GTO WORLD WIDE

VOX POPULI

Where YOU give us The Message

This is where our readers and writers get to talk to each other.

Enjoy!


FROM OUR MAILBAG 1/19/98 - 1/23/98:

FROM BB C.[No City Provided]:

subject: what if he were white

What if he were what?

If he were white he'd be Michael Milkin fat-catting on the lecture circuit and bucking for sainthood. If he were white he'd run for Senator like Oliver North. If he were white he'd get a job as a boss-hog radio talk jock like Gordon Liddy. If he were white he'd STILL be governor in Louisiana. If he were white he'd never go to Death Row, except as a journalist, cleric, or victim's parents, unless he was white and poor.

If he were white and President of the United States, the entire Congress could be out for his hide for selling the White House silverware to the Red Chinese for chump change, and he'd go out for a round of golf with Tiger Woods. If he were white it would be business as usual.

I'm out.

ROBIN MILLER RESPONDS: BB, if our fine (former) Maryland State Senator Young was white, he would have been prosecuted years ago for his many prior ethical lapses. And if he was white and running for office from a majority white district, he probably never would have gotten into office. The man has a HUGE history of associations with drug dealers and other flaky characters.

Now what a lot of us are hoping for is a real blood bath in the Legislature. Having pale skin doesn't make someone stupid, believe it or not, and most of us know Young isn't the only member who's been on the take, just the most blatant and obvious one. Hopefully, Young will soon stop his "White man be so bad to me" yelping and cooperate with the Grand Jury that's asking him to testify about some of his fine State House buddies, including nebbish Governor Parris Glendenning, who is no less corrupt than Young, just slicker (and more legal) about the way he extorts money from companies that want to do business with the state.

As for Ollie the North, he *didn't* win the only election in which he ran, remember? And taking a cue from his playbook, Young is already on the lecture circuit himself. North plays to white idiots, Young plays to black idiots. Since there's plenty of idiots of all races to go around, both of them will prosper while you and I stuggle. Life in America!

Young doesn't need to get a talk show like Liddy. He already has one.

And the fact that the State Senate tossed him does NOT keep him for running for his old seat in the next election, something he's already planning to do. Being a victim of white persecution in a district where the average resident is not only black, but too stupid to cross the street at the corner instead of in the middle of the block, Young will almost certainly get back into office.

Lousiana politics? The voters there seem to be living proof that black people have no monopoly on stupidity. Maybe the folks there can do a trade: Barry for Roemer. Except I've always suspected that those two (who are pretty similar in a lot of ways) spend many late-night hours on the phone together trading tips on how to scam the public. Of course, my Congressman, the Honorable (and certifiably looney) Roscoe T. Bartlett, is probably too busy trying to keep soldiers from hangin nekkid girlie pics in their lockers and sponsoring Mormon-favored bills to listen to a commie libral Kike misegnator like me.

As far as Death Row: you're right. It's horribly racist that something like 95% of all the murders committed here in the mid-Atlantic are black, as are over 90% of the victims. I gather that in order to even things out racially you'd like to recruit more white killers? Is that what you were trying to say? I wasn't sure what you meant by your comment on the subject.

In Washington DC, fewer than 1/3 of all murders result in convictions. See, in most of the 'hoods there, people watch others get shot, then when the cops come around they din't see nuffin, no sir, I wuz lookin the other way. Then some of the bozos figure, "Yo, da white muffas up Northwest done got mo' money than us drug-addicted welfare-case teen-pregnant petty-thieving black folks 'cause of all that discrimination they be doin' by not hiring me for big money just 'cause I can't read," and go pull one of their stunts in a white neighborhood and find, to their surprise, that police get called and witnesses come forward and testify against them, and Oh MY! The stats about how blacks are more likely to be punished for killing whites than their "brothers" take another little upward blip.

We've really, really got to do something about all that racism. I did my part by moving to the suburbs. Are you doing yours?

Robin Miller

FROM Ron M., San Francisco, USA:

RE: King and Country

Very astute observation, Rod, about the iconic shift in King images. I grew up with images of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. being vilified, jailed, and tarred as a communist. We remember him now as denatured and tamed, the voice of reason. What we forget is that reason is dangerous by its very nature to the unnatural order of things, the 25 Trillion Dollar Pyramid Scheme we call home.

On the other hand, and in the spirit of the more things change, the more they stay the same, my children reminded me yesterday that one day a few years ago, as we were driving along one of those avenues name for Dr. King in memoria, my youngest was asked to name the man whose image graced the banners hanging from the lamp posts. In her three year old frank confusion, she said, "Is it Rodney King?"

HOT SAUCE, ANYONE?

FROM Darryl C., Hershey, PA, USA:

Dear Friends --

From my perspective, one of the best expressions of Dr. Martin Luther King's philosophy is found in the Principles of Nonviolence, as set forth in his book "Stride Toward Freedom." This afternoon, I searched the Web to see if a verbatim copy of that text could be found, but only succeeded in locating brief summaries contained in items C. and H., below.

From the attempt, several excellent websites did turn up which are listed without attempting to put them in any particular order. Hope you'll find them of value. I've made every effort to copy the URL addresses exactly, in the event that some may be case sensitive. If you encounter any difficulties in accessing them, please let me know.

Best wishes,

Dave Matthews

A. I HAVE A DREAM
http://web66.coled.umn.edu/new/MLK/MLK.html

B. LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM CITY JAIL
http://www.netgaincc.com/sddemocrats/ltbirm.html

C. A SOUL FORCE SEMINAR ON THE WEB
http://www.melwhite.org/sfseminar.html

D. GANDHI & KING: A SEASON FOR NONVIOLENCE
http://www.gandhiking.com/

E. THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., DIRECTORY
http://www.leland.stanford.edu/group/king

F. NONVIOLENCE: INTERNET RESOURCES COLLECTION
http://www.igc.org/igc/issues/nonviolence
G. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
http://www.interlog.com/~fatjack/king.html

H. NONVIOLENT ACTION HANDBOOK
http://www.west.net/~beck/NAH1-Nonviolence.html

I. BLACK NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS
http://hrr.web2010.com/products.htm#BLACK

J. BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS ABOUT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
http://www.interpublish.com/mgpublish/king.html

K. LEARN MORE ABOUT KING BIBLIOGRAPHY PAGE
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/group/King/Bibliography/res_Guide.htm

FROM Eitaroh A., Ealing, London, UK:

Dear Rod

I'm just writing to say I enjoy your site regularly, and particularly Fliss Ussher's London Calling.

This week's "Docklands Phenomenon" was particularly good. Given that I live and work In London, I found the article refreshing, bringing to light aspects of the City that I take for granted. It was an evocative vignette of the mixed architectural and cultural heritage of the city, particulaly the pubs, the tubes etc and the odd innocuous comment like "people tucked up in bed watching telly", I find worthy of a lyric from a Blur song (Oasis rival).

However, I do think the Big Ben and tulip's graphic with Europe written underneath, is slightly ill-advised. Surely Big Ben does not have iconographic status for the whole of Europe! Brussels would have something to say about it if if did!

On a separate note, I do enjoy other sections too. Jennifer Blue's Planetary Madness I find interesting. I've never read any astrology column as weird, whacky and wonderful as that. Some of the jokes I also find interesting; an insight into contemporary US humour?

Keep up the good work

Yours sincerely
Eitaroh A.

FLISS USSHER RESPONDS: Thanks so much for your feedback, Eitaroh. That's exactly what I was trying to do - show how the city is evolving, repurposing its heritage to cope with new challenges, and how people are somehow preserving threads of community against all the odds.

One plan we have for the graphics is to start using the work of a London photographer, who takes beautiful photos of the city along much the same themes. We're negotiating that one at the moment. Glad to know you enjoy the whole site, in all its variety.

Fliss

As a card carrying misogynist I applaud your addition of Charlene to this rag. She will bring honesty to a new level. Give her a raise or face my wrath. Hire me and I will make history and the future. Keep da faith.

Angsto the Clown

CARLENE RESPONDS: Oh, Angsto, I know you love me, but when will you get my name right? It's Carlene, not Charlene.

Technically, though, Carlene is just a pseudonym, so I guess you can call me Charlene. Although, Charlene conjures up images of a forty-year-old, heavily made-up waitress working a diner in Tulsa. I doubt you want to have that image of me.

FROM Andy T., London, UK:

Rod -

You asked for comments on 'London Calling', so I'd thought I'd contribute a few.

I've been looking at the column since Xmas, and think it is one of the most creatively written, humorous and insightful columns around.

I particularly like the observational tone and the way Fliss interlinks travelogue and descriptive passages with though-provoking contextualising. God - I sound like some demented lit crit professor!

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that 'London Calling' has got a lot better recently with the new formatting and looser style. Does it only come out once a week? Do you know if Fliss Ussher has written anything else? If so, could you tell me where to find it?

Thanks,
Andy T.

FLISS RESPONDS: Thanks for your feedback, Andy. I'm really glad you like London Calling. Travelogue and contextualising ... hmmm, I'd say it verges on monologue and pretextalising, but at least you've given me something to aim for.

*Are* you a demented lit crit professor?

G21 is the only way you'll get to see the creative writing that I do, but I also work as site editor for Dennis Publishing's technology magazines (http://www.theden.co.uk ), which includes writing daily news. I'm a bit more restricted there, although I did get away with describing Microsoft as having fluttering eyelashes yesterday, which was fun.

Enjoy the wacky world of words,
Fliss

FROM "Eurochannel", GERMANY:

SHOP ART

Art comes to life through the individual handwork of an artist. The variety of feeling produced by a work of art can be as large as the number of viewers. The future will show which works of art in the continuous flow of creativity will emerge above the others and last.

http://www.shopart.com/shopart/english/index.html

Telstra Smart Art Competition

Howíd you like to have your design plastered on a new Telstra Smart Phonecard? How about getting $500 worth of those Smart Phonecards, personalised for you like a business card? Thatíd impress a few bods! Now imagine a $3000 scholarship from Telstra to the Art or Design school of your choice! Not bad huh? Just impress us with your design for a card and you could be one of the four finalists whose design will appear on our new range of Telstra Smart phonecards. These designs will also appear on ABCís Recovery show on Saturday, March 28, when theyíll be judged to decide on a National Winner... whoíll also win the $3000 Telstra scholarship. OK... hereís how easy it is to enter: http://www.loud.net.au/telstra/

Welcome to MUSIC THERAPY INFO LINK

This site was created as a place to gather information, help open the lines of communication and networking, and educate the public about the field of music therapy. It is my hope, as both the author of this web site and a music therapist, that those who visit will not only find valuable and pertinent information, but will discover MUSIC THERAPY INFO LINK to be a place where one can network with collegues, meet new friends, and share the love of music. http://members.aol.com/kathysl/index.html

THE CHICAGO ATHENAEUM Museum of Architecture and Design ANNOUNCES ITS GOOD DESIGN AWARDS COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION FOR 1998

January 15, 1998, Chicago, Illinois...The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design announces the museum's annual GOOD DESIGN program, which includes an Awards competition and exhibition scheduled for 1998.This year's GOOD DESIGN program welcomes industrial and graphic design from around the world. Any consumer or business product and graphic design (including packaging, advertisements, books and magazines) is eligible for the GOOD DESIGN Award competition and exhibition. Last year, the Museum had over 1,000 submissions from leading American, European, Asian and Australian design firms and manufacturers. A jury for Awards judged each product on http://www.chi-athenaeum.org/events.htm