Madness in the mid-west
The following Letters to the Editor were published in the Morris Sun Tribune on Saturday 30th April 2005.
Many told to not make noise
An April 20, 2005 Minneapolis Tribune article by Paul Levy covered the controversial “Cootie Shots” touring show from UMM. I guess if “art imitates life” and if the idea of art is to speak to the larger community, then “Cootie Shots” may have been a success, whether all the children saw it or not.
I was a part of that first touring production from UMM 35 years ago when I was still doing morning sign on at KMRS radio. We were proud of that first effort. But we certainly did not have nearly the impact of this production.
There was a quote from Laura Carrington, a Morris school board member and retired teacher; “Oh it’s very obvious. There is a script called ‘The Parable of the Stimples.’ The Stimples are people who are told that it’s OK to make loud noises, but just don’t make them in public. Isn’t that similar to what, for years, homosexuals were told?”
I guess other things struck me as more obvious. Blacks were (are) told that it’s OK to be … just don’t make any “loud noises” or step out of your place.
Women, even in the U.S., not long ago, were told that it was OK for them “to be seen but not heard.”
Disabled people have always (maybe still) endured the message that “while you can’t help what you look like, we don’t really want to see you around us and our children. You are disturbing.”
The Vietnam vets came home to a country that pretty successfully ignored them and gave them the message to “not make any noise.”
Certainly the Jews, for generations were told that (maybe) it was OK for them to be. … but just don’t call attention to yourselves in public; until, of course, Hitler went on his rampage to kill them all.
Maybe most obvious, historically, is a religious figure. Now, of course, the public university would not dare promote a blatantly Christian message. However, isn’t it pretty obvious that they could have been making a subtle reference to Jesus Christ? Certainly the Pharisees and the officials of the time (and probably his family and friends) told him; “Don’t make such noises and draw attention. Certainly don’t declare in public who you are!” We know what happened to him.
We also know that his insistence on carrying the words of love, tolerance, non-judgement and acceptance of others has endured for centuries.
Bob Flynn, Minneapolis
Hats off in mourning
Regarding the “hat’s off to Morris mom’s email” letter from the April 27 edition, I agree, we should all remove our hats. We should remove them to mourn the loss of civility evidenced by this anonymous mom’s display of ignorance and fear. We should remove them to mourn the openly bigoted, homophobic remarks of a school board member published in the Star Tribune. And we should remove them to mourn the fact that this small fearful group bullied our elementary principal into making a most unprincipled decision, a decision to placate the bigoted, and accomodate the intolerant. Ask any of this fearful group to define irony. … I bet they can’t.
Pete Boever, Morris
July 5th, 2005 at 3:22 pm
W/R/T Hats off in Mourning
Dear Pete:
Yes, I agree. Sadly, Mel Foss is a smalltime self-appointed minder of the moral structure of the US, something he does from his lofty position as a weekly columnist for the Norwood/Young America Times (circ. ~2400). Unfortunately, he represents most of what is repugnant in American Christianity today: self-righteous, bigoted, judgemental, and just plain unpleasant. I’ve read his column periodically and he loves wrapping his little local prejudices selective Bible quotations as if that made them more palatable. Mel exemplifies the statement “You can tell a Christian, but you cannot tell him much!”
A lot of my friends are gay. One of my kids is a lesbian. She’s getting her Ph.D, on full scholarship, no less. Her partner, who already has her Ph.D., is doing very well in her chosen profession (”Good, good, you married a doctor!” ). I am as proud of her as I am of the other two kids. Life is short and people should find whoever they can to bond with that makes them happier and fills their lives with love. The plumbing doesn’t matter.
Mel’s attitude, both as stated here and in his columns, that she and anyone like her deserves whatever they get because they’re a moral blight on the face of ‘Murrka is both un-American and un-Christian. While he has a right to his opinions and to state them, I am also reminded that the problem with free speech is that you have to put up with a lot of c***.