3-6 Letters to the Editor

  • Published: 3/5/2010 4:34:32 PM
Tam’s column missed the mark on Winter Games
 
To the editor:
Hail the 2010 Winter Games! I was quite taken back by Alex Tam’s article “Summer Olympics more interesting than Winter” in the Feb. 27 edition of the Canby Herald and Woodburn Independent stating that the Winter Olympics weren’t as exciting as the Summer Games.
 
It is all in the eye of the beholder. Alex definitely didn’t want to tune in enough to watch the men’s and women’s gold medal hockey game between Canada and USA, or Shaun White’s amazing half pipe gold run or how about that four-man USA bobsled team?
 
To watch Canada’s Joannie Rochette take the bronze days after the sudden loss of her mother, or Apolo Ohno’s reaction to being disqualified in the 500 meter short track race was a great tribute to what the Olympics are all about!
 
Grace, poise, sportsmanship. My husband and I and our good friends made the six-hour journey to the Vancouver Winter Games to watch three different events.
 
We had the experience of a lifetime — talk about intrigue, appeal and overall entertainment and how glorious the Winter Games are!
 
Vancouver did a phenomenal job of hosting the Olympics.
 
There were volunteers everywhere, all very knowledgeable and friendly ready to help make sure we got to the right spot. The atmosphere was intoxicating. You felt incredible just being there.
 
All Olympians are worthy of our awe and admiration, but the Summer Games are just as exciting as the Winter.
 
I agree that it is easier to relate to some events over others; however the display of the extreme capability of the human body in the Winter Games is simply amazing.
 
How many of us will know what it is like to fly 50 feet in the air with skis and land on one foot or go 95 miles an hour on a luge track?
 
These athletes take out of control and extreme sports to an entirely new level.
 
Alex, you’re invited to our house in 2014. We’ll help get you into the spirit of the Winter Games.
 
Jennifer Ing
Woodburn

 
People putting down play before having seen it
 
To the editor:
I am writing as a recent Canby High School graduate and four-year thespian.
Even now, living in Eugene, I have repeatedly heard my high school friends complaining that, yet again, people are damning the production before it has even been seen.
 
To make wild assumptions and comparisons (i.e. musical to school shooting) about the play and what it teaches the kids involved is ridiculous.
 
Where are the parents? They’re right there with them. The parents are very supportive and if they don’t want their kid in the show, then the kid isn’t in the show.
High-schoolers aren’t living in a glass box.
 
All the things that protesters of the shows complain about every year are things that high-schoolers are exposed to on a daily basis: language, sex, drugs, alcohol. They’re not 8 years old anymore.
 
I have yet to see the show, but from what I gather about it, it is about not hating the things we fear and being more open to understanding them.
 
I apologize if that’s wrong, but really, the citizens of Canby need more of that.
The thespians raise their own funds and spend their own money when it seems like the budget can’t afford it.
 
Have more faith in the students to behave like adults when performing a show with “mature” content. As a former student, I can tell you we have done it time and again, and each production takes a lot of work, time, and energy.
 
In saying we give up most of our lives during the three months before a show takes place is no understatement. To put all that time and energy into a show, only to have a grab bag of citizens ignorantly call it a horrible show makes it feel like all the work has been in vain.
 
It makes the cast and crew feel terrible about themselves.
 
If you disagree with the show and would not like to see it, then don’t. But there’s no need to talk down to all those involved and make wild assumptions and comparisons.
 
In the end, you’re just picking on teenagers, and bringing unnecessary attention to yourself.
 
Kathleen Kelly
Eugene
 
 
 
Bat Boy play not an abomination
 
To the editor:
To the editor, students and staff, mothers and fathers, citizens of Canby and beyond, you should all listen (or read) closely to the following information: the current Canby High School play, “Bat Boy,” is just that — a play.
 
It is not an abomination; it is not a reason for public outcry. Some of the letters to the editor I have read have led me to believe that certain citizens of Canby have been living under a rock for 50 plus years and demand we all do the same.
 
The objectionable content in the original text was removed and the edited version is the version to be performed.
 
If you want to better protect the student body (which must be made of glass, the way you demand they are treated), get MTV taken off the air and block every advertisement in the magazines and newspapers.
 
We, as Americans, pride ourselves on having the freedoms of speech and expression.
By attempting to destroy this musical before it can be performed, you are going against what we hold true in this country.
 
As for the comparison of the continuation of this play to a school shooting, I must say I am deeply offended, as should all readers of this publication.
 
The request was to respect the hard work and dedication of these students and allow them to continue their play after all the work they’ve put into it, and for this they are compared to mass murderers?
 
Onto the points brought up about the need to acquire more funds for the added play, I must say, as an earlier letter pointed out, that those who demand the halt of this production due to monetary issues should take the time to look up the amount of money the schools actually give the plays. In comparison with the amount of money some of you must be spending annually on supplies for your foil hats, it is but a drop in the bucket.

The majority of the money for these productions comes from the productions themselves, not the school.
 
Instead of making a preemptive strike on the cast and crew of this production and demanding they halt, I suggest you actually go see the revised version of the show.
 
Yes, the original script was a bit racy in places, and that is exactly why it was edited.
 
Drama is a form of art, and as such has been battling such cries for censorship since its creation. I can only urge the citizens of Canby to think for themselves and not let these hateful, objectionable and offensive letters to the editor discourage them from going to view the musical.
 
To liken the continuation of this show to a school shooting is to liken a fighter jet to a bucket of fries; both are likely to be American, but aside from that fact, the comparison is ridiculous.
 
Aram Shabanian
Oregon City

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