EVERYONE’S ALLOWED FLAWS
I have a comment on Heather Wisner’s brief piece on OBT’s upcoming weekend performance [“Rush + Robbins,” WW, June 3, 2009]. And unfortunately what triggered me to write to you is an all too frequent feeling that I get about much of Willamette Week’s reviews. Ms. Wisner refers to Jerome Robbins as one of America’s “greatest choreographers” and then quickly transitions into who was also “controversial and in some quarters despised.” She then gives a two-sentence history to explain the despised comment.
Jerome Robbins was a deeply flawed human being; from all accounts pretty tortured, by many accounts was very difficult to work with, by others very demanding but hugely giving. The choices that he made during the House [Committee] on Un-American Activities hearings tormented him for the rest of his life. I don’t believe any of us would have wanted to be in that position. And he was a drop-dead genius choreographer whose work remains magnificent and spanned Broadway, the movies and of course his seminal work with the New York City Ballet.
To sum up this complex human being in a few sentences, particularly with such a nasty swipe, is sophomoric at best and lousy journalism at worst. Ms. Wisner should tell people to go see OBT’s works because the choreography is great, and hopefully OBT’s young dancers will do it credit. If people are interested in Robbins’ life they can read about him.
You, me, Ms. Wisner are likewise flawed human beings, we are allowed to be. We do not suffer the burden of genius.
Your paper has plenty of space for politics, save it and the vitriol for where it belongs, not in a dance review, it serves no one well.
Mark Koenigsberg
Northwest Flanders Street
THE REAL ROGUE: LACK OF PUBLIC TRANSIT
Karla Keller is lax about her parking tickets [“Meter Maid,” WW, June 3, 2009], but she does the crime and does the time, so to speak. If she gets there in time to put in another five hours, though, she has done nothing wrong. So why get worked up? Twice she’s driven while DUI. Once 20 years ago. Once recently. This isn’t good, but it is hardly spitting at DUII laws. I loathe drunk driving, but Keller doesn’t come close to deserving a Rogue designation. Plus, raising parking fines might simply encourage Keller to plug the meter more efficiently. Meaning other drivers STILL don’t get to park in her space.
What would help downtown parking is increasing bus and light rail service, not reducing it, as TriMet is doing. The problem is more than the recession. TriMet must encourage people to get out of their cars, as should your Meter Maid and Rogue desk writers.
Let’s try creating mass transit that runs until after the bars close: no drunk driving; no stranded concertgoers. Expand Saturday and Sunday service. People could get to religious services on the bus, instead of needing their cars. Think about things a little bit before going after a person who has figured out a way to deal with a city-wide problem without actually hurting anyone. Actually, that she misses the meter means she’s providing extra income to the city. And Howard Weiner should be embarrassed. He’s a lot smarter than that. News with an edge, my ass.
Bill Michtom
Northeast 55th Avenue
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Dick Cheney is a war criminal. The lie nurtured by corporate media that torture “kept us safe” won’t mask Cheney’s criminality no matter how many Sunday news shows he parades around on. Besides, he failed us on 9-11.
Torture is a war crime. It is explicitly stated in the “UN Convention Against Torture”, the “Geneva Convention”, and the US Constitution. It is absolute and unequivocal. Under section 2340A, it is a 20 -year prison sentence for one infraction and a possible death sentence if torture results in death.
Human Rights Watch report states: “approximately 100 detainees, including CIA-held detainees, have died during U.S. interrogations, and some are known to have been tortured to death.” Additionally, newly released memos implicate Cheney in the water boarding of detainees to extract false confessions tying Saddam Hussein to Al Qada to justify the Iraq war. Cheney should be worried.
Unfortunately, instead of portraying the documented abuses that have occurred as war crimes warranting accountability and condemnation, the media portrays the monstrosity and abomination of torture as some kind of casual debate. The framing goes something like this: Does torture work or doesn’t it? Should we use it, or not use it as a national policy? Let’s talk about it.
The first tactic of a tyrannical dictator is to convince their people that it is in their best interest to suspend civil liberties and torture people in order to protect the country from external and internal threats. This is Cheney’s national soul-rotting mantra. America must reject it—unequivocally.