Letters

Appearances

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

I’ve said this before—and maybe it’s the kind of thing that’s so universal as to be unnecessary to say—but I spend an awful lot of my time trying to distinguish what’s important from what’s illusory.

Just last week, this country was discussing Rachel Dolezal, the ex-NAACP chapter president who was accused of pretending to be black. I heard many people passionately discussing the issue—in person, on TV, on social media. Issues of self-perception or intentional lying aside, I’ve got to ask some questions: Who really cares? Is this story important or is it just a distraction?

It’s Thought Lite. This country needs to have a real conversation about race. We need to understand many complex issues from systemic, systematic methods of oppression of people of color to concepts of white privilege. Since a large number of Americans recognize there’s a problem—even though most would be loathe to say we’re a racist country or that we practice a defacto apartheid— and since the Rachel Dolezal story has superficial aspects of race, it makes us feel as though we’re talking about something important.

But it’s not important. She’s one woman out of 320 million people who got caught misrepresenting herself in order to benefit herself in some way, and then attempting to create a rationalization after she got caught. But it sidetracked the issue from a conversation we were beginning to have, a conversation that grew out of Ferguson, Missouri, last summer.

But we allow ourselves to be distracted at our peril. The nine murders allegedly committed by Dylann Roof at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church sure refocused the dialogue to something that mattered. But I’m reminded that one of the big racial discussions about South Carolina was the possible murder of Walter Scott in April by a police officer.

There is a takeaway, although it’s probably an impotent gesture: Think about what the media feeds you. If it doesn’t directly impact the life of you and those within a five-mile radius of you, it’s not important. —D. Brian Burghart brianb@newsreview.com

Categorizing by race

The South Carolina massacre is a dictate for you. My mother, God bless her, was a media consultant and a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. She taught me much about stories. Write about black and white churches. Generally, white people have caved to a realization they can get rich from huge church memberships. To get the bread, they don’t preach the Bible; they preach what’s popular. Black churches and their parishioners are mostly meek, caring and humble. White Christians are greedy, insensitive and self righteous. Black Christians have not strayed much from their roots that began with the poorest of the poor. Slaves hid from their masters and engaged in true worship. False doctrines of demons don’t bother the devil, a master attacker of genuine followers of Christ. Those nine are proof. But then you are the expert. I work at Wal-Mart.

Milo Reese Reno

No opinions, please

Re “She’s the mayor” (Feature story, May 28):

I am a recent graduate of the journalism school. One thing I was taught that stuck with me was the importance of being neutral. There is no neutrality in “$50 million bowling stadium, facilities falling apart, facilities unoccupied. Their main job was to bring conventions in, but if you look at the numbers on conventions, they’re failing in ways that aren’t indicated by the economy, because we are a destination for different groups than Vegas is.” This is an opinion—a leading opinion, too, which makes it twice as bad. I don’t know if you have ever been to the bowling stadium, but I go there every day. My journalism degree has led me to work there with the fantastic staff and great atmosphere. Now, I dare you to go to anyone who has a 25-yearold house and ask them if they have ever had to replace anything to keep it up. I guarantee you, the answer will be yes. While it’s a little dated, like older houses tend to be, it is a nice facility. All of the workers, including me, work on maintenance and upkeep as part of routine. There is no way anyone would walk in and say it is “falling apart.”

How about, instead of ragging on the NBS and its sister facilities, we mention solutions to resurrecting the world recognition of building and Reno? Let’s not tear something down, which would cost more money. Instead, let’s improve and “recycle” its use, perhaps to be more attractive to younger tourists and to attract more conventions. As for the politics, it’s not about the size of a board, it’s about what you can do with it. If the mayor has a vendetta against some of those members and wants them off the board, that’s her problem, not the people’s. I don’t want to hear about how the leaders can’t get something done because one member has an issue. No one on a board is supposed to sit on a pedestal and cement themselves to their opinion. Nor do we elect people just to rant and vent about the impotence of other leaders. We look to these leaders to talk, come up with compromise and action. If Mayor Scheive wants to talk about what she wants, that’s great, but don’t bitch to me. Give me solutions. Jennie Lindquist Reno

But how do you really feel?

TSA admits that in its latest internal trials, 95 percent of weapons, bombs, explosives, etc. get through its screening. Call me callous, but were I in the blowing-up-airplanes business, this would be a helluva good time to start buying airline tickets! “Move along folks—nothing to see here. We’ll gladly abuse you in due course after we miss a few more bombs and return to duty from our union break.” Let’s just look at the flagrantly obvious for a moment: What does it take to become a TSA employee?

Overweight and out of shape is a definite requisite. No experience at security? A huge bonus. Inability to correctly use words with more than two syllables? Willingness to abuse little old ladies in wheelchairs and fondling children and good-looking women? A definite hiring plus. Additional hiring points? Ability to not see wires protruding from their vest as they proceed through the “security area.” The average TSA slug (apologies to real slugs and snails of course) is more beholden to their lunch period than actually doing their job. Solution? That one is easy. We consumers (a.k.a. taxpayers who are forced to remit for such routine yet abhorrent incompetence) must simply choose not to fly. “Market conditions” will ameliorate itself when the airlines—who are no longer filling seats—force the TSA to disband itself—and hire the Girl Scouts as replacements.

K. R. Kollman Reno

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Home rule

Re “How to count 101” (News, June 4):

Dennis Myers writes in “How to count 101” that legislative malapportionment gave “enormous power” to regions with few residents. That would be enormous veto power. Any county that wanted to make decisions that the rural counties did not want to be a part of had the authority to set sail down that path with no small county say in the matter. However, in the most urbanized state in the union, it was far more politically expedient to drag everyone along for the ride. The U.S. Constitution was drafted with a bicameral legislature to protect small population states from a tyranny of the majority for the same reason that Nevada set up their state government that way, but our politicians seem blind to the fact that the protections afforded our state should not apply to our counties. In my foray into local politics, and the many trips to Carson City to beg favor from the powers that be, I was approached more than once by Clark and Washoe county politicians that wanted to know what they could do for the rural areas. “Let us keep our taxes and leave us alone” was never the answer they seemed to be looking for. Jim Goldsworthy Lovelock

Editor’s note: Actually, Nevada’s founders did not set up their government the way the U.S. founders did. The U.S. founders created one house, the Senate, that had equal representation from each state. The Nevada founders did nothing similar. In the original state constitution, both houses of the Nevada Legislature were apportioned by population, reducing the dysfunction fostered. This was altered in the 20th century, but then changed back again.

Who cares?

On June 10, the city of Reno reversed its previous decision and We Care Volunteers started serving our dinner back at the Tom Vetica Community Center (CAC) again. YAY!

I don’t know if you heard the latest from a couple of weeks ago, but the city gave Morris Hotel a cease and desist order for the homeless feeding, saying there were fights and a stabbing. Amber Dobson got all the police reports from every single example they cited, and there weren’t any that happened during the time when We Care Volunteers served dinner. Also, Dobson noted that with the new management of Volunteers of America (who run the homeless shelter on site) not only were the gates locked at 6 p.m., so were the bathrooms. Homeless folks had no where to “go” from 6 p.m. until they opened the next morning.

As a result of the cease and desist order served on the Morris, We Care Volunteers moved the dinner under a bridge—no joke—and like the trouper she is, Dobson just kept on going. I think the City Council was embarrassed, and really, there are not public venues that are not going to work.

Dobson and some supporters went to the City Council meeting, and she pleaded her case and won. You know, after attending two City Council meetings in the last six weeks, I came away impressed. The Reno councilmembers are really nice folks, and it appears that they really do care about Renoites. People are quick to complain about a government, myself included, and we’re quick to speak up, loudly, but it’s time for me to speak up and to say “good job” to the city, and of course Dobson and all the supporters.

Thank you to RN&R for your support and concern and your awesome front page article (“Street Cred,” RN&R, Dec. 4). It’s great to have such a local news venue. You help Reno in more ways than you know. Kelley Shewmaker Reno

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