Letters
- Details
- Written by: Steve Elias
As a Lake County resident I was proud of how the meeting was conducted. Speakers for both sides alternated in their presentations, which were both eloquent and heartfelt. It once again reminded me why I enjoy living here.
But (yeah, the other shoe dropping) I am strongly of the opinion that the previous board was right to drop the use of Indians, and that the current board would be way wrong to bring it back.
The reason for my opinion is pretty simple. The Pomo nations of Lake County got a raw deal at the hand of the European settlers and their descendants who live here today are still feeling the results. While the Kelseyville High School community may think the Indians should “get over it,” that’s only likely to happen when the ripples caused by the depredations of Kelsey and Stone and their followers fade in strength and time.
While 150-plus years may seem like a long time to the proponents of the Indian mascot, my conversations with local natives tell me it seems like yesterday to them, many of whom are still engaged in a struggle for survival stemming from how they were treated by the very people who gave Kelseyville its name.
The least the Kelseyville High School community should do is to recognize the pain expressed by the many people who oppose the Indian mascot, and not engage in conduct that can only serve to make the pain worse. Insisting that the Indian mascot be brought back to stoke the fires of school spirit and build attendance at basketball games is in essence the same type of behavior (although no killings or rapes are involved) that Kelsey and Stone engaged in back in the 1850s – trampling on Native American dignity with no regard whatsoever for Indians as human beings.
Along this line, I was most struck by the number of Kelseyville High School students (current and former) who with the utmost sincerity recounted instances of cheers that made them “proud to be Indians.” The fact that most of them are not Indians seemed not to matter. It would appear that the students who are “proud to be Indians” are blind to Indians as a people, a nation, a race.
Perhaps it is because of the culture we all grew up in, which included stereotyped depictions of Indians in movies and comic books that fed into a generalized racism regarding all people of color. But whatever the reason, it appears to me that the people who want the Indians mascot back in action view Indians as part of the public domain, to be used as symbols by anyone for any purpose. Pleas by Indians to be treated as human beings, with dignity and respect, fall on deaf ears.
In the end, Kelseyville High School will go down in history as a progressive institution if the board honors the previous board’s decision – and the local tribes – and rejects the attempt to bring back the Indian mascot. Conversely, the high school and the Kelseyville community will forever be labeled as both mean-spirited and ignorant of the steps that must be taken to help heal the wounds their ancestors inflicted on the peoples who now only seek to end the use of the word Indian as nothing more than a high school plaything.
Steve Elias lives in Lakeport.
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- Written by: Johnny Carney
If, at the start of World War II, we had stayed home and minded our own business, stopped the continuous flow of war material to the Allies, it is not unreasonable to assume that Hitler would have defeated all of Europe including England and (God forbid) Ireland.
Now, think about the impossible logistics in front of him. Three thousand miles of water is in the way. And, as we used to tell the school yard bully, “What will I be doing while you're doing that?”
Is there any good reason why we try to be policemen and arms supplier to the world ?
And, if my conclusions are wrong, would we have a German garrison in Kelseyville?
AND THE ANSWER IS .......
Johnny Carney lives in Kelseyville.
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- Details
- Written by: Leona M. Butts
To the Berkeley City Council:
No one is forced to join the Marines by having a Marine Recruiting Office in their city, so what is the problem?
As an American citizen, I am horrified at the action you have taken against the Marine Recruiting Office in Berkeley. These are the very kind of people who make it possible for you to even exist. Where is your backbone? Have you no knowledge of history? What cowards you are! Without the military, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines under civilian control, how long do you think the United States of America would continue to exist? There are no freedoms without a strong military. Freedom is never free!
By your actions, you are saying to anyone with an idea of infiltrating or conquering this country, come on, take over, we don't want anyone to defend us, we just threw them out of town. If that ever happens, what rights do you think you will retain? Wake up, look around!
If you don't like the United States of America, maybe you are the ones that should get out of the town! Freedom of speech or freedom to assemble and all of our other freedoms are only guaranteed with our strong military under civilian control. The same is true about gun control. If government takes away the right, for qualified people, to own firearms, then only the criminal element of society will have the guns. Just look at England and Australia. Crime has greatly increased since the guns are no longer available for civilians in those countries.
Leona M. Butts lives in Clearlake Oaks.
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- Details
- Written by: Wanda Harris and Sunol Westergren
California Democrats are committed to do everything in their power to achieve legislation at all levels of government requiring that all water supplies and water districts be owned by local government entities and will urge Democratic legislators in California to support such effort.
Water is essential to all life and is unique in the realm of products in that water consumers have no choice, but must have it or die. Recent scientific reports on global climate change indicate great uncertainty about changes in precipitation patterns and areas of drought or flood as warming continues. This uncertainty makes transparent public ownership imperative.
Many communities whose water systems were sold to for-profit corporations, or who have entered into partnerships with those corporations, have experienced higher prices for water, poorer quality of water, and poorer quality of service.
Finally, thinking of water as a commodity to generate profit is contrary to our country's values and morals, but for-profit companies, both domestic and foreign, now own 14 percent of the United States water supplies and seek to acquire more, potentially endangering the public health and safety and national security.
The Lake County Democratic party, one of the original authors of this resolution, asks that all of our elected legislators work diligently to support and achieve this goal.
We urge you to support and advocate for legislation requiring that water supplies and districts be owned by not-for-profit entities such as special districts, municipal water districts and non-profit corporations and be under public oversight.
Wanda Harris is chair of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee; Sunol Westergren chairs the Lake County Democratic Club.
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