[Vision2020] Letter to the Lewiston Tribune, expanded and edited

[g. crabtree]

Dearest Northern Idaho Editor New West Magazine,
  I was unaware that what Mr. London and I were doing qualified as an 
argument. I thought that for it to have reached that stage there would have 
to have been some snippy name calling followed by threats of ersatz 
testosterone pumped juvenile violence, surely you remember? From my 
perspective it was discussion, banter, a give and take. You will have to ask 
Mr. London what he thought it was.  I am sure this will come as a shock to 
you but not every disagreement needs to result in ill feeling. As to your 
recommended reading list, what makes you think that I haven't had the 
pleasure? Do you honestly think that should anyone peruse these items that 
they will immediately become as wild eyed and sweaty as you and the rest of 
your amigos? Sorry to disappoint. While I don't agree with everything I see 
in CC's literature, I am fairly sure that I don't see the down fall of the 
western world or Moscow, ID.

Cheerfully,
g. crabtree
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joan Opyr" <joanopyr at moscow.com>
To: "Vision2020 Moscow" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 3:51 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Letter to the Lewiston Tribune, expanded and edited


> Dear Visionaries:
>
> As is so often the case, the more I thought about Tom Henderson's 
> comparison of Moscow's "liberal" city council members to "nervous 
> Parisian" facing the Nazi occupation, the more annoyed I got.  And so, I 
> did a bit of research.  Any idea how many French people died during the 
> Nazi occupation?  Any idea how many concentration camps the 
> collaborationist Vichy government ran?  Did you know that these camps 
> remained in operation for many years after Germany was defeated and France 
> was "liberated?"  What the hell is the matter with Tom Henderson?  Why 
> would anyone -- let alone a theoretical liberal -- toss around the Nazi 
> analogy so lightly, so flippantly, so thoughtlessly?
>
> I have revised and expanded my letter to the Trib and, like it or not, I'm 
> passing it on to you.  (Go ahead and hit that delete key, Donovan.  You, 
> too, G. Crabtree.  BTW, before you argue with Bill London about Doug 
> Wilson's plans for Moscow, why don't you do a little catch-up reading? 
> When you've read Doug's books, Southern Slavery: As It Was, Federal 
> Husband, and A Serrated Edge; when you've read a few back issues of 
> Credenda Agenda; hell, when you've watched the Michael Hayes' documentary 
> "My Town," now available for viewing at the Moscow Public Library, then 
> you might have some idea of what Bill is talking about.  Until then, 
> you're just blowing methane up through your hat.)
>
> Joan Opyr, Northern Idaho Editor
> New West Magazine
> www.newwest.net
>
> Revised letter to the Trib:
>
> Letters to the Editor
> January 5, 2006
>
> Back when I taught the principles of argument to my composition and 
> rhetoric classes, one of my first maxims was that you should never resort 
> to the Nazi analogy.  Why?  Because as soon as you compare any person or 
> any group to either Hitler or the Nazis, you have lost your perspective 
> and thus the debate.  Tom Henderson, once again, has lost his perspective. 
> By comparing Moscow's liberals -- particularly new city councilman, Aaron 
> Ament -- to those "nervous" Parisians facing Nazi occupation, Henderson 
> has not only insulted the pro-business side of Moscow's zoning debate, he 
> has insulted his audience, the whole city of Moscow, and in the process 
> made a fool of himself.
>
> Doug Wilson and New St. Andrews are serial zoning violators.  The college 
> began in a residential home on Polk Street.  When NSA was told by the city 
> that it was in violation of zoning code and therefore must move, Wilson 
> relocated NSA to the Christ Church business office, Anselm House.  This 
> was yet another zoning violation.  New St. Andrews bought the historic 
> Skattaboe Building and settled in the heart of Moscow's Central Business 
> District in which, quelle surprise, educational institutions are expressly 
> forbidden.
>
> Prior to the German occupation, France lost 84,000 men in battle against 
> Hitler's army.  Under the collaborationist Vichy government, France 
> endured countless atrocities; in one incident, SS troops killed 642 
> residents of the small town of Oradour-sur-Glane, including 190 children 
> and numerous Jews that the village was sheltering.  Only two residents 
> survived the massacre, a woman and an eight-year old boy.  Are these 
> really the images you wish to conjure in a debate over Moscow zoning 
> ordinances?  If you want a more apt analogy, Tom Henderson, why not try 
> baseball?  In the great game, after three strikes, you're out.
>
> Doug Wilson and New St. Andrews should be out.  Moscow's previous city 
> council raced through a dim and foolish ordinance that makes no sense in 
> terms of the city's comprehensive plan but which does suit the whims of 
> Pastor "Zoning?  We Don't Need No Stinking Zoning" Wilson.  Let us hope 
> that the new city council acts quickly to right this wrong.  Aaron Ament, 
> John Dickinson, and Bob Stout have made a good start.  Moscow is not 
> Paris.  These are not matters of life and death; residents are simply 
> concerned about the continued retail health of our Central Business 
> District.
>
> And so I say vive la new city council!  Better to have the Resistance in 
> office than a Vichy government, capitulating to the threats of a serial 
> offender.
>
> Joan Opyr
> 1738 Genesee Troy Road
> Moscow, ID 83843
> (208) 882-8085
>
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