Letters for October 2, 2008

Women fought for rights
Re “'Cause I’m a woman” (Know You’re Right, Sept. 18):

Amanda Williams seems to have a slight hole in her education. She says, “People don’t like or pay attention to angry people” and “Women were given the right to vote.” They weren’t “given” the right to vote. They organized, fought, demonstrated and demanded the right to vote. And yes, a lot of them were angry. For their efforts they were beaten, ridiculed, institutionalized and worse. This history seems to be completely lost on Ms. Williams. It must be nice to live in her fantasy world, where you can believe that women now get equal pay because of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, even though the current average to this day is 77 cents on a man’s dollar. It must be nice to look down on “angry bra-burning” feminists from the ‘70s (and just for good measure throw in a tired reference to Birkenstocks) yet benefit from the very advances for which they stood and fought. Gov. Palin likes to say in her scripted speeches that she’s a product of Title IX. Good for her. If she ever gets up the courage to take questions from a voter or reporter, I’d love to hear her respond as to how a Title IX-like program would fit in with her “personal responsibility and less government” mantra. If Gov. Palin (or those of her mindset) had been in charge in 1920 or 1963 or 1972, Amanda Williams would have no right to vote, no right of expectation for equal pay, and no equal access to an education. Gov. Palin is no feminist. But she is a woman whose very life-story is made possible by a long line of proud–and yes, sometimes angry–feminists.

Haydn Bertelson
Reno

Use and reuse
Re “Paper or plastic?” (StreeTalk , Sept. 18):

StreeTalk asked, “Paper or plastic?” Wrong on both counts! What about reusable bags that you take into the store every time you shop? They hold much more than paper or plastic, are easy to carry, and don’t add to landfills.

Other countries charge you for the bags they provide for your shopping. We should start doing that here so that people learn to use their own bags over and over.

Susan Moore
Reno

A clean backyard
We read about the recent success of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful in their clean up campaign and applaud their efforts as well as those other groups who work to make Reno a better place. As a primary destination area for tourism, we think it’s important to maintain a clean community that frequently will entice visitors back. My wife and I walk in the mountains on a regular basis and pick up what we can. We have made a list of a few things which we think the community could be doing, some of which are already in place:

· Have a hotline for areas that are being neglected that the public could call in and identify.

· Have vending type machines at convenient locations where consumers can take plastic, glass, etc. and be compensated on the spot for them.

· Encourage the use of websites such as freecycle.com, where private parties can give things away.

· Have a bulk pick up day where homeowners could get large items removed on a normal trash day, such as appliances. Many people are unable or unwilling to make a trip and pay the fee to the transfer station or Lockwood.

· Realizing that Waste Management can’t do this for free, consider the implementation of a sales tax increase that would be used exclusively for the purpose of advertising and maintaining a clean community. Appoint a group of private citizens, possibly one person from the various Neighborhood Advisory Boards, to implement and oversee how the funds are spent.

· Place dumpsters at strategically located sites that are used by the public for access to the surrounding mountains.

· Consider installing cameras at the main access points to the off-road areas that could take a photo of all incoming vehicles. Post signage that would state that any illegal dumping would be subject to a substantial penalty.

We would hope that the community works to become the Cleanest Little City in the World.

Mark and Clemencia Glenn
Reno

That’s a thought
Re “The bag ban theory” (Feature story, Sept. 18):

I’ve been reading the RN&R since I was in high school, and I’ve noticed a change. Gone are the days where it was more of an underground newspaper filled with quirky articles and reviews of the arts and goings-on in the community, and instead it has become an Eco-warrior magazine. I tire of seeing multiple page stories of the plastic bags, eco-cars, how much of a carbon footprint people leave behind, etc. Perhaps you should print a biweekly ecology magazine and leave the actual news and reviews in the RN&R? I was Portland for a month last year, and their version of the N&R was more in tune to what the Reno version was.

Doug Rogers
Reno