[Vision2020] Good Old Climate
Nate Wilson
natewilson@moscow.com
Mon, 12 Jan 2004 12:05:36 -0800
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Dear People with Perfect Vision,
Farewell. I have been lingering on this list for only one reason. So
that, at the end of the Christmas season, I might give you a final tally
of vandalism at New St. Andrews College. In my capacity as freshman
Rhetoric instructor (a position for which Dr. Gier finds me wildly
inadequate) I volunteered to become the official Christmas light fellow
(a position for which even Dr. Gier must admit I have superb academic
qualifications). The first instance of vandalism occured only two and a
half hours after the first lights had been hung, and before completion.
Approximately three weeks later the lights have been vandalized more
than ten times with between seventy and eighty strands of lights
damaged, destroyed, or stolen (a graph Mr. Courtney, please). Throughout
the season damaged strands were repaired, or replaced only to be once
again vandalized.
Now before everyone piles on in unanimous condemnation of such
actions, I would like to come to the defense of the vandals. Apparently,
they have the courage of their convictions. Some people have enough guts
to type a snippy missive to this forum. Others have the courage to pay
two dollars to add their names to a list of people who don't like us.
But the particular war party that cracked their knuckles and got to work
on the NSA Christmas lights last night had enough courage of their
convictions to actually risk a felony vandal charge. Of course some
people, who are always able to grasp the main point at hand, will now
object to my usage of the insensitive phrase 'war party' but back to the
issue at hand. I admire people who, when they say 'Not in Our Town',
really mean it. People who want to do what they can to make us miserable
here. People who are actually willing to admit that they think it
illiberal for anyone to let us have Christmas lights.
Of course the fracas of the last few months has had more than a few
ironies. Tolerance and diversity gurus have successfully created a
climate in which UI students feel free to vandalize the property of
Christians. In fact I'm curious if there have actually been any
businesses downtown, beyond "Christ Church Affiliates" that have been
vandalized in the last few months. In normal circumstances I would
suspect such acts of kindness to be more truly random. But lately,
vandals have seemed more discriminating in their tastes: multi racial
businesses and a Christian college. At this point I would like to invite
Mr. Fox to insinuate that I tore down our own Christmas lights in an
attempt to grab some attention. After all, I have Jewish blood, and we
do that sort of thing. I would like to invite Andreas to wink, wink,
nudge, nudge, insuate something about anti-semitism and Christ Church.
If Wossname Graden would like to bring up the fact that we will most
likely be contributing to the murder of homosexuals, now would be the
time. Mr. London, I think asking the City Council to make it officially
open season on Christ Church members is an excellent idea with historic
precedent in any number of foreign countries throughout the last century.
But perhaps the greatest irony of all (even more ironic than Raul
Sanchez and people on this list using the words, tolerance, diversity,
theocracy, or research) came when members of the GSA explained, in
informal conversation, that Dean and Toni Helleckson, part owners of
Bucer's Coffeehouse, were actually bigoted racists because they adopted
Haitian children. You see, they were saying that life in white American
culture is superior to life in black Haitian orphanage culture. And then
they imposed that view on helpless children.
That's what we've come to. Ideas grip. A climate of hatred is
created. Lights torn down, multi-racial businesses vandalized, official
unpopularity lists, and we're told that we're the threat. People are
scared. We're dangerous. You ought to have us put-down because we might
bite the mailman.
To finally wrap things up, I'm glad we bring meaning and purpose to
your lives. That's what we're here for. Cheers.
NDW
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Dear People with Perfect Vision,<br>
Farewell. I have been lingering on this list for only one reason. So
that, at the end of the Christmas season, I might give you a final
tally of vandalism at New St. Andrews College. In my capacity as
freshman Rhetoric instructor (a position for which Dr. Gier finds me
wildly inadequate) I volunteered to become the official Christmas light
fellow (a position for which even Dr. Gier must admit I have superb
academic qualifications). The first instance of vandalism occured only
two and a half hours after the first lights had been hung, and before
completion. Approximately three weeks later the lights have been
vandalized more than ten times with between seventy and eighty strands
of lights damaged, destroyed, or stolen (a graph Mr. Courtney, please).
Throughout the season damaged strands were repaired, or replaced only
to be once again vandalized.<br>
Now before everyone piles on in unanimous condemnation of such
actions, I would like to come to the defense of the vandals.
Apparently, they have the courage of their convictions. Some people
have enough guts to type a snippy missive to this forum. Others have
the courage to pay two dollars to add their names to a list of people
who don't like us. But the particular war party that cracked their
knuckles and got to work on the NSA Christmas lights last night had
enough courage of their convictions to actually risk a felony vandal
charge. Of course some people, who are always able to grasp the main
point at hand, will now object to my usage of the insensitive phrase
'war party' but back to the issue at hand. I admire people who, when
they say 'Not in Our Town', really mean it. People who want to do what
they can to make us miserable here. People who are actually willing to
admit that they think it illiberal for anyone to let us have Christmas
lights.<br>
Of course the fracas of the last few months has had more than a few
ironies. Tolerance and diversity gurus have successfully created a
climate in which UI students feel free to vandalize the property of
Christians. In fact I'm curious if there have actually been any
businesses downtown, beyond "Christ Church Affiliates" that have been
vandalized in the last few months. In normal circumstances I would
suspect such acts of kindness to be more truly random. But lately,
vandals have seemed more discriminating in their tastes: multi racial
businesses and a Christian college. At this point I would like to
invite Mr. Fox to insinuate that I tore down our own Christmas lights
in an attempt to grab some attention. After all, I have Jewish blood,
and we do that sort of thing. I would like to invite Andreas to wink,
wink, nudge, nudge, insuate something about anti-semitism and Christ
Church. If Wossname Graden would like to bring up the fact that we will
most likely be contributing to the murder of homosexuals, now would be
the time. Mr. London, I think asking the City Council to make it
officially open season on Christ Church members is an excellent idea
with historic precedent in any number of foreign countries throughout
the last century. <br>
But perhaps the greatest irony of all (even more ironic than Raul
Sanchez and people on this list using the words, tolerance, diversity,
theocracy, or research) came when members of the GSA explained, in
informal conversation, that Dean and Toni Helleckson, part owners of
Bucer's Coffeehouse, were actually bigoted racists <i>because</i> they
adopted Haitian children. You see, they were saying that life in white
American culture is superior to life in black Haitian orphanage
culture. And then they imposed that view on helpless children. <br>
That's what we've come to. Ideas grip. A climate of hatred is
created. Lights torn down, multi-racial businesses vandalized, official
unpopularity lists, and we're told that we're the threat. People are
scared. We're dangerous. You ought to have us put-down because we might
bite the mailman.<br>
To finally wrap things up, I'm glad we bring meaning and purpose to
your lives. That's what we're here for. Cheers.<br>
<br>
NDW<br>
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