LETTERS TO THE BOSTON EDITOR

Fear and loathing

LETTERS TO THE BOSTON EDITOR — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:26:11 GMT

Letters to the Boston Editor, August 15, 2008
In the first two pages of the article, Miliard managed to capture the quintessence of Hunter S. Thompson’s lifeblood.

Allow me to open by crediting Mike Miliard for “Where has all the Gonzo Gone?” (News and Features, July 25). In the first two pages of the article, Miliard managed to capture the quintessence of Hunter S. Thompson’s lifeblood. He also took a distinctive look at a somewhat hackneyed subject in a day and age when it seems like everyone who once brushed elbows with Dr. Gonzo is writing a book about the event. The piece was well-researched and eloquently written.

But my fancy quickly ebbed when I turned to the second page and saw Matt Taibbi’s sheepish grin, alongside a comparison with Thompson. I was even more chagrined by Taibbi’s faux assurances that he’s not trying to usurp with his drivel the fallen mantle of a truly inspirational author.

Taibbi claims he’s unique. He prattles on about how “embarrassed” he is each time a book critic or reporter likens him with Thompson. Yet all these assertions seem a bit contrived when Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner has done just about everything in his power to connect Taibbi’s destiny with Thompson’s legacy. This forced linkage was never clearer than when Thompson’s mug graced the September 2007 cover of the magazine along with a campaign-trail article Taibbi attempted to write in the good doctor’s voice. Instead of recreating the Prada of prose, he penned his own cheap knock-off akin to something you’d expect to find at a sidewalk bizarre.

Sure, Taibbi’s writing looks real to the undiscerning eye. For the rest of us, it’s nothing but a sad reminder of the piss-poor quality of product produced by brazen, unabashed scam artists. While imitation is often considered the deepest form of flattery, Taibbi’s writing does a tap dance on the still-fresh grave of a true American rebel. It’s a shame Miliard couldn’t see through his despicable charade.

Justin Mason
Saratoga Springs, New York

IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
Many thanks for Greg Cook’s frank and insightful article about the rise of the Peabody Essex Museum. (See “Peabody Rising,” News and Features, July 25.) I have one comment to offer about comparing the exhibitions of different museums. When organizing theme shows with numerous loans, the playing field is not level. For example, the MFA finds it easier to secure loans than PEM because it has a broader, deeper collection that allows it to make reciprocal loans down the line. In the case of “Painting Summer in New England,” the checklist changed dramatically because of the strenuous loan process.

Facebook follies

LETTERS TO THE BOSTON EDITOR — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:35:07 GMT

Letters to the Boston editor, August 8, 2008
I’d rather live with Facebook than without!

Facebook follies
I’m still chuckling to myself thinking about how true the “Not-So-Pretty Facebook” article (News and Features, July 18) rang. Seriously, why are we friending people on this medium that we barely knew in high school, or maybe didn’t even like? And why the need to broadcast every last feeling, thought, meal ate, song heard, and heartbreak to our current status?

It’s absurd, and yet when I log onto Facebook in the morning before I start my day, it feels like walking into a big party where I know everyone there. It’s also a fun distraction, but there is a balance to be achieved, of course, between “tastemaking” and oversharing.

Put in its proper place (I’m not including the time I couldn’t sleep and was up at 4 am adding flair to my profile), at this point, I’d rather live with Facebook than without! Thanks for all the truisms and the Friday laugh.
Rachel Lombardo
Manchester-by-the-Sea

It seems Sharon Steel’s issues are not with Facebook, but with her own high school–esque insecurities. While everyone would agree that Facebook is a gossip fest, it seems she dedicates entirely too much time and thought to her social-networking-site presence.

I’ve never stressed over what people would think of me based on my profiles, even when my psycho older sister and my former boss added me as a friend. My privacy levels are set so that potential employers can’t search for me on either site, but I still posted the pictures of me in a pink cowboy hat at the recent Gay Pride parade! These sites are for fun and keeping in touch with faraway friends, a point the author seems to have forgotten. I read the article a few times looking for a hint of sarcasm but didn’t find any; I’m hoping Ms. Steel exaggerated her Facebook woes to make a better story.

There are more legitimate concerns about Facebook, a great example being their creepy online tracking system that posted what you purchased from certain Web sites. I was none too happy to be a member of a site that employed a 1984 Big Brother marketing feature. It was highly protested and I believe it has been removed, but who knows what they’ll come up with next?
Theresa Condito
Somerville

I read your Facebook article with interest, but it seemed overblown to me. Folks like Emily Gould and Julia Allison would be overwrought oversharers with or without the Internet. And people who lament over Internet insecurities probably are insecure in other aspects of life, too.

Letter to the Boston editor: July 20, 2007

LETTERS TO THE BOSTON EDITOR — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:30:06 GMT

No blow?
While I can certainly understand the impetus for the “America Blows” article, I found it short-sighted.

No blow?
While I can certainly understand the impetus for the “America Blows” article (News and Features, June 29), I found it short-sighted. First of all, throughout the history of this country (most of which is pre-Bush), it was the dedication and hard work of immigrants that created our culture. Many of our contributions to the worlds of art, music, science, and culture were made by immigrants.

In fact, it was a German (and unfortunately a former Nazi officer) who enabled one of our greatest feats as a country: landing a man on the moon. The author of the article even mentioned a number of classic rock (again, pre-Bush) songs about America written by foreigners. Clearly, if America blows under Bush because of our lack of a “meaningful” contribution to culture, it has always blown.

Second, one has to wonder why so many talented foreigners come here. Sure, a part of it is probably that more money is available. However, I believe it is more than that. True artistic and athletic success has always been measured as excelling in the American market. Our market, throughout the 20th century and even into the 21st, defines global success. As the world shrinks and new markets have opened up around the globe, it is still America to which the most talented emigrate. How can that be if, as you say, “America blows”?

Sonia Chawla
Brighton

Raising discourse
I would like to thank you for your piece on Professor Andrew J. Bacevich (“Bacevich’s War,” News and Features, July 6). Bacevich was my advisor in undergraduate study at Boston University, as well as a mentor.

While my opinion is hardly objective, I believe you have done the professor justice by your piece. You have succinctly explained Bacevich’s arguments in The New American Militarism and his greater philosophy about American foreign policy and the use of violent force to achieve an end. Most important, you have captured the general essence of Bacevich’s personality: short but fair, gruff but encouraging, serious but oftentimes funny in an off-handed way, confident but slightly self-deprecating.

The professor’s critics of late have sometimes had their merits but I’ve often found them to be partisan, close-minded, and viciously brutal. Whether or not folks agree with his politics or political philosophy, he has always been keen on self-criticism and review.

Letter to the Boston editor: April 13, 2007

LETTERS TO THE BOSTON EDITOR — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 18:37:05 GMT

Another inconvenient truth
Ralph Nader was not the reason for Gore’s loss.

Another inconvenient truth
In “Can McCain Make It Work?” (Presidential Tote Board, April 6), you write: “[I]n 2000 — when Ralph Nader’s candidacy cost Al Gore the presidency.” That’s bullshit. Al Gore cost himself the presidency. He ran a pathetic campaign; he allowed Karl Rove & Co. to set the tone and the pace; he chose a sure loser as his running mate (Joe Lieberman: a Republican to Democrats and a Democrat to Republicans); and he couldn’t even carry his home state. Nader was responsible for none of that.

And then Gore rolled over and played dead while Poppy’s friends on the Supreme Court handed Florida to Bush. Nader did as well as he did because Gore made himself unacceptable to a significant portion of what should have been his constituency. I have to admit that Bush has been vastly worse than I could have imagined in 2000. And I am certainly aware of Ralph Nader’s faults — hell, some of his best qualities are his faults. But I am tired of hearing this crap about him being the reason Gore lost. I wish the Green Party was powerful enough to swing a national election, but Ralph Nader was not the reason for Gore’s loss.

George Cruze
Providence

Bad education
Regarding your March 23 editorial “High Time for High Principles,” the court ruled in the Tinker decision that students and teachers do not surrender “freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” But that is exactly what they do. Mom drops off the kids at school, and from then on it is “do not talk out of order during class; keep the noise down; sit straight; and no guns.” If you break the rules, you get detention (kidnapping). School is not a place to express yourself but to learn. When in high school, keep the speech to yourself; there are minors present.

Roland Parks
Chico, California

Frog prince
To the Right Honorable “Big Fat Whale,”

Having complained about an earlier cartoon, I thought I owe it to you to applaud your “Tropical Island Toadies” vacation ad (News and Features, April 6). I particularly enjoyed: “I had a blast putting clothes on all the savages.”

Shake up the BPD

LETTERS TO THE BOSTON EDITOR — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 21:55:47 GMT

Letters to the Boston editor, February 9, 2007
Thank you for writing the article about young shooting victims in Boston.

Thank you for writing the article about young shooting victims in Boston. The lack of competence in the BPD seems to be growing every year. This is something that should be addressed all the time in all of Boston’s newspapers. I think you should rip the shit out of the BPD every week in your paper. I don’t know who else will do it.

I personally know someone who was assaulted (beat in the head) with a lead pipe due to road rage. They accidentally cut someone off while driving. The other driver pulled in front of them, stopped to block them in, and then came at them with a pipe. My friend got out of the car and tried to quell the situation by apologizing, saying he didn’t mean to do it, but the guy proceeded to beat his skull. His girlfriend tried to stop the guy, but he smacked her with the lead pipe too. Luckily, she blocked it, but broke her finger. Then the guy drove off.

The police were able to track the guy down to one of two vehicles: one in western Massachusetts and one in Roxbury. Hmm . . . that’s a tough one. The police then told the two victims that there was nothing else they could do for them. My friends debated hiring a private investigator; they even wrote the chief of police, but to no avail. The whole department needs to be shaken up. I feel that the best way to do this is to expose the situation through media. So, again, thank you for the article. Keep ’em coming!

Ben Case
Boston

Hip and hopping
The statement that hip-hop is dead is a fairly weighty one; it’s something that has to reach a pretty serious group consensus worldwide to have any validity whatsoever . The fact that it is being spouted from the mouth of Nas, a multi-millionaire rap superstar (who, it must be mentioned, has not put out a decent album since his 1994 debut . . . and even that record is grossly overrated) and being taken seriously by anyone seems pretty incredible.

Hip-hop is alive and well where its true home will always be: on the streets, and on the underground/independent scene. Whether or not these commercialized clowns on MTV and BET choose to acknowledge that fact is irrelevant.

Jeremy Brittan
Cambridge