Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Wax Off

To coin a phrase about "activist" Ben Waxman ["The Rebel," Daniel Brook, May 29, 2003]: "Oh whoop-de-do!" Congratulations on becoming a McActivist, kid. You've got all the correct views on all the right issues as if you went down the checklist and had your overseers in the community nod in approval. Antiwar? Check! Anti-Israel? Check! Velvet rope pulled aside and membership in club granted!

Are your words prophetic and will you become a Republican later in life? Who knows, but when you do actually encounter real people in the real world and shrug off the professional protesters, self-appointed moral guardians and, most of all, the insufferable hypocrites of the AFSC [American Friends Service Committee], at the very least you may become, heaven forbid, a free-thinker.

Jim Daniels
Philadelphia

Blackie Loves Love

Thank you for ["Love (Park) is All They Need," Daryl Gale, May 22, 2003]. I've witnessed police chase down and ticket skateboarders and act like they were the most vile and cruel of all culprits while at the same time our neighborhoods go to hell. And still we laud and honor hizzoner John "Safe Streets." The mayor who closed Love Park, outlawed skaters and their craft, diverted money from the X-Games to support his insanely popular Operation Safe Streets and still was honored with our votes on Election Day. What a pity!

Well, at least Philly has "alternative" media, because we sure don't have too many alternatives when it comes to "status quo" pols and their cronies. Let's see if any of those who fended off contenders in this race embrace the new population of Philadelphia, or if they will still use the old "divide and conquer" methodology. With all the wide open space Philadelphia has available, the least it could do is build a damn decent skate arena for the segment of our populace that demands it!

And as for Safe Streets Don't all our neighborhoods deserve that same level of protection, every day? And, if not, why not?

D. Michael Blackie
Logan

For the Gov’s Ed-ification

Jerome Montes' column ["Keep Your Promise," Slant, May 29, 2003] about capital punishment was excellent and well-written, but omits a few important points.

In his first five months as governor, Mr. Rendell has signed death warrants for six persons: Roderick Johnson, Gilbert Jones, Jose DeJesus, Robert Fisher, David Allen Sattazahn and Kenneth Brown. Of these six men, four are African American, one is Hispanic and one is Caucasian. The governor's own death warrants are the truth, writ large, spoken by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's committee.

Mr. Rendell helped to write the commonwealth's death penalty statutes, which puts him in the uncomfortable and ethically challenging position of considering flaws in his own work. He has an even greater investment in the status quo than Philadelphia's current district attorney.

Gov. Rendell must swallow his pride and do what is right by halting executions in the commonwealth, rescinding his death warrants and refusing to sign more and reforming our criminal justice system.

Brendan Hickey

Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator, Amnesty International
West Chester

Correction

The author of last week's CitySpace, "The Past Menagerie", was incorrectly identified. The piece was written by Paul Steinke. City Paper regrets the error.