Opinion

OUR VIEW

A big win for Growing Community Media

We have strong and positive news to share with you today.

Growing Community Media, publisher of the Forest Park Review , has just received a grant from the Field Foundation to hire a full-time community narrative reporter for our Austin Weekly News. As envisioned by Michael Romain, editor of the Austin Weekly and GCM’s Equity Editor, the new reporter will document the “steady state” of Austin, West Garfield and North Lawndale.

“This reporter,” Romain wrote, “will help our publication uncover and map the strong networks of people and organizations that create a sense of place on the West Side — from block clubs, Neighborhood Watch groups, Local School Councils and churches to the wizened people on the porch, the sidewalk sages, and the amateur local historians.”

The public narrative focus aligns our expanded reporting with the Quality-of-Life plan developed two years ago by Austin Coming Together. That document reflects a foundational need for West Siders to see their stories genuinely told in local media.

That is our determined intention.

Reflecting the history of the Austin Weekly we have named this new position the Delores McCain and Terry Dean Community Narrative Reporter. Delores McCain was a West Side activist with roots in the Civil Rights Movement. She became a contributing reporter to the Weekly in 2000 and was, in truth, the face of the paper through her weekly Street Beat column. She died in 2010. Terry Dean, who died last month at just 47, was editor of the Weekly from 2005 to 2015. A lifelong Austin resident, Terry was well-respected for his fair and empathetic coverage of the West Side.

We are launching our job search now and urge you to spread the word.

We are grateful to the Field Foundation for the $50,000 grant and to Lolly Bowean, the foundation’s media and storytelling program officer, for guiding us through this process as a still new nonprofit.

We have other grant applications in process. Each one is focused on growing our newsroom so that we can tell more stories and tell them better.

As we move toward the end of the year, we are also deep into planning for our now annual NewsMatch fundraising drive. It is our largest membership drive of the year and we will be asking for your key support to sustain our independent newsroom. If you are not already a member of our independent newsroom, please consider joining us.

This is a big win for Growing Community Media. We are growing on the generous shoulders of our members.

With gratitude,

OPINION

Looking for love in all the wrong places ‘Who is R. Kelly?” asked Gerhardt Aschenbrenner as the members of the Saturday morning breakfast fellowship filed into the Main Café in the quiet suburban village of Poplar Park.

Eric Anderson started laughing. “Asch, I think you’re the only person in Poplar Park who doesn’t know who he is. He was on top of the music world, Asch. Sold 75 million records. Was a pop music idol. And now he’s going to go to jail for racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery and sex trafficking.”

The guys just couldn’t stop talking about the R&B and hip hop star.

“The man is talented,” Dominique admitted, “but his appetite for pleasure had no limits, no boundaries. I mean sex with 15-year-olds!

Pastor Walter Mitty, who presided over this gathering of men, admitted to himself that he didn’t know much about the fallen idol but decided that the guy sounded like he was all id and no superego.

The words the men used to describe the King of R&B were “sick, self-centered, hedonistic, abusive, self-absorbed, pathetic, drunk with wealth and power …”

When he walked out of the Main, Pastor Mitty felt confused about what made R. Kelly tick.

So after he unlocked the door to the parsonage and opened a few windows to let in some fresh air, he called his good friend and neighbor.

“Michael, all they talked about at men’s fellowship this morning was R. Kelly. You and I talked about his downfall a little bit after hearing about his conviction on the radio, but I have this nagging feeling that there is more to it than a sexual predator finally being brought to justice.”

“I know. Like maybe there’s something about our culture that breeds men like that?”

After 10 minutes of sharing their mutual inability to dig deeper into the cultural soil to figure out how a monster like Kelly could thrive so long without being held accountable, they decided to ask Fr. Bob Sullivan to meet them Monday afternoon at Bernie Rolvaag’s bookstore and coffee shop to continue their discussion with a third point of view.

Fr. Bob looked a little out of place in his brown habit, enjoying a caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream. Michael teased the Franciscan, “Isn’t that macchiato a little indulgent for a man who has taken a vow of poverty and simple living?”

Fr. Bob felt the affection from his Jewish friend and responded, “When we take the vow of poverty, what we commit to is not owning anything. Not even this habit I’m wearing.” “Are you from another planet?” Mitty said, joining in on the teasing. The Franciscan replied with a smile, “In a way we are. The way we see it is what humans need most is to be loved. You know, those lines from that old country pop song: I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places? Well, we feel like American culture promotes images of happiness that don’t deliver what they promise. You know that Beatles song?” “Can’t buy me love, right?” Pastor Walt TOM interrupted. “I don’t care too much for money. Money can’t buy me love.” HOLMES Fr. Bob nodded, “You got it, Walt. So taking the radical step of owning nothing, we are firmly declaring that we’re not going to let stuff, if you will, own us. I’m enjoying this coffee, especially since Michael paid for it, but I don’t need it. None of us get it perfectly right, of course, but our goal is to pursue a spiritual even-keel that can take material goods and pleasures or leave them; take fame and success or leave it.” “You sound,” said Michael, “like you think Americans are hedonistic, just like R. Kelly but to a lesser extent.” “Well,” the Franciscan replied, “there’s always that question simple-living advocates ask women: How many pairs of shoes do you have in your closet?” Mitty laughed. “There’s a store back in Manitowoc that sells basic stuff like work clothes, toilet paper and triple A batteries. One of its sayings is, ‘If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.’” Fr. Bob asked, “Is Fleet Farm owned by Franciscans?” He went on. “One example of how Americans are hedonistic is that U.S. consumer debt — credit cards and stuff like that — now totals 14.3 trillion dollars. That’s what, four times the amount in the reconciliation bill Congress is debating right now?” “And,” Mitty muttered to himself, “Americans give only 3% of their income to charity.” “Come to think of it,” said Michael, “I remember reading Hidden Persuaders which Vance Packard published way back in 1957 in which he shows how advertisers appeal to our unconscious desires to persuade us to buy things we don’t need.” Fr. Bob said, “I read somewhere that excessive consumption is an example of looking for love in places that produce the opposite of well-being, and that around half of Americans are addicted to drugs, tobacco, alcohol, food, gambling, work, shopping and even exercise. Looking for love …” Monday night Pastor Walt tossed and turned for hours before falling asleep. He kept trying to figure out exactly what he would say if he gave a sermon on R. Kelly next Sunday.

LET TERS

Further soul searching on Afghanistan

Tom Holmes’ essay “Soul Searching about Afghanistan” [Forest Park Review, Sept. 29 ] mentions death in one section.

“In the last six years, 100 military personnel were killed there. That’s 17 a year.”

Seventeen is not the number to have in one’s mind when conducting soul searching about Afghanistan.

A few seconds with Google yields the following from the Watson Institute at Brown University (https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human):

“At least 801,000 people have been killed by direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan. The number of people who have been wounded or have fallen ill as a result of the conflicts is far higher, as is the number of civilians who have died indirectly as a result of the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure and environmental contamination, among other warrelated problems. … More than 387,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting since 2001.”

Frank Hansen

Oak Park

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(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) 1.Publication Title: Forest Park Review 2. Publication no.: USPS 0205-160 3. Date of filing: Oct. 5, 2021 4. Frequency of issue: Weekly 5. No of issues published annually: 52 6. Annual subscription price: $30.00 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302, Cook Co. 8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: (same) 9. Names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and manager editor: Publisher: Dan Haley, 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 Editor: same Managing Editor: same 10. The owner is: Growing Community Media NFP, 141 S Oak Park Ave Oak Park IL 60302.

11. Known bondholders, mortgages and other security holders owning or holding one percent or more of the total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities are: None. 12. N/A 13. Publication name: Forest Park Review 14. Issue date for circulation data below: September 29,2021 15. Average no. copies each issue during preceding 12 months: A. Total no. copies printed (net press run): 1023 B1. Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on Form 3541: 37 B2. Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on form 3541: 613 B3. Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS: 72 B4. Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0 C. Total Paid distribution: 722 D1. Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS form 3541: 0 D2. Free on nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541:57 D3. Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0 D4. Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail:40 E. Total free or nominal rate distribution: 97 F. Total distribution: 819 G. Copies not distributed: 204 H: Total: 1023 I. Percent paid: 88.16% 15. No. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: A. Total no. copies printed (net press run): 933 B1. Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions stated on Form 3541: 42 B2. Mailed in-county paid subscriptions stated on form 3541: 607 B3. Paid distribution outside the mails including sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other paid distribution outside USPS: 75 B4. Paid distribution by other classes of mail through the USPS: 0 C. Total Paid distribution: 724 D1. Free or nominal rate outside-county copies included on PS form 3541: 0 D2. Free on nominal rate in-county copies included on PS Form 3541: 74 D3. Free or nominal rate copies mailed at other classes through the USPS: 0 D4. Free or nominal rate distribution outside the mail: 40 E. Total free or nominal rate distribution: 114 F. Total distribution: 838 G. Copies not distributed:95 H: Total: 933 I. Percent paid: 86.40% 16. Publication of statement of ownership will be printed in the Oct. 6, 2021 issue of this publication. 17. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager, or Owner: