Reader feedback 4.23.03

Upstate hunger

Thank you for bringing to light the important yet often
overlooked issue of homelessness in outlying rural areas (“Idylls of the Poor,”
April 2). With no apparent relief in sight for the declining economy in upstate
New York, the lack of services for those experiencing financial hardship will
have a negative impact on increasing numbers of people. A component of
homelessness is hunger, an issue often addressed separate from that of
providing housing facilities.

                  FOODLINK,
the Rochester-based food bank established to reduce hunger in our region, has
long recognized the need for services outside of the city, and over the past 26
years has expanded to serve a 10-county area, including those covered in your
article.

                  Our Hunger in America study in 2001 is the
only comprehensive study of the face of hunger in these areas. We surveyed 338
agencies and conducted 400 face-to-face client interviews. From this we found
that throughout this 10-country service area, over 43 percent of the Finger Lakes
clients served by FOODLINK are in rural and suburban areas.

                  In
line with this statistic, 237 of the 550 programs to which we provide food and
financial support are located outside of Monroe County. We deliver food
door-to-door to these member programs every two weeks.

                  FOODLINK
also provides such staples as cereal, vegetables, and canned proteins through
the federal distribution program (mentioned in your article), which we
resurrected in Ontario and Livingston Counties over the past year and half. All
told, we provided 1.5 million emergency meals in our outlying nine counties in
2002, up 18 percent from 2000.

                  With
ongoing layoffs, these numbers will only increase. Homelessness and hunger are
often invisible to those not directly affected, and it is only through articles
such as yours that people become aware of the work that needs to be done. It is
the hard work and dedication of tireless volunteers and human-service providers
responding to this situation that illustrate the humanity we are capable of;
humanity which will be called upon even more so in future months.

                  We
appreciate your commitment to bringing the needs of the few to the attention of
the many.

                  Thomas Ferraro, Rochester (Ferraro is
president, CEO, and founder of FOODLINK)

Tipsy’s retort

Chris Busby walked into Tipsy’s one evening to check us out
and have a cold brew. He looked around and noticed that the owners like Dan
Marino and the Miami Dolphins.

                  That’s
right: We do, and have for 30 years, because everyone who loves football has a
favorite team. So Chris is a Bills fan and proud of it. Good going, Chris. It
makes us happy that you’re not a fair-weather fan.

                  But
what does Chris do? He trashes our establishment in his newspaper because it’s
a Dolphins bar. He had the audacity to compare football to the war and
terrorism. Come on, Chris: Football is just a game. But we take the war and
terrorism very seriously at Tipsy McStagger’s. We have war coverage on
constantly, and we can walk around and hear almost everyone talking about it in
a very concerned way. You don’t have to like the Dolphins or even Tipsy
McStagger’s, Chris, but don’t compare a game to death and real tragedy.

                  By
the way, Chris, you’re welcome at Tipsy’s anytime. We have a lot of regulars
who are Bills fans. We all had a great time during the Bills’ victories over
the Dolphins last season.

                  While
you had your head raised to view the picture of the family with Dan Marino, you
should have looked a bit higher to see the large American flag on the ceiling.
If you can’t lift your head that high, there is an illuminated American flag
behind the bar.

                  Joe McKenzie, Tipsy McStagger’s, West
Henrietta Road

Johnson’s focus?

As a former property owner and resident of the City of
Rochester and current taxpayer in the Town of Webster, I am appalled. With the
city looking at a $38.1 million budget gap, the Rochester School District in a
financial crisis with a $50 million shortfall, where are the priorities?

                  In
Mayor Johnson’s State of the City Address, he comments on the exceptional
current financial management. I think this is a contradiction of terms. Mayor
Johnson has indicated that he should have no problem in running for Monroe
County Executive while still running the city. According to Mayor Johnson, he
can do this because he hasn’t devoted himself solely to the day-to-day
operation of the city, focusing instead on his broader visions of the 2010
Renaissance Plan, regional cooperation, and urban sprawl.

                  Maybe
he should have paid more attention to the current problems of the city and not
delegated his responsibilities. Or was it his political career he is focusing
on?

                  Our
deputy mayor is volunteering to pick up the slack of Mayor Johnson, and he will
stay in tune with his key projects and issues. Just what are they, and are they
the same as his constituents’?

                  Apparently
Mr. Johnson has stressed that the basic functions of the city will continue to
be carried out during his campaign. What is the clear definition of basic
functions? I hope whomever is the successful county executive affords county
residents more than someone picking up the slack and basic functions.

                  Maybe
Mayor Johnson should put county cooperation on his basic function list and
eliminate the constant punches to the current county executive.

                  Mary Ellen Belding, Webster

Why I protest

Some readers have asked why people continue to protest the
war at this stage. Here’s my reason:

                  In
1991, the Pentagon asked Paul Wolfowitz to draft a strategic plan. He called
for the military removal of Saddam Hussein and installation of a US-friendly
democracy. Next we would strong-arm Syria and Iran to follow suit.

                  Wolfowitz’s
plan envisioned a US that would use its military to topple other regimes around
the world. The Pentagon was so shocked that he was forced to withdraw the plan.
(Source: Joseph Cirincione, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on WHYY
Radio, April 1.)

                  A
decade later, we suffered the September 11 attacks. Even though Iraq was not
involved, Wolfowitz was able to revive his radical plan and sell it to the
president and the Pentagon. The doctrine passed through Congress with barely a
murmur.

                  The
problem is that Iraq, if allowed to decide for itself, would likely elect a
representative of the Shi’ite majority, who might align with Iran. The only way
that the US can get the government we want is to install it forcibly, and that is not democracy.

                  The
administration is using this war to test the acceptance of this doctrine with
the American people. If no one complains, new “regime changes” will soon
follow. Like Germany circa 1930, we are on the edge of a very slippery slope.
If no one applies the brakes now, it may soon be too late.

                  Allen Power, Sachem Way, Irondequoit

Mother love

Think for a moment in the bombing of Iraq how often
commentators referred to America’s ultimate ground weapon as the Mother of All
Bombs. To call this weapon of mass destruction a “mother” reveals how far we
have come, delighting in the power of our weaponry and the destruction we are
able to rain upon our adversaries.

                  How
can we not love a mother who will defend us with such spectacular bursts of
wrath? How else can we preserve democracy for the world, except through weapons
of mass destruction that are superior to the weapons of mass destruction used
by our enemies? Is not our patriotism well grounded in the sanctity of our
cause? How dare anyone question our motives?

                  It
should be clear to anyone with a high sense of moral purpose that when we
fight, we fight for the rights of all. And that we will do anything in our
power to win that fight. Surely we kill with less collateral damage than if we
had used the Big One.

                  We
have come a long way from Mother Earth to the Mother of All Bombs.

                  Ned Bobkoff, East Avenue, Rochester

Cut the budget

The Rochester school budget should have been cut
dramatically 20 years ago. All those high-paying positions and programs: Why
should I pay for a swimming pool and free lunches? The parents should stop
having kids if they can’t afford a family.

                  Why
can’t the superintendent take a pay cut? He can’t live on $80,000?

                  Pre-kindergarten
is free day care for parents. I am sick and tired of these damn kids. They are
not our future. They won’t be able to vote for another 10 years. The school
district is suggesting that it keep pre-K and then shorten the school year:
Teach them early and then take away later. Do they know what they’re doing?

                  Next
year they will probably build an 18-hole golf course for the sports program.
What happened to the basics: ABC’s and making change for a dollar? They can’t
even use the language correctly. Just ax me; you know what I am saying.

                  Charles Deering, Norton Street, Rochester

Noose talk

I am starting to believe that Raymond Graves can put a
racist spin on anything. If a story contained “a stitch in time saves
nine” or “the early birds gets the worm,” he would find a way to
make it relate to black oppression.

                  After
a thorough Internet search of the phrase “tightening the noose,” I
see nothing that applies to blacks in the Deep South. In fact, no idiom and
sayings site even lists the phrase.

                  Using
a noose in controlling animals and as a form of torture and capital punishment
on humans has been around in every part of the planet since mankind evolved.
It’s not racist to use the term to convey that Saddam, because of our efforts,
was clearly running out of options. That is what “tightening the
noose” means.

                  Mary E. Zeiner, Macbeth Street

Hearing the RPO

I don’t know which part of Louis Richards’ letter infuriates
me the most (“RPO’s ‘Redundant,'” The Mail, April 9). All his preposterous
remarks about the RPO’s artistry aside, I’ll focus on his inanity about
“pissing” money away on the RPO.

                  To my
knowledge, not one single person not already inclined to do so is being asked
to fork over one single dime to help the orchestra out of its recent cash
crunch. I have joined what I am sure are hundreds, even thousands, of RPO fans
who are donating a little extra to help the cause.

                  As
for his assessment of the RPO’s quality, Mr. Richards might have an earwax
problem. I’d look into it.

                  Harold Jewell, Alexander Street, Rochester

Making it possible

As members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, we are
fortunate to live in a community that offers such a rich musical life, giving
us many opportunities to perform, teach, and enjoy what we do.

                  The
things Louis Richards appreciates about Rochester (The Mail, April 9) — the
number and variety of performances and the talent of local performers — would
disappear without the RPO as an integral part of our community, for the members
of the RPO are the members of many of these other ensembles.

                  RPO
musicians make it possible for the Rochester Chamber Orchestra to present
quality performances of specialized repertoire, for we make up virtually all of
the musicians of the RCO.

                  RPO
musicians make it possible for students in our region to learn about classical
music and the instruments of the orchestra.

                  RPO
musicians, together with our colleagues at the Eastman School of Music, make it
possible for ESM students to study regularly with professional performers. We
also value our role as a partner with Eastman in developing innovative programs
like the Orchestral Studies Diploma, giving talented string players the
opportunity to work for 10 weeks each year in the RPO, preparing them for
careers as professional orchestral musicians.

                  We
are actively involved in training the next generation of musicians through our
teaching; many of us teach at Eastman, Hochstein Music School, other area
colleges and universities, or have private studios of talented young students.
Through the RPO’s innovative education and outreach programs, which offer
learning opportunities for children as young as 3 and through adults, we foster
an appreciation of classical music and develop audiences for classical music.

                  We
are proud to perform challenging, exciting, beautiful, familiar, exotic, and
passionate music for the community. Like you, we live here, work here, learn
here, and play here. If we are not here to teach your children, to provide
concerts that move you emotionally, to train the performers of tomorrow, who
will take our places? And at what true cost?

                  Musicians’ Committee, the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra (The letter was signed by RPO musicians Ayden Adler,
David Angus, Charles Bailey, Marjorie Hunsberger, and Brian Stotz)

Take advantage of those concerts

Why do we take such pride in our local student talent and
lament the loss of school music programs nationwide if we would consider
getting rid of our local professional philharmonic orchestra (“RPO’s
‘Redundant,'” The Mail, April 9)?

                  We
cannot continue to attract young musical talent if we do not have as many
professional opportunities as possible. We cannot maintain high-quality
performances (free or otherwise) unless there are professional outlets for
musicians to make a living.

                  I
would prefer the Eastman Philharmonic to charge for their concerts rather than
get rid of the RPO because the free concerts provide too much competition. At
least the students and professionals would be better supported.

                  Of
course all of this is moot unless people in our community take better advantage
of the amazing variety of quality performances in our area. If attendance
declines, live classical music performances might gradually disappear no matter
what happens to the RPO, and what a terrible loss that would be!

                  Stephanie Sublett, Crittenden Boulevard,
Rochester

World-class talent

Regarding Louis Richards’ critical characterization of the
RPO (The Mail, April 9): Redundant? Tired ensemble? Surely none of the
concertgoers find any resonance with such characterizations of our beloved
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

                  Our
orchestra is and has been one of our city’s finest cultural treasures. It was
an excellent orchestra when I moved here in 1976. It is an even better
orchestra today. Guest conductors have nothing but praise and enthusiasm for
our orchestra. They and featured soloists enjoy returning to perform here.

                  From
time to time, we are treated to featured concert performances by members of the
RPO that demonstrate their truly world-class talents. It is a fact that there
are far fewer openings for touring artists than there are highly talented
musicians. Where are these non-touring talents? Many of them are on stage at
the Eastman Theater for every concert.

                  To be
sure, Rochester is especially rich in music. One may enjoy fine free concerts
and even concert-quality recitals. But that does not mean that we would not
miss the Rochester Philharmonic if they were gone. Their versatile, spirited,
intensely moving performances are essential for the ongoing renewal of
Rochester’s musical soul.

                  Lawrence Iwan, Shoreham Drive, Pittsford

Without the pros

Regarding the letter from Louis Richards about the RPO’s
redundance (The Mail, April 9): It’s fine to appreciate the Eastman
Philharmonia, but let’s be realistic. That ensemble’s main function is not to
provide free concerts to Rochester audiences, but to provide performance
experience for talented young musicians who will soon be seeking jobs in the
professional world. The free musical offerings are a fringe benefit the
community gets for supporting the Eastman School.

                  Now
as to the RPO being unnecessary, try to envision a world with no professional
orchestras, but rather, in their stead, student orchestras from area
conservatories. It’s hard to conceive how this scenario could sustain itself
for long. What incentive would be left for the music students to dedicate
themselves to a demanding curriculum that includes learning and performing the
vast symphonic repertoire, if at the end of it there were no, or at best very
few professional orchestras in which to seek employment?

                  John C. Sullivan, Clark Avenue, Irondequoit (Sullivan is a violinist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra)

Writing to City

We welcome and encourage readers’ letters for publication.
Send them to: themail@rochester-citynews.com or The Mail, City Newspaper, 250
North Goodman Street, Rochester 14607.

                  Our
guidelines: We don’t publish anonymous letters — and we ask that you include
your street name and city/town/village. While we don’t restrict length, letters
of under 350 words have a greater chance of being published. We do edit letters
for clarity and brevity. And in general we don’t publish letters (or longer
“op-ed” pieces) from the same writer more often than once every three months.

This article appears in Apr 23-29, 2003.