Reader Feedback 1.8.03

Cover shock

I have been a reader of City Newspaper since the days when it was two papers, City East and City West, and have always felt that City exemplified taste, decorum, and sensitivity to its diverse
readership.

            However, I
was forced to reevaluate this assessment when I was confronted with the cover
of the December 18 issue. Plastered across the lower right-hand corner are 2
1/4 giant fingers (3 1/4 if you count the thumb) — all naked as jaybirds!

            Now, I do
not consider myself a prudish person, but I think the point of the cover could
just as easily have been made without such a flagrant display of flesh. The
article being advertised most likely has very little to do with fingers (I
don’t usually read the longer articles), meaning that their inclusion is
gratuitous.

            I realize
that many publications feel that they have to shock in order to entice jaded
readers, but I used to believe that City held itself to a higher standard.

            Granted,
your model has lovely, well-manicured fingers. This, however, only underscores
the insensitivity of the cover. Did the editor ever stop to think that most
Rochesterians at this time of year have dry, cracked fingers?

            If your
goal was to cause a feeling of inadequacy in those of us with average,
everyday, unglamorous digits, you have my congratulations on a job well done.
We are, to paraphrase an advertisement that the Palmolive people had the good
sense to pull from the airwaves some time ago, positively “soaking in
it”!

            And what of
our young people, bombarded as they are with images of impossible-to-attain
standards of hand beauty? Many of our children are being raised by single
parents who, despite working two jobs, can barely afford an emery board. For
these families, a pair of nail clippers is merely a pipe dream. It is no wonder
they all seem to have their hands in their pockets. Their fingers will never be
as perfect or as large as the privileged, lily-white, outsized ones you chose
to portray.

            According
to the Lifetime movie of the week I watched the other day, many teenage girls
who look like Tori Spelling suffer from anorexia and bulimia. This should come
as no surprise, what with the media shoving their fingers down their throat!

            I will
continue to read City for the time
being, but I think I should inform you that if you insist on running more
cheap, degrading, and insensitive images on your cover, I may stop picking up
my free copy and instead read the The Learning Annex pamphlet or the Penny
Saver on my lunch hour.

            Tom Clifford, South Avenue, Rochester

The Buddhist way

“Thou Shalt Not Kill” (December 24) gives
the incorrect impression that Buddhism takes political positions. Presenting
the political opinions of the person you quoted as Buddhist teachings is a
disservice. In fact, the Buddhist view is other than what was quoted.

            If, as your
source states, “The only way to bring peace to the world is to be
peace” because of the “non-duality of means and ends,” then how
to explain the fact that he is “furious” at the Bush administration
for its perceived “arrogance” swaggering, [and] bullying”?

            The
Buddhist way is rather to look at our own fury and desist in projecting our
delusions onto others. Many local Buddhists have taken teachings from Garchen
Rinpoche, a Tibetan lama who was thrown into a Chinese labor camp from 1959 to
1979. Fortuitously, his cellmate was one of the great Tibetan saints of the
20th century.

            Garchen
Rinpoche effectively converted his incarceration into a meditation retreat and,
in the process, conquered his anger and developed love and compassion for all
equally. He certainly has known suffering — yet I have never met a happier
(or more spiritually developed) person. Similar to the Dalai Lama, he
absolutely refuses to generate hatred towards China or towards those who
perpetrated great suffering on his people. And his words are not mere lip
service but the genuine expression of his heart.

            To my way
of thinking, it makes sense to investigate what accounts for this admirable
accomplishment. What are the teachings and practices that produced such an
example? And if those teachings disagree with our beliefs, in light of this
record, must we not seriously re-examine our assumptions?

            Interestingly,
Garchen Rinpoche regards George W. Bush as a Bodhisattva — one who has taken
on the task of liberating all beings. This would seem to contradict the view
expressed in your article.

            Frank Howard, Knolltop Drive, Rochester

The mayor and the executive

We are quite happy, if not grateful, that the mayor
does not look like the county executive. We believe his appearance enhances the
landscape, too. Improvements need be made elsewhere.

            The
all-male, all-white, right-wing, fundamentalist triumvirate that manages,
governs, and presides over the county, state, and country has much more to do
with the bleak landscape now upon us. Their policies starve cities and feed
sprawl.

            Shame on
them for using the most bountiful resources on earth to give tax cuts that
further fatten the rich while closing parks, libraries, and day care. Shame on
them for subsidies and legislation that enable corporate executives to take
everything and leave workers with nothing.

            Shame on
them for promoting war on the poor and on workers at home and abroad. Their
miserable failures are a million tragedies.

            The Greek
philosopher Plato said, “Leaders must guard that the enormous disparities
of wealth and poverty not escape notice and steal into our midst.” A
“whole different landscape” ensues when wealth is used to reduce poverty. A
“whole different landscape” includes jobs for all, health care for all, day
care for all, and quality education for all.

            A “whole
different landscape” requires elected leaders who act to accomplish these
things.

            Bill and Sally McCoy, Magee Avenue, Rochester

This article appears in Jan 8-14, 2003.