powerful, or that killing innocent people is okay? Martin Luther King Jr. warned us years ago that a nation which spends more each year on its military than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. What example do our nation's leaders offer to the youth of this country and the world by taking money from domestic programs and continually feeding an absurdly bloated Pentagon, or celebrating our ability to kill and obliterate, or boldly asserting that U.S. "interests" give us the right to choose in what region of the world people will die? Instead of stopping the horror and tyranny of Hussein and Milosevic, our leaders have only exacerbated the violence, devastation, and death in these nations. What can be said of a nation which uses military might to bomb foreign nations and peoples on a sickeningly regular basis? It is a profoundly dangerous mistake to claim that these acts of brutality have no bearing on violence among the youth in our country. Bridgette Burge Mid-South Peace and Justice Center To the Editor: Who is to blame? Actually, we all are. As we approach the new millennium, we should take a step back and look at where we are and what we have become. Tragic deaths such as these are becoming too commonplace, and will continue unless something is done. Many people, kids and adults alike, are on the edge, because they are missing something in their life that they should have as an inalienable right. Love. It may sound simplistic, but the only reason there are as many problems in the world today is because of an absence of love. Love can be expressed in many ways. Love can be expressed as simply as acceptance, or as complex as compassion. To many of us, it is much easier to hate, ridicule, or conspire against others. We have become more self-centered and have fallen victim to desensitization. Many people blame the recording, motion picture, and television industries, but how can they be responsible? They only produce what we want to see, and what we want to hear. That is the problem, and the answer. The shootings at Columbine would have never happened if Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were loved and accepted, and not forced to band with other outsiders, who were then ridiculed even more. How can we only blame two people for the tragedy at Columbine? There is a sickness eating away at the strength of humankind, and that sickness is Hate. It all comes back to one issue. The answer was stated a generation ago by John Lennon and Paul McCartney: "All You Need Is Love." David R. Shelby e-mail (West Memphis) "Inflammatory Rhetoric" To the Editor: I feel compelled to respond to Naomi Van Tol's letter to The Memphis Flyer in the May 20th issue. Ms. Van Tol's total disregard for this region's history is born of either ignorance or of a willful misrepresentation of the facts. I suspect that her letter was an example of the latter as opposed to the former. An individual who would characterize this region's ancestors as members of a "beaten traitor Army" has no place in this community. I find her rhetoric to be offensive and inflammatory. Al Tredway e-mail (Memphis) An Alternative For Confederate Park To the Editor: What's all this lunacy about Confederate Park? I am a white Memphian who is weary of all things Confederate. We have parks, monuments, and museums from one end of this state to the other all paying tribute to the Confederacy. Quit beating a dead horse! I believe Memphis should set a precedent by dedicating a park with a beautiful and dignified statue to those who suffered atrocities we can't even imagine and yet had the courage to survive. Any location will do, but I can't think of a better one than Confederate Park to honor those oppressed people. It overlooks the river where the slaves arrived and were auctioned off. Plus it would be a wonderful downtown tourist attraction. Of course, if the hardline Confederate junkies are aghast at the idea, they can imagine it as a symbol of what the South fought so hard to preserve the enslavement of human beings. For once Memphis citizens would have something they could and would rally behind. Something they wouldn't mind having their tax dollars used for. Its time has come. Marina Foster Memphis The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. Send mail to: Letters to the Editor, POB 687, Memphis, TN 38101. Or call Back Talk at 575-9405. Or send us e-mail at letters@memphisflyer.com. All responses must include name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters should be no longer than 250 words. Editor’s Note The time has come. On page 6 we announce the winner of our first "Making A Difference" grant. As part of our 10th-anniversary celebration (and thanks to an anonymous donor) we are giving away $50,000 during the next year. All Memphis nonprofit organizations are eligible. CORRECTION: Harold Reddicliffe's name was misspelled in the May 20th art column. We regret the error.