| Show Standard-Examine- Saturday May 13 2000 11A Opinion r Letters & Columns To our Readers MAIL - Coming up in the: Standard-Examin-er POBox 951 Please keep letters to 300 words or less and indude your name address and daytime phone for verification Letters must be signed and may be edited and condensed Ogden FAX (801) UT 625-45- 84402-095- 1 Opinion pages 08 Lettersstcindardnet SUNDAY: Our editorial urges the consolidation of fire service I ANOTHER VOICE New health-car- e ‘Brown Hat’ debate slights play’s wisdom We as commentators have an even greater responsibility to help students first understand why the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History selected this play to repre- Controversial show spoke to many of Ogden’s minority youth By SANDRA LCRQSLAND There is no doubt that “The Last Angry Brown Hat” brought controversy to Ogden Now that it has been here and our high school students have experienced it the question remains what legacy this play will leave in our community sent the Chicano move- ment and second to realize that its message remains relevant to their own school In the last several days the focus of certain parents and the Standard-Examinhas been on the Ogden School District’s need to more carefully screen what is shown to our students If however this play leaves only a legacy of future censorship it would be a travesty for the Chicano community the Standard-Examinreaders and most importantly the Ogden students concerned a vitally important and virtually unknown historical segment of the Chicano movement in the United States Without seeing this play how many of us would know about the Brown Beret movement? er The play addressed the universal problems of prejudice alcoholism and violence with forthrightness and a sense of hope for the future The characters dramatized the pain caused by rejection based upon ethnicity- Yes we all want our schools to be a safe respectful setting But the presentation of this play can become a wake-u- p call that dreams” Ironically the play described a tragedy of history that is in danger of repeating itself in our city In the 1970s the laudable goals of the Brown Berets inand cluding building a better community were overshadowed by the groups’ portrayal as militant insurrectionists Are we again in danger of overlooking the im- The dialogue repeatedly referred to the absence of a voice for Chicanos Without this play how many of us would reflect on the absence of meaningful roles for and about Chicanos in the current media? This play clearly spoke to and for the 30 percent of the Ogden High School student population who are minori The play was powerful drama presented through explicit dialogue Students offended by the language can be thankful they do not hear such words in their everyday life But they also need to challenge themselves to think beyond the vocabulary and seek to hear the speakers’ message tioning whether such words accurately depict our minorities’ the actors Then in follow-u- p challenged the minority students not to use the behavior of others as an excuse or a stumbling block The actor who grew up as a child of migrant workers stressed “Don’t let yourself be the reason you don’t follow your The drama er ties Even Principal James Sandoval left the theater visibly moved by the play stating “This was my life” portance of the movement by stressing the majority’s moral reaction to profanity without ques pent-u-p frustration and pro- found cry for change? vioprevents Columbine-lik- e lence fosters dialogue and contributes to change in Ogden In an ideal world we would hope that the Chicano story presented to the next generation of Ogden students need not be so fraught with frustration violence and anger After all it is not the brown hat that we hope to see the last of but rather the anger And maybe our students did understand they gave the performance a standing ovation welcomes er 625-450- 8 ore-ma- il Some say people are divided by gender religion racial and ethnic differences But the real fault line lies elsewhere ts fan On one side are people who believe public money should be used for schools public parks and the arts on the other are those who believe $300 million for a stadium is a small price to pay for the hope a major league franchise will deign to stay In case you haven’t yet guessed I count s but I grew up myself among the surrounded by avid sports fans My brother and father would become so animated watching a ballpuck game they’d yell at the screen reacting with cheers and moans to the action - whereas I'd watch the same non-fan- with game i shark-dea- d eyes What must it be like to actually care who wins or loses a game? To feel a sense of personal pride when a hometown team made up of men from some other place who have come here to make more money than God successfully move a ballpuck in the right direction What it must be to feel a team’s win in your bones to delude yourself into ing you had something to do with it and your town is a better place for it? Sigh but These games are trifles for non-fafor fans (a shortened form of “fanatic”?) they really matter ns 'why I wondei? What is the secret poten- cy of spectator sports? How does one get smitten? For answers I turned to the ultimate homage to fandom “A Fan’s Notes” by Frederick Exley a Actional memoir of a drunkard professor of English and his passion for football In between describing his disastrous terrestrial life Exley waxes lovingly of his muse: the New York Giants Aptly named being how large the team looms in his life Here he tries to explain the source of his obsession: “Part of it was my feeling that football was an island of directness in a world of circumspection In football a man was asked to do a difficult and brutal job and he either did it or got out I chose to believe that it was not unlike the jobs which all men in some sunnier past had been called upon to do” This sounds far too introspective for your “what-sup- ” average may be guy While part of the equation I think it falls short of a unifying theory My guess is that fandom is something more fundamental even possibly physiological - which might explain why it afflicts so many more men than women face-painti- beer-guzzli- ia As with all arguments about human behavior the question of fandom comes down to nature vs nurture On the nurture side experts say the process of becoming a fan begins in childhood Boys who play team Sports are more likely to become avid followers into adulthood And the argument goes as girls play team-sport- s with greater frequency they will also join the sports mania en masse Hmmm I’m not sure of this True more women are morphing into fans yet proportionately it’s contact-spor- ts still overwhelmingly a male diversion Whether they played the games as children or not it appears men are more drawn to the d spectacle of competition - a fact that has been around since the Roman head-to-hea- gladiators invented single-roun- elimination d On the nature side Lynn Kahle professor of sports marketing at the University of Oregon points out that studies show men have higher testosterone levels following a win by their team than after a loss “There is something about winning that enhances manliness” Kahle says Apparently watching your team decimate the opponent is a uniquely masculine high Kind of like the Porky’s movies For the really obsessive fan - like the guy in the movie “Diner” who demanded his fiancee pass a test on the Baltimore Colts before the wedding - psychologists say personal identity is the key William Gayton professor of psychology at the University of Southern Maine says being a fan is a way to regulate “It’s called basking in reflected glory” Gay-to- n says “As a fan if the team is winning and you have a strong identification your self-estee- m self-estee- m will rise” So here we have it Cities throughout the stadiums country are building zillion-dollin order to relieve their sports fan population’s testosterone depletion and ar self-estee- m problems Health insurance would be cheaper Robyn Blumner a columnist with the St Petersburg Times is a former official with the American Civil Liberties Union in Utah Reach her at blunuierfjisptimesxom J BY GARRY TRUDEAU Doonesbury An internist is a doctor who can care for a patient with chronic problems and usually more Fortunately for me this particthan one serious medical probdoctor is moving to ular lem They do not specialize in and my insurance McKay-De- e Unone the of anatomy part just will that at facility If Columpay fortunately this results in more time having to be spent on each bia Regional Hospital had hired him I would not have been able patient While this is very good to use him anymore since my infor the patient it results in less surance does not pay at that hosinsurance money coming in per So I am all right for now pital so that visit organizations patient hire them are not satisfied with but many of the other patients are not the cash flow Without an internist I would I have seen this transition in have to use as many as three spemy own case Years ago I saw a cialists That would not be good very fine doctor for several unrefor me and it would cause more lated conditions On one visit to money to be paid by my insurhim he informed me he had de- ance thus contributing to higher cided to specialize and I would medical costs have to find an internist who I know I am not alone in this could handle all my medical dilemma As people age this will problems affect them more and more It’s a I did find a fine internist and very sad situation J Jessie B Lewis Ogden Who died and made the author of the May 7 letter god and ruler? His letter to the editor “Take stand on nude club or let minority rule” was way off base He said that “nude dancing” isn’t a form of art That’s his opinion not mine I am not a dancer of any sort I am a female who believes in allowing others to express themselves in a way that doesn’t hurt another If he doesn’t like that form of art then he doesn’t have to go there to watch I am tired of decide what is right and what is wrong When we meet our maker we will know what we have done that was wrong If a person feels nude dancing is an art it is hisher right to that opinion Just because the author doesn’t agree with that opinion doesn’t make him correct someone telling me what is good for me and others This is a free country and I will be darned if I allow someone with such a narrow point of view to say what is right Who has the right to say what is morally wrong and who owns society? We all have the right to ing anyone else As the author said this is a blessed country of freedom He has no right to say what is morally right He should worry about ' ’ The women who dance do so because it’s their right! They make a living just like you and me If they have the talent and a beautiful body more power to them At least they are not hurt- his own morals not someone else’s Donna Kunz Willard Reader outraged over Ogden Clinic upheaval football-as-nostalg- Ah to be a fan Clinic and have been well pleased with the service he has provided for my medical Others can’t dictate what is right or wrong Standard-Examin- contributions to this column which features commentaries of about 600 words on any issue To have us consider your column please send it along with a photograph to Another Voice Editorial Page PO Box 951 Ogden UT 84402 fax self-estee- and ESPN2 inter-ternis- The areas of mediation and appellate law She is a resident of Ogden there better ways to build up our men’s On one side are those who use their weekends for a variety of pursuits: gardening shopping theatergoing taking care of the children in the household On the other are those for whom weekend variety is the choice between ESPN of ize in one type of patient So ts again I sought out a new nist I found one at the Ogden saw him for many years Suddenly I received a letter from him stating he had decided to special- - Aren’t non-spor- I believe the disturbing news concerning the Ogden Clinic’s in- being fired is a sign the times Sandra L Crosland is an attorney who currently practices in the Sports fans: The few the proud the weird For me the world is divided into two types of people: the sports fan and the trend hurts patient doctors Mallard Fillmore It’s been many years since I’ve bothered to write and express my opinion but I feel compelled to do so again because of the latest Ogden Clinic upheaval My husband and I have been patients of Dr Thomas Blanch for several years and we were both appalled at the recent “massacre” that took place resulting in his ouster along with three other doctors It serves to confirm the worst fears of many people that money has become the most important element in patient treat- so it seems to me the clinic doctors actually gained patients because of them In my opinion the manner in which the internists were removed simply cannot be defended Dr Blanch is now specializing in patients 65 years and over and as we don’t yet fall in that category we are forced to find another doctor after many years of excellent treatment by him His shoes will be extremely hard to fill and at the moment I am still so mad about the whole affair I don’t even want to look for a replace- While reading the May 3 Standard-article “Doctors leave clinic over salaries” it occurred to me that Dr Blanch has ment ment Examiner probably referred my husband and me to at least four or five other “specialists” in the clinic at various times This of course resulted in increased revenue for the other specialists I’m sure the other internists did likewise and I imagine my feelings of outrage toward the action of the other clinic doctors will eventually wane (or maybe not!) but for now I intend to go elsewhere for treatment when needed even though it will be much less convenient Mary Sten art Ogden Preserve the serenity of Taylor Canyon I just returned from a hike in Taylor Canyon in the early dawn of a beautiful spring day As I was coming down I was reminded of a verse I had read recently by Ursula K LeGuin: “I crave to walk on the mountains in the forests in the autumn when the leaves are bright There is no kingdom like the forests It is time I went there in silence went alone And maybe there I will learn at last what no act or art or power can teach me what I have never learned” As I read and listen to all the rhetoric about putting a tram and the necessary maintenance road in this beautiful peaceful canyon I wonder if we really understand what will be lost We are very fortunate as residents of this valley to have this canyon within such a short distance from our homes It is my personal opinion that if we want to visit a place where they have “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” and have a mechanized way up the mountain forest we and our tourists can drive the short distance to the commercial enterprise on the other side of the mountain ' It would be a shame to deserenity of this canyon dollars as a tourist trap stroy the for a few If we do thing we there is certainly somehave not “learned” Gary O Christensen South Ogden By Bruce Tinsley 4 i |
