Letters To The Editor

SPOKANE MATTERS

Subud people, help energize Spokane

Thank you to all the wonderful people who were a part of bringing Subud to Spokane. The level of consciousness was greatly enhanced during this brief and energizing experience.

I was born in Spokane 41 years ago and have lived and traveled all around the world. Spokane offers many positive attributes, but one shortcoming has been international flare. Well, we are experiencing that now.

Generally, there is a great deal of fear in our area and attachment to lower consciousness belief systems. These were evidenced in some letters to the newspaper. There was none of that during the Subud Congress opening ceremonies last week at Riverfront Park. Humanity is one spirit.

With love, warmth and compassion, I welcome any Subud member to become a citizen of our great city. We need your energy. Namaste. Lindy E.W. Haunschild Spokane

Why welcome tools of Satan?

Why does The Spokesman-Review continue to give such great attention to yet another cult, Subud?

With their false interpretation of love, they deceive many weak-minded people. God has said there will be many false prophets and teachers who will deceive many in the last days. We are not surprised that they’re around us, but that you present them as such a wonderful, powerful, dynamic source of spiritual fulfillment. Telling the people of Spokane that we should even welcome them and partake of their festivities is an absolute shame.

There is one God almighty and he is a loving God and not the one responsible for all our pain and suffering. That was brought on by the same evil one, Satan, who in his cleverness uses weak-minded people, like those of Subud, to cleverly present a false picture of love, harmony and acceptance of whatever beliefs, such as rocks, trees and even cockroaches, all in the hopes to deceive many people. Effie Schwartz Spokane

Don’t tear down what you don’t know

I thank Mike Matiska and Paul Unger for their (Aug. 9) letters to the editor about the Subud conference. These letters are prime examples of fear of the unknown, intolerance and ignorance.

Taking one or two quotes from the Bible, they are able to tar over 3,000 people from Subud with the specter of Jim Jones and David Koresh. Wow, I’m impressed!

According to their letters, it seems as though anyone of another religion or belief system is condemned to hell in their eyes, and everything would be just hunky dory if the whole world would just see it their way and convert to their form of Christianity. Well, I do declare, that makes things a lot simpler!

The only problem is that if I had to choose with whom to spend an entire day, I would surely choose the open-minded, positive attitudes of the Subud people I was fortunate enough to meet during a recent week than the closed-minded, negative, fear-driven attitudes of these two men.

I hope Matiska and Unger will put aside some of their fear and learn more about Subud. I wish they would feel free to mingle and visit with some of the members. If they could spend only a little time with these people, I’m sure feelings of love and compassion would replace fear and distrust. Mary A. Naber Spokane

What a contrast with Subud good will

Although I am not too familiar with the Subud movement, it appears that, during their congress in Spokane, they are intent on spreading some good will and joy in our community, rather than intolerance and prejudice.

I am always amazed that there are those who believe that an omnipotent and omniscient deity, creator of this magnificent universe with all its variations, will accept only one kind (theirs) of worship. Elizabeth C. Behrendt Spokane

Beautiful ceremony and setting

Christians who seek to convert others through absolute intolerance toward other beliefs do not speak for me or for many other Christians. This type of intolerance in the past has led to wars, unimaginable cruelties and persecutions of non-Christians.

We may have our religious beliefs and hold them firmly, while allowing other people to do the same, as long as others’ beliefs do not harm themselves or others.

Subud seems to be a tolerant philosophy, and I wish those in it well. I attended their opening ceremony and was proud of Spokane, which could allow such a beautiful event to happen in such a beautiful setting.

We have a treasure in our downtown, with the whole Riverfront Park and nearby buildings. The Opera House and Convention Center would be the envy of many cities if more were aware of them. In our increasingly automobile-centered life, some people don’t understand the necessity of a vital downtown area. They don’t understand until it is lost, as it was in Tacoma. Once lost, it is hard to get back. Dorothy E. Carter Spokane

HIGHER EDUCATION

Wrong to pay off inept administrators

I am a taxpayer and an acquaintance of an administrator at Eastern Washington University. I, my colleagues and all of my personal acquaintances are absolutely outraged at the situation at Eastern Washington University.

It’s inconceivable to us that the two individuals, President Mark Drummond and Jim Hoffman, senior vice president and provost, who are the primary contributors to the massive problems at EWU, would be allowed to “resign” with severance pay amounting to more than a half million dollars. It is an unconscionable use of taxpayer dollars to pay any amount, let alone $522,000, for the ineptitude demonstrated by these two.

Neither Drummond nor Hoffman are even to be required to teach for this pay for the next two years.

This comes at a time when the university is laying off additional much-needed staff due to budget restrictions created by these two. What has happened to our priorities and our sense of right and wrong?

I hope that Gov. Gary Locke will do the right thing and intervene in this deplorable situation, in which ineptitude is generously rewarded. Cleo H. Kuhn Spokane

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Female circumcision like castration

Re: Francis E. Kent’s Aug. 7 letter, “Gender bias made painfully clear.”

There are some aspects of the circumcision-vs.-female genital mutilation issue that he left out. Could the difference in terminology provide a clue? I’m categorically against both practices. There are those of us who have evolved through not only ignorance, but also insistent doctors and outdated hospital policies. I deeply regret that my enlightenment comes too late for my grown sons.

The intent of male circumcision is cleanliness and, in some cases, spiritual sacrifice. The intent of female genital mutilation is to render the girl incapable of sexual pleasure or sensation for life. The intent is to create females who are passive receptacles for their husband’s release and still conveniently able to bear children.

The comparable procedure in male children is not circumcision but castration without anesthetic. The comparable effect would be men incapable of either sexual gratification or procreation.

Considering the astronomical gender disparity in sexrelated crimes, perhaps those who devised this charming custom need not have been so concerned about those sexcrazed women. Lucy Forman Gurnea Chewelah

Female circumcision is mutilation

Karen Garloch’s Aug. 4 column about circumcision leads Francis E. Kent to charge gender bias, in that male circumcision is accepted by many people while there is a “hue and cry raised about how brutal female circumcision is” (Letters, Aug. 7).

My purpose is not to argue for or against male circumcision, although I certainly favor the use of an anesthetic. Kent calls the procedure “mutilation,” but it is usually done medically and the infant quickly heals. Neither sexual function nor pleasure is affected when he becomes an adult.

The fact is that what is frequently and incorrectly called female circumcision is much more drastic. It is done mainly in Africa, usually by someone not medically trained, perhaps using a razor blade, not in a hospital and without anesthetic.

There are variations in the extent of mutilation, but the goal is to eliminate female sexual pleasure by cutting away the clitoris, and to alter the external genitalia to make them more childlike. Sometimes, the genital opening is partially sewed up to prevent sex until the procedure is reversed at the time of marriage. If Kent considers male circumcision mutilation, what would he call this?

What if half the male’s penis were to be cut off, not just a little fold of skin? That would be real mutilation and more comparable to the female procedure.

The hue and cry over what is done to females is justified and it should be called mutilation. Robert E. Forman Colville, Wash.

Kudos to fair board, mall management

Two things have happened recently in Spokane that will contribute greatly to protecting nonsmoking children and adults from exposure to the hazards of secondhand cigarette smoke.

The first is the announcement by the Spokane Interstate Fair Board that smoking will be allowed only in three designated outside areas during the upcoming fair. While only a test, this will in all likelihood become a permanent arrangement. The lack of difficulty with smoking ban at Seafirst stadium during Spokane Indians games is an indicator that things will go smoothly.

The second thing is that there will be no smoking in the interior of the Spokane Valley Mall. This is in sharp contrast to the situation at NorthTown, where one is exposed to large amounts of smoke coming from the smoking area in the food court. NorthTown management has refused to consider changing its policy. Let us hope that NorthTown and other area malls will follow the Valley Mall’s lead.

The Spokane Interstate Fair Board and Valley Mall management are to be congratulated. Dennis W. Biggs Jr., M.D. board member, American Cancer Society, Spokane

Keep spotlight on DeRyan case

I thank The Spokesman-Review for the coverage on Michael De Ryan (“A cry of bedlam,” July 25), who has been confined to Eastern State Hospital and was injured there. His isn’t an isolated case, but one that does draw attention to serious issues.

Taxpayers are funding, and thus promoting, such practices of abuse and warehousing within a system that is supposed to protect and provide for persons such as DeRyan. This is at great economic expense, not to mention the toll in quality of life for individuals and families affected.

It’s our responsibility to be aware, informed and responsible.

What is happening to DeRyan seems criminal to me, yet he’s the one being treated like a criminal. If an American citizen were held hostage on foreign soil and treated the way he has been, there would be massive public outrage. Yet nothing seems to change for DeRyan. His situation worsens as he continues to be misunderstood, misplaced and while his civil rights are violated. He’s being lost between the cracks of politics and the overburdened state Department of Social and Health Services.

The Review’s stories have certainly brought to light many serious issues. As disturbing and complex as this seems, there are solutions. I’m optimistic that the editors appreciate the seriousness of this man’s dilemma and will keep covering it and related issued. Jean C. Drummond Spokane

Make stop sign posts stand out

I am writing in regards to cars running stop signs. At this time of year, trees and brush obstruct the view of stop signs in many areas. I suggest that red reflective tape be installed on the stop sign posts. You can see the posts well, even though the signs are hidden. A person should know that if the post is red, it means stop. R. Cecil Whipple Spokane

OTHER TOPICS

Welfare reform: heading the right way

Phillip High-Edward expresses concern for children and the plight of those who need education in his Aug. 9 Your Turn column opposing welfare reform initiatives. Although I appreciate his concerns, and have similar ones of my own, I have a different perspective.

The original intent of federal welfare was to provide support to widows and orphans. During the past 60 years it has evolved into a model that fosters dependency for those most in need, trapping many in a cycle of poverty. The complexity and unfairness of regulations penalized those with initiative, snuffed out dreams and ambitions, and promoted the stereotype of second-class citizenship for those perceived to be on the dole.

Certainly, we need to be concerned for the well-being of children. But promoting an environment that supports family responsibility and self-reliance provides a brighter future for children than does growing up in a cycle of dependency.

Is a college degree a ticket to self-reliance? My 23 years working in this field tell me this is typically not the case. Job readiness training and providing the services necessary to finding and keeping employment are much more effective.

Sure, some families will be adversely affected by the changes, and outcome studies are critical to minimize harm to children and vulnerable adults. But the current system provide similar adverse affects.

I, too, am committed to making welfare work the way it should. That’s why I support changes that provide opportunity rather than dependency. Welfare reform initiatives are not perfect but they are a step in the right direction. Steve H. McKenna Coeur d’Alene

Young writer right-on

In spite of all the bad press Generation X gets, there are still some bright lights out there, as indicated by Mike Tilford’s Aug. 11 article. A headline in the Aug. 11 Our Generation section caught my attention, “Unite against Social Security.” Having reached the age where it’s hard to move and hurts when you do, and having paid Social Security contributions every working day of my life, I read the article.

Mike, a student at St. George’s, makes a clever introduction by comparing the payment of Social Security and Medicare contributions to robbery. He then links together all the trite and hackneyed phrases the far right uses to disparage Social Security, and sprinkles in enough relevant facts to make a speciously plausible argument.

By this time, anyone to the left of center is asking, Doesn’t this young man have any appreciation for the social contract that is woven into the fabric of our society? And, anyone to the right of center is saying, This young man really has his head screwed on straight.

Then comes the sting, and you know you’ve been had. He concludes his apparent tirade against Social Security with a short paragraph: “But please don’t vote against welfare. If you are an aspiring liberal arts major like myself, you may need it in the future.”

Well, Mike is one member of the X generation who doesn’t need to worry about welfare. The world loves a short story writer with a flare for humor. He completely outwitted the headline writer. Move over, O. Henry, here comes Mike Tilford. Howard Herman Spokane

Consider the selfish-unselfish angle

This is for C.L. Stallings (“Abuse-abortion argument specious,” Letters, Aug. 8) and others with views just as selfish.

At its core, abortion and violent abuse of children are equivalent. In both cases, these evils are motivated by the me-first attitude. In both cases, a choice is made to hurt an innocent child.

Love is not selfish. Love puts others - whether born or unborn - above ourselves. Nick Y. Charles Cheney