NORTH BAY BOH E MI A N | DEC E M BE R 1 9 -25, 20 1 2 | BO H E M I AN.COM
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BOHEMIAN
Rhapsodies Even More Slain
In the wake of Sandy Hook, it’s time to stop talking and start acting BY LEILANI CLARK
H
eated rhetoric about guns has been rampant since the killing of 20 first graders and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14. None of these comments are more mindblowing than those calling for even less gun control. Case in point: Rep. Dennis Richardson, of Oregon, who sent an email to local superintendents making the astounding claim that if teachers at Sandy Hook had been armed, then “most of the murdered children would still be alive.” As a former high school teacher, the idea of having to keep a gun in my classroom to keep my students safe is incomprehensible. How about, instead, we make it impossible for a disturbed individual like Adam Lanza to get his hands on a semiautomatic Bushmaster .223 rifle, a gun with the capacity to fire dozens of highvelocity rounds in the course of just a few minutes; a military-style gun legally registered to Adam Lanza’s gun-enthusiast mother; a gun produced by a company whose corporate parent is Freedom Group, owned by New York–based hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management, firm supporters of the Second Amendment—the same company that used this ad slogan for the Bushmaster: “Consider your man card reissued.” Rather than demanding that teachers pack heat, government representatives should reinstate the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004 and still hasn’t reached the floor for a renewal vote. How about if the government made it illegal for Walmart to sell these weapons to the public? “Our hearts our broken today,” said President Obama on Friday. But more hearts will be broken unless the United States, as a society, a nation and a government, thoroughly questions the toll of a constantly growing arsenal of weapons and the association of guns with masculinity and empowerment as normal and acceptable. Whether we’re talking about 20 children in Connecticut or 176 children killed since 2004 in Pakistan by American (and Obamasanctioned) drones, a dead child is a dead child. The ability to kill anyone at anytime should not be the ultimate signifier of “freedom.” Leilani Clark is a staff writer. We welcome your contribution. To have your topical essay of 350 words considered for publication, write openmic@bohemian.com.
Paying Fair
Thanks for a great story on a very important topic (“Pinot, Poverty and Politics,” Dec. 12). Keeping in mind that with the shockingly low wages for picking grapes, and the fact that many of these workers are exploited and endangered with poor working conditions, lack of adequate shade and water and few job protections, another solution to the lack of low income housing is the use of union jobs and union contracts which bring with them a voice at work, safety standards, healthcare and decent wages. Paying good middle-class wages is the best way to allow people to afford housing, so they don’t have to live three or four families to an apartment or drive two hours to get to work. The people and especially the wine growers in Napa can’t complain about low-income housing if they don’t pay living wages. If they aren’t willing to pay decent wages, they should be building housing that workers can afford. They can’t count on taxpayers to subsidize the wine industry with roads, schools, housing and infrastructure while they make huge profits by exploiting workers.
LISA MALDONADO Santa Rosa
Where’s My Stuff? Uh . . . are you sure you, or someone else, isn’t putting us on? (“This Modern Retort,” Dec. 12.) I mean . . . Ken Stout, the grumbling, racist, would-be McDonald’s french-fry chef from the San Jose area (Milpitas?). It’s very tempting to explain to this guy that there may be other reasons than reverse racism for the fast-food industry not rushing to get him on the payroll, but I’m pretty sure other Bohemian readers have already
taken care of this. Hopefully, someone will have sent his retort to Bill O’Reilly. Who will ever forget Bill’s dark and dank Irish pout, explaining to the world how all those terrible nonwhite Americans are in it for the “stuff”? Hey, listen, I’m half-Italian. So where’s my stuff? I refuse to be mixed in with traditional white people.
Anyway, my message to Ken is, try Burger King, dude.
ROLAND JACOPETTI Forestville
Tomorrow’s Wit Please tell me you were playing a prank on your readers with last week’s open mic, “This Modern Retort.” I had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April Fools’ Day. Much as I would love to remain in denial that one of your “white, male” readers would get so defensive about Tom Tomorrow’s brilliant wit, I must concede that these backward views on race and sex still exist. Please, Mr. Stout, get out from your unnecessary defensive shield and understand that this country/world is still controlled by white males and their many unwitting enablers. Look at the faces of those in control in the dominant culture to understand where change is needed. If you are an inclusive human being, that will be noted and understood by those working hard for equality and toward a more inclusive world. There is no need to convince anyone, as your actions speak the loudest. The destructive policies of inequality from racism, sexism and classism stem from the power relationships in this country/ world. Come join us in doing the hard work to overcome these dynamics, and save us the misguided self-promotion.
MARY MOORE Camp Meeker