Letters for August 30, 2018

Cars and A&W—grasp the concept

Re “Roots cut” (Upfront, July 12):

Y’know, these folks who are going to put a massive car lot into the vacant Kietzke/Plumb intersection are really missing the boat by 86ing the old A&W. Folks will be really pissed and probably boycott/badmouth them. (Me, for sure!)

It is a place for displaying classic cars. Duh, cars=cars. It’s an ongoing traditional social interaction with community. It’s always good to have any kind of extra “draw” at/near your establishment (especially food).

Craig Bergland

Reno

The next step

Imagine, if you will, a man sitting alone in his Oval Office, trousers undone, as he scarfs the remaining morsels of his KFC and Cheetos dinner and washes it down with a fourth Diet Coke.

A demonic grin suddenly fills his bloated, orange-hued face as thoughts of delight dance in his head: “Trump, you’re a goddamn genius! You’ve got a dimwitted Nazi base of diehard followers that’ll believe anything you tell them! They’re the ones that got you this gig, and they’re your bitches! However, there are others who may not be, shall we say, quite as loyal, and they need to be dealt with! They’re the pseudo-intellectual middle-classers, and the pain in the ass, elitist, partisan witch hunters. With them, you have to be really clever with your gaslighting skills! Start a fire, and while they’re trying to put it out, start another! Throw them off their guard! Keep them confused, disoriented, off-kilter! Distract, and deflect! Lie, and deny! Praise, then malign! Pit them against each other! Wear them down! Let chaos reign supreme! They won’t know what the fuck hit ’em! You simply have to keep the bastards in line, and you’re just the guy to do it, Trump! You’re the goddamn President of the United States! No, not just that, you’re the leader of the friggin’ free world! No, even more, you’re the king of the fucking universe! Yeah, that’s right, Donald, you are the fucking king! Hmm. Make Universe Great Again. We’re gonna need new hats!”

Not so hard to imagine, is it?!

Mark Murray

Reno

Written protest

I have for years been amused and amazed by the myriad of letters/communications sent to your letters section regarding Bruce Van Dyke’s so-called foul mouth.

Invariably these seem to be (otherwise) fairly intelligent, perhaps well-meaning people. Yet they do not see the power of the written word, even as they respond to it in righteous indignation.

Graffiti and filthy language have a rich tradition of changing a society’s mores and its identify. For better or worse would not be the point. The point, in fact, is that the written word and the spoken are the most powerful revolutionary tools we possess. Van Dyke’s detractors fear revolution.

This letter was prompted by a white-haired, red-necked person who sat down next to our group in a restaurant. He wore a T-shirt that read, “FUCK LIBERALS.” When the right’s frustration leads to this kind of desperation instead of to dialogue and at least a semblance of partisanship, we are indeed in trouble.

When lefties see Trump-like childish behavior in a public setting, why would all you prissy, sensitive Van Dyke haters begrudge us our outrage? And if you are not outraged these day, you are not paying attention.

Thank you, Bruce, for hysterical humor and democracy in action.

K. Davidson

Douglas County

Correction

(“Go Public,” Tahoe, Aug. 23)

After the publication of this article, we received a call from Sierra State Parks Foundation tour guide Kelly Cave. In the article, we quoted Cave as saying the Hellman-Ehrman family fell on difficult financial times and sold their Lake Tahoe home and lands to the state in exchange for $6.5 million dollars and the forgiveness of delinquent taxes. The truth of the matter is that the State of California was interested in the land, and the family no longer wanted it, in part due to the cost of its upkeep. The family chose to sell their home and lands to the state in 1968 for $6.5 million. We apologize for the error.