Concerning the Wednesday column by Joshua Lee: I find myself in agreement with the statement that “the media sensationalizes stories and fabricates a world that is exponentially more perilous than the one we live in.” However, such a statement contains information that is common knowledge.
Thank you Mr. Bus 22 Driver. I lost my wallet on bus 22 on Tuesday and tracked down the bus later. I just want to thank you for keeping my wallet safe for me. My mind was preoccupied with other things as I exited the bus, and my wallet had many valuables in it that would have been very difficult to replace. Also, whoever turned in my wallet to the driver, thank you. It’s so relieving to know that there are still good people in this world. I believe that karma will reward you both. You are honest and good people. Once again, thank you!
I am appalled by the ignorant assumption in your April 7 editorial “Tea-bags” which stated the Tea Party movement is “a group of angry, crazy people who will do absolutely anything to create a scene.”
Today, a runoff election for mayor of Gainesville will occur between Craig Lowe and Don Marsh. For the uninitiated, Marsh is running as “The People’s Mayor,” an appellation proudly displayed at the top of his campaign Web site and on many of his campaign materials.
I’d like to congratulate Chase Adler, author of the incredibly juvenile and insensitive letter to the editor this past Friday, for submitting the most idiotic note I have seen at my time at UF. We apologize that this whole hoopla over Kofi is “tiring” you. It must be hard to sit around all day and read about the obnoxious details of an innocent man’s inhumane treatment at the hands of an officer with a track record of racist acts. It’s apathy like yours and an unwillingness to gain insight on the facts (for one, a mental health crisis does not call for five armed police officers, but rather a trained professional who can properly assist in the situation) that perpetuates and enables crimes such as police brutality. Rather than make a sweeping claim that “There is no such thing as police brutality,” take off your stupid college kid blinders and attempt to really educate yourself on the case and the realities that others who are not so privileged as yourself face.
It is unfortunate that Paul Murty would choose to proliferate the “conservatives are racists” narrative, and to do it with such a weak example. Poll after poll shows that a majority of Americans (especially independents) are opposed to the power grab that is the tragic “health reform” bill. The left has found it imperative to label opposition racist as opposed to arguing against the substantive points that dissenters put forth. After all, who cares what one has to say once that person has been branded a bigot, homophobe, racist, etc.?
Paul Murty, to say all people who embrace the Confederacy are racists is a racist statement in itself. I have two Confederate flag bumper stickers on my truck, and I am far from a racist. To me that flag means that the states were not going to let the federal government tell them how to govern. Was slavery a big part of that? Yes, but that does not mean I fly that flag or put it on my truck to say that I want that part of history to change. It just means I don’t want the federal goverment to tell me or my state what I can and can’t do, like making me buy health care if I do not want helath care. It’s my choice to make.
During my four years at UF, it was obvious that Bernie Machen’s administration had zero concern for the Student Body. When Andrew Meyer was Tasered, when the Graduate Assistants United asked for slightly higher pay to teach classes, and when entire programs were cut without student input, the administration stood squarely against the students. Maybe it is fortunate that the worst offense to the Student Body came the year after I graduated and migrated north. Even if the brutal maiming of Kofi Adu-Brempong was somehow justified, it is the administration’s duty to stand up for its students. The University Police Department exists to protect the Student Body, and when a student is left with gruesome injuries at the hands of a UPD officer, the Student Body deserves an explanation and an investigation. Machen and the UF administration have once again failed the Student Body; blessing a handful of students with a meeting is not enough to fulfill the obligations that Machen is handsomely paid to perform. It has never been more clear that this university needs a new direction and new leadership. We need a university president whose loyalty and responsibilities don’t end with collecting a massive paycheck, and we need justice for the UF Student Body.
Thank you Rosette Charles. Chivalry is not dead, but that is not the issue here.
A gentleman is as gentle as the woman he wishes to impress or pursue. When we see chivalry as a long-forgotten, dusty corpse, it means that somewhere inside we have murdered it. The problem with our generation is not that we don’t know how to court, but that women have forgotten how to be women and men have become utterly confused as a result.
I would like to compliment the Animal Activists of Alachua (AAA) for once again hosting a successful VegFest event (“500 Try Vegan Pizza, Ice Cream at VegFest,” Thursday).
I’m tired of everyone standing up for Kofi. You only have a problem because he is a student like you. You have no reason to defend him. In case you didn’t know, he had been sending e-mails to staff accusing them of wanting to kill him. He was also under the impression he was going to be kidnapped and taken to Africa and slain. He was either on drugs or completely insane. The police officers who broke into his apartment were in the right. They did exactly what they were trained to do. There is no such thing as police brutality. The police are trained to do whatever it takes to subdue a problem. People just blow it out of proportion. Stop defending Kofi, and stop trying to fight the police officers.
I feel the public is ignoring one side of the graduate student shooting incident, probably because it is easier to identify with the student and not with the police officers. People say things like “I feel like this could happen to me,” or “This should have been handled by mental health professionals,” without really thinking about the situation.
I am writing to lodge a complaint against Tommy Maple and Ryan Spencer. A column is an opportunity to make people think about ideas and issues in a way that other sections of the newspaper can’t. I believe the two of you often squander this opportunity in an effort to sound humorous and smart. As an avid reader of The New Yorker, where high-brow, and often convoluted language ultimately serves as a flourish to a more important point, I encourage Maple and Spencer to have a little more respect for their readers. I often finish one of their columns and find that thought-provoking substance occupies a marginal space, and the remainder is a weekly exercise in the stringing together of forced metaphors. Now, I know that these columns are supposed to be humorous, and I think they both have a talent for humor. I only ask that if you’re going to write a column with a subject matter of importance, that the subject matter get a little more airtime next to the humor.
It goes without saying that students should not have to fear the police who are employed to protect them. Kofi Adu-Brempong’s incident is surely a moment the University Police Department should learn from. But the student organizations calling for the end of the Critical Incident Response Team are clearly missing the point.
There is a vast hoard arising at UF. It is recognizable by the hoard’s pasty, livid complexions. You can spot them a mile off by their awkward, stumbling, limp gaits. However, the best way to spot one of these bastion’s life-sucking buggers is to get up close and personal, so you can see the dead, hopeless gaze in their eyes.
I think the Nerf gun ban is important, because we have an undertrained, undereducated police department that has consistently demonstrated incompetence in making emergency decisions. I mean really, how many AR-15 rifle shots to the head to we need to understand that?
I was thrilled to find myself chuckling at reading the editorial on the Humans vs. Zombies game. Even players should have a laugh at their nominated status, as if life as we know it veered into some off-beat version of “Revenge of the Nerds,” and the writer somehow imagined himself as the jock on campus (though said writer may not laugh when jocks get zombie fever, too).
Carly Coleman’s portrayal of rabies as a “ridiculous cause” recognized in April perfectly illustrates one of the many reasons rabies awareness is important: ignorance. Rabies causes horrific deaths in people and animals, and not all cases are so far distanced from our American microcosm. Rabies is a viral disease that infects the central nervous system, and once clinical signs are apparent, the disease is essentially 100 percent fatal in all species.
Dear anonymous, uptight dude who hates the Humans vs. Zombies game: You suck. Life’s too short to hate on others who are enjoying themselves, be they nerd, jock, or a jerk like you. This game is an international hit, and one out of every 50 UF students are registered to play. Registration for this game is double that of February’s game. But, not you. No, you’re too busy hating others who are breathing way too much of your oxygen as they run past you with grins, Nerf guns and fake blood on their faces. So guy, pull the stick out, have a little fun, and purge the green monster from your soul or you will be forever unhappy — a fate worse than being an actual zombie.
Solutions by The State News
