Letters for August 1, 2002

There are very few people I hate. Bin Laden is one, and I hated my ex-wife for years, but not any longer. Hate is a negative emotion, not one that I relish, and there is no one who I “love” to hate—least of all Bob Grimm. I read some of his reviews a couple of years ago but found his reviews inaccurate and lacking in depth. Some were offensive. Since then, I’ve stopped reading anything written by Grimm.

There are excellent movie reviewers whose opinions and insights I respect, but Grimm strikes me as the equivalent of an emotionally retarded child who rants and raves at anything he doesn’t like.

Do the people of Reno a favor—get a good movie reviewer rather than subjecting us to Grimm.

John Breck
Via e-mail

Who’s toking tofu, now?
Re “Kissin’ Off the Constitution” [RN&R Rant Issue, July 11]:

If only Al Gore had been rightly elected, you could be basking in the golden age of Pure and Enlightened Democratic rule. You could enjoy your retirement not as a curmudgeon but as a kindly sage who would parcel out nuggets of First Amendment wisdom, all the while culling away the other really annoying amendments that only made sense in 18th Century White America.

Al Qaeda would be wiped out with one massive of shipment of Earth in the Balance and more than 3,000 innocent Americans and their families would be avenged. Then you would be free to drive your hybrid car that runs on sweet dreams, good intentions and corn-ahol to a GLAD meeting to nibble on tofu cake to celebrate the end of minority oppression.

Alas, none of that has come to pass, and you are left to judge the intelligence of men you’ve never met based on what you hear from Jay Leno (a sage in his own right).

For now, honey bees and cows go on being exploited, AIDS activists will have to be content with only $125,000 in research per death (as compared to the $2,000 per death from heart disease). Congress is run by (gasp) Republicans. The swell of patriotism threatens to infect us all with ugly words like “God” and “unity.”

Now, from this little sarcastic diatribe you may deduce that I don’t appreciate your rant. Au contraire! I personally thrive on the angst of myself and others. Its not diversity that makes America great, it is our God-given right to shoot our mouths off. Liberty isn’t too bad, either.

Do your best to not ram any teenagers’ asses this summer. You might wind up in front of Judge Doerty. It was a good rant, Guy, but try to lighten up a little. In a few years you might be in an old folks’ home, and if all the nurses think you’re a bit of prick, then none of them will want to change your diaper.

K. Locke
Sparks

Add a rant on litter
Re “Rant” [RN&R, July 11]:

Trash belongs in a trash can. Why is it that so many people discard their trash on the side of highways orstreets, in parking lots and in the middle of the desert? Do these people also throw their trash on their kitchen floors? Do these people like to look at trash?

Let me focus on cigarette butts. These nasty things are thrown out of car windows by the thousands every single day! Isn’t this trash too? Yes, and it looks nasty!

I remember vacationing near Yellowstone in 2000. Wildfires were at an all-time high that summer and smoke was prevalent throughout the region. Yet while driving to Yellowstone, this idiot in front of me threw his cigarette butt out the window! Didn’t the recent Gondola Fire start with someone’s discarded cigarette butt? I can’t even get away from these things when I’m snow skiing! There they are, discarded, lying in the snow. I can see them from the chair lifts! And then there are the idiots who like to dump their ashtrays in parking lots!

We only have one United States of America. If we really love and respect our homeland, we can keep it clean. Do not expect someone to pick up after each and every one of us.

We have landfills for a reason—to discard our refuse and keep it centralized in one place while nature does its time-consuming process. If you would like trash dumped in your front yard, please post your address.

Brad Peters
via e-mail