Letters to the editor
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According to Heather Pesanti, we should not dedicate resources to eradicate graffiti vandalism in our communities ("Graffiti Artist Decides to Plead Guilty at Last," May 17).
Of course, our neighborhoods have a great need for resources to address violent crime and its root causes, but it is shortsighted to believe that graffiti and other acts of vandalism are isolated from systemic problems of crime and disinvestment.
National studies show that graffiti has far-reaching detrimental effects on a community -- mentally and monetarily. Graffiti chips away at our citizens' pride and hope. It leads residents to believe that their community is not worthy of protection and care. To visitors, graffiti signals an unsafe place. This perception can deter shoppers, homeowners or business owners from making the investments that drive a neighborhood's economy. Graffiti is a hard slap in the face to those who invest in Pittsburgh's growth: hard-working business owners who provide jobs and grow our tax base and residents who put their earnings toward mortgages, maintenance and taxes.
By inflicting this damage, Daniel Montano took money out of the pockets of private citizens -- money that could have been spent on business growth, job creation, health insurance and food. His vandalism spree created many new problems for our citizens. In doing so, it was Mr. Montano himself who diverted resources from the "more serious crimes" that Ms. Pesanti speaks of.
I urge every victim -- and anyone with an interest in revitalizing Pittsburgh's neighborhoods -- to appear at Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski's courtroom on July 24 for Mr. Montano's sentencing. We must let him know how much we resent this deliberate attempt to destroy our quality of life and Pittsburgh's prosperity.
TONY CEOFFE
Executive Director
Lawrenceville United
Lawrenceville
In his May 15 letter, George Yochum ("Judgment Call") noted that the Post-Gazette showed poor judgment in featuring a prominent photograph of a dog's funeral (May 11), appearing to elevate the tragedy of a dog's death above the death of a teenage boy. The placement of the photograph was not only out of proportion, for all the reasons he stated, but also the timing was cruel: It was published on the first Mother's Day that Justin Jackson's mother had to endure without her son.
Problems with the Post-Gazette's coverage of this incident date back to the original story about Justin Jackson's death ("Officer Kills Man During Run-in With K-9," May 7). Referring to a couple of police dogs who were shot in the past, the reporter wrote, "They both survived; one retired, the other returned to duty." The phrasing suggests that the dogs made those choices, implicitly giving them the status of human beings; "was retired ... was returned to duty" would have been more accurate.
Moreover, almost half of the article is about police dogs, and they have continued to be the focus, when a person is dead.
FAITH SCHANTZ
Point Breeze
It is always sad when a life is lost. Unfortunately, this could have been avoided if better choices were made by Justin Jackson ("Officer Kills Man During Run-in With K-9," May 7). I find it sad that letter writer Morgan Hunt believes that there is an inherent racism on the part of police with the use of dogs to protect the community ("Inherent Racism," May 18). It is also disheartening to make a correlation between their use and Nazi Germany. It is this attitude that keeps us living in the past and not moving forward.
Ms. Hunt distorted what happened into a sinister act by police rather than put the blame on Mr. Jackson.
The police dog was used to protect the community. He died a hero by protecting the officers trying to subdue Mr. Jackson. Ms. Hunt made a statement, "Words can distort, pictures tell the truth." I say "Actions speak louder than words." Mr. Jackson chose action rather than listening to words.
KEN RANALLI
Upper St. Clair
Mother had a favorite saying, "As you travel through this life, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole!"
UPMC has certainly confused the two. The amount of money spent on self-promotion, outrageous advertising, etc. is sickening. The three-quarters of a million dollars being spent to clutter up our skyline is a classic.
I am a retired hospital administrator with 60 years' experience in the field. Let's remember our purpose is to take care of people, not build an empire.
JOHN B. MALLON
McCandless
Hillary Clinton is deluding herself if she thinks she still has a shot at the presidential nomination. If she doesn't come to her senses soon, it will mean the downfall of the Democratic Party. As she continues to try to advance her campaign by providing criticism of Barack Obama, she is providing fuel for John McCain's campaign against Mr. Obama in the upcoming election.
Furthermore, it's nearly impossible for her to win. Her only hope of winning is for the superdelegates to vote for her. Mr. Obama has already secured the majority of all new voters. If the superdelegates were to go against the wishes of these new voters, the Democratic Party would lose a huge percentage of supporters.
I'm only 14 and even I know that this is a hopeless case. Hillary should forget her own selfish ambitions and think about the effect she is having on the Democratic Party as a whole.
MICHAL COHEN
Mt. Lebanon
I strongly protest Rob Rogers' cartoon on yesterday's editorial page. It is totally tasteless. George W. Bush gave up golf because we are at war. To imply anything else is repulsive to me.
I am disappointed and outraged by this. President Bush is a good man who has tried his best to lead this country during very difficult years.
Shame on Rob Rogers and the Post-Gazette for publishing this trash.
KATIE CASELLA
Murrysville
Well, congratulations, you have finally done it; you have tried for years to get me mad enough to stop getting your paper, but it took the cartoon in yesterday's paper to make my decision very easy.
What Rob Rogers' point might have been besides insulting is very much in question. Why I have continued to get a paper that is so opposite my values is a mystery, but no more.
This upcoming election is going to be painful enough without your very one-sided reporting. To stop purchasing your paper is now an easy decision.
LINDA NATCHER
Munhall
It is inevitable that West Virginia University President Mike Garrison will resign. As Dr. Boyd Edwards said in his speech during a WVU faculty gathering that voted 565-39 (11 abstentions) for Mr. Garrison's resignation on May 14, "WVU cannot recover from this crisis under the leadership that created it. Effective leadership requires widespread credibility and respect. He enjoys neither." Mike Garrison will never enjoy credibility and respect as WVU president -- not today, not tomorrow, not 10 years from now.
Sooner or later, either Mr. Garrison or the people who influence him (or have a say over whether he keeps his job) will recognize that the only option is his resignation. This will happen because, at heart, WVU matters too much to the people of West Virginia to leave it in the hands of someone who compromised its integrity and continues to perform in a manner grossly antithetical to true leadership. This will happen because WVU matters too much to the people of West Virginia to leave its reputation sinking under the weight of a scandal that cannot be waved away with the bully-like demand to "Move on."
What Garrison et al. need to determine is how long they will allow WVU's reputation to free fall, how long they will give outraged faculty members reason to bolt to other universities, how long they will scare off prospective students and prospective new faculty and administrators who will want no part of a university overseen by such compromised "leadership."
Mr. Garrison must go -- and will go -- because the people of West Virginia, whatever their connection to WVU, deserve more than scandal, denial, slaps on the wrist to fraud's perpetrators, mindless platitudes and a wait-for-fair-weather (that-will-never-come) strategy that threatens to destroy the university that Mr. Garrison and company claim they hold dear.
MARK BRAZAITIS
Director, Creative Writing Program
Associate Professor, Department of English
West Virginia University
Morgantown, W.Va.
We welcome your letters. Please include your name, address and phone number, and send to Letters to the Editor, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222. E-mail letters to letters@post-gazette.com or fax to 412-263-2014. Letters should be 250 words or less, original and exclusive to the Post-Gazette. All letters are subject to editing for length, clarity and accuracy and will be verified before being published.
First Published May 21, 2008 12:00 am
