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Show wvseesee OPINION AGE A-18 IDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2002 OUR VIEW Rules of Engagement By now, the rules of engagement on the Main Street plaza adjoining Temple Square should be well known to everyone. It is odd, then, that the LDS Church security guards who work there were confused about them Most Salt Lakers will recall that the city sold the portion of Main Street between South Temple and North Temple to the church in 1999 for $8.1 million. As part of the deal the city reserved an easement re quiring the church to allow public pedestrian and bicycle access across the property at al! times. So it is a mystery why church se curity guards would block the way across the plaza to three pedestrians duringthe last couple months. Fortu nately, after the guards were busted onvideotape, the city’s attorney met with the church's attorney, and the misunderstanding has been cleared up. The guards have been trained to understand that a peaceful walk s the propertyis guaranteed by the ‘ment Ofcourse, other activities are not guaranteed. The restrictions of ease ment, which a misguided City Coun. intended to allow distribution of lit erature, erecting of signs ordisplays, or using loudspeakers to project mu- sic or spoken messages. Those re strictions do notapply to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however. These rules have been widely pub licized as the subject of heated public debate and a lawsuit, whichis now on way of the three pedestrians could have had something to do with the fact that the walkers are evangelical Christians who legallypass outliterature 5 enough for security guards and pam pleteers alike. A Special Season in Utah hills anddescending intothevalleys. Autumnisa beautiful seasonof the year. The panoply of color in Utah doesn’t match New England's glory; too many conifers cloak our moun you're ready for the good as well as the bad when autumnslides into winter, But it’s also time for enjoyment. ‘The hills beckontohikers, to hunte: to anyone attracted by nature's beauty tainsto allow that. But New Drought has mutedthecolors this season, Fall colors brighten when ofaspenleaves. And quality counts muchas expanse out here water is plentiful. Muted or bright, doesn’t have Utah’s glorioussplas Autumn air has a keen edge to it, hinting at what might come in the " BROTHER DOBERMAN , CHRISTIAN CHARITY AND LOCAL MUNICIPAL ORDIANCE REQUIRE THAT You PUT THE NICE EVANGELICAL DOWN.” THE PUBLIC FORUM Pending resolution ofthe lawsuit, walking on the plaza is OK, passing out anti-LDS literature on the plaza ation ofa public forum on theplaza and say that the easement is not slipping downfrom Utah's ‘ LDS PLAZA property. not. The distinction should be simple Watch as the colors comecloser OMANST TOMAl they stand onthe fringes of church cil approved, explicitly deny the cre everyday, WELCOME appeal before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit argues correctly that while the city sold the property, it cannot sell the public’s rights to free speech on an easement preserved to serve the same function as a public sidewalk. Apparently, despite this contro: vi , the finer points ofthe rules es caped the notice of the security guards. Or, their desire to get in the fall offers last hurrah,afinal shout of“Look at me!” before the leavesfall Unfair Portrayal Recentarticles andletters seem to Latino community as p rtray the “divided” or “splintered.” Thisis er- roneous. But, why does anyone be- lieve the Latino or any community must be totally unitedon all aspects? When Anglo communities differ, as when the Republican caucus boosits governor and senior senator,it is not viewed as irreparably divided. In- stead, their differences are examined and evaluated. Wepossess various strong person- ities, some with onal interests id differences of opinion wherereasonable mindsdiffer. Latinos come from different countries, though most were born in the U.S. cold months ahead. Time to dig into away and winter blankets thehills and valleys the storage chest for the right sets of clothes, time to think about tuning up So take timeto look, to appreciate the natural beauty and wonder of ‘They speak at least two languages to Utah in autumn. shades, the skis or checkingthe snowplow so Comic Salve for Thin Skins The Rev. Jesse Jackson and the members of the King family and Rev. Al Sharpton need to get out more maybe even break downand catch ogy by Friday and the sceneexcised seriously coulduse a goodlaugh: friends of Parks, want a public apolwhen MGMreleases the movie on video. Oh, please. Even if this protest didn’t takethelines out ofcontext, the movie makers wouldstill have the right to use them, just as Jackson and all-black cast (the one white icter wants to be black), the movie is a reworkedclassic “It's a Sharpton have the right to object. Comedy doesn’t have sacred cows, and free speech is protectedin studios and barbershops alike Wonderful Life” set in a rough Southside Chicago neighborhood Look, it’s no surprise that groups especially those who havesuffered due to bigotry, discrimination and Bailey f ‘apped into taking over his father’s bank, Ice Cube’s Calvin Palmerwants to be a music producer, not a barber until he realizes how lucky hehasit and how important the barbershop is to the community stereotypes want to control how 'y are seen and portrayed. This Just as Jimmy Stewart's George an unflinching documentary about gay Orthodox Jews caused an uproar in the Jewish community. A movie that “lets the world Thefunis in how he comesto that eavesdrop on the conversation that epiphany. The 2002 version is more black folks can have when whitepeo: ple aren't around,” as onecritic (ad miringly) described “Barbershop,” breaks theserules. ‘The good newsis that the new, salty and less saccharine (sorry Frank C: ns) than the1946one. The singular two-minute scene that sent Jackson and Sharpton into orbit cast comedian Cedric the En. tertainer Eddie, an old-timer who never seems to actually cut anyone's hair. The cible Eddie pokes fun at several African American public fig. ures, including OJ. Simpson and Rodney King. No one escapes his sharp tongue, not even civil rights icons Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. or Jackson himself. Never mind that the characteris meant to be over the top and that a dozen other folks in the barbershoptell him so. Thin skin comes in all shades Jackson and Sharpton, joined by and possessdifferent life ex- periences which mold our perspectives. What we have in common, however,is our future. Onthat we are united. WHAT OTHERS SAY amatineeof “Barbershop,” the movie that has Jackson demanding apologies and Sharptonthreatening boy: cotts. Anyone whotakes himself so different degrees, consist ofdifferent post-civil rights generation may not need the old rules. The multiracial crowds who are making this big. hearted movieaboxoffice hit may not yet be colorblind, but they all laugh at the samejokes and come away with the same, surprisingly sweet lesson about the importanceof community, They simply recognize a wonder. ful movie whenthey see one, and so might Jackson and Sharptonifthey'd just join the audience and not be so desperate to drawone. Wemay differ on how to get where we are going or onstyle. We do not disagree, though, on substance, on quality education for our children, or on the samerespect for each of us as individuals and for us as a community. We demand equal pay for the value of our labor and demand the opportunity to participate. More- over, we agree on the importance of our vote and being heard. Whenthe Latino communityfields its largest contingent of candidates, why are we portrayed as divided? Why doesthe media focusits lens on the obscure, the petty? Sure, differences abound and flourish, particuJarly in an election year. To focus on only our differences, though, is to provide a disservice to our community and to your readership for neglecting your responsibility to look beyondperceptions, to test our as sumptions, to educate and inform. Weall deservebetter! LEE MARTINEZ FormerSLC Councilman, District One Salt Lake City UTAH’S INDEPENDENT VOICESINCE1871 John F. ERS Fitzpatrick (1924-1960) John W. Gallivan (1960-1983) Jerry O'Brien (1983-1994) Dominic Welch (1994-2002) THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 143 8. MAIN ST SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84111 PUBLISHER William Dean Singleton EDITOR James E. Shelledy EDITORIAL PAGEEDITOR Vern Anderson MANAGINGEDITOR Tim Fitzpatrick “blew up three large buildings at the headquarters compound of Yasser Arafat while armored bulldozers smashed smaller structures, intensifying a siege meant toisolate the Pal- estinian leader from the outside world andhis followers.” If any other headof state were at- tackedin this way, wouldit not be an affront to normal diplomacy, and considered an attack on the rule of law itself? WhenIsraeli military attacks on Palestinian leaders are supported by the U.S. government, is that not an abandonmentoflegal process? In light of these uncivil attacks, If you think that wouldn’t happen, JOHN PHILLIPS Salt LakeCity efit from our schools, evenif they do tion as a means to remove anelected leader, are we not the ones who are violent and corrupt? Trying to change leadership in another government by acts of violence — whether in Iraq, Ramallah or Washington — should be unacceptable to a civilized people whopretendto valuetherule of law. No wonder mostof the world sees the U.S. (anditsvassal in the Mideast) as unprincipled gangsters. MATTHEW SORENSON Salt Lake City for everyonetolistento leftists spew the sameold cliches they have used for 20 years. And the people who go don’t even realizeit! I don’t think they can get beyond where their next pair of sandals is coming from. Two front-page stories and an other one today (Tribune, Sept. 24)! Give meabreak, Is real journalism too hard? Oris this just morefunbecause it gives you the opportunity to attack conservatives underthe guise of a “news”story? JON CAIN West Jordan Ms. Jones should be smarter than that. Let’s take a lookat all who bennot have children of their own at- tending them. First, who is going to pay for your Social Security in the years you want to retire? Whois going to replace our great legislators like Ms. Jones? Whois going to take care of you when you need medical attention or hospitalization? Who is going to make your economy grow with better jobs, more money and better technology? I will stop here because I choose to, not because there are no more examples to choose from, but I think you get the point. In any case, wasn’tit the bleeding heart liberals’ favorite first lady, Hillary Clinton, whosaid, “It takesa villageto raise a child”? False Fear Your Sept. 17 edition states that Envirocare and its holding company, SKHart, view the Radioactive Waste Restrictions Act, appearing on No- vemberballots as Initiative 1, as an effort by out-of-state competitors to put themout of business. Give me a break! What a smoke screen! Envirocare has almost zero SCOTT JACOBSEN Layton Courageous Suggestion Kudosto Rep. Pat Jones for braving the dangers associated with advocating the reduction of child ex- emptions in Utah ("Holy Tax Deduction,” Tribune, Sept. 22). Proponents for education funds love to say in the country dispose of the type of waste being sent to Envirocare’s Clive facility.The Washington site only accepts wastefrom 11 states, Polluters have no choice but to send their waste to Utah. And we are letting the out-of-state polluters send their waste here at bargain-basement tax rates. Even if Washington and South Carolina allowed their facilities to accept more waste, the increased Utah tax would still be sig- nificantly lower than the tax rates in those states, The polluters who send their waste here will still be getting a good deal whenthis initiative passes. Envirocare Hey, do you think The Tribune could publish one morearticle on the Spitfire Tour? | think it’s important public schools. Afterall, they are the corrupt? If we demand peaceful dialogue and then support barbarous destruc- democratic, violent, coercive and they can accept, and both of those states levy much higher taxes on the disposal than Utahdoes. review the ads on Nov. 11 to see how America “honors”its veterans. year are so needed. I guess we have forgotten the troubled economy, whichis making all business rethink their spending habits, raises and benefit packages. Oh, andlet’s not forget our country is at war. With thatsaid, she has proposed that only those people that take an exemptionfor child on their state incometax be the ones who pay for onesreapingthe benefits. the SouthCarolina site has severe restrictions on the amount of waste offa mattress set? teachers the raises that we hear each how can ourpresident criticize the Palestinian Authority for being un- Cheap Recognition Tired Old News PASTPUBL Offensive Proposal It seems we havea state representative whohasfinally started listening to the uninformed few thatbelieve public schoois only benefit those who actually have children who attend them. Rep. Pat Jones has come up with a plan in order to get those Those who want to makeSept. 11 a holiday haven't thought things through. With every holiday comes the inevitable holiday sale. Do you really want to honor the memory of those whodiedby going toa furniture storefora free hot dog and10 percent Los Angeles Times The Salt LakeTribune Unprincipled Gangsters The lead sentence in your (syndicated) coverage of the Mideast (Tribune, Sept. 21) said Israeli forces currently processes almost all the Class A radioactive waste generated in the U.S. Utahns aretoo smart to buy into Envirocare’s alarmist propaganda. They won't go out of business, They won't even lose business. The polluters have no other options. Envirocare will just pass on the increased Utah tax to the out-ofstate polluters by charging them a higherrate. Rememberall the signs a couple of years ago that said, “Utah Students Deserve More?” Utah students still deserve more. This initiative specifies that the increased revenue from out-of-state polluters will go to Utah students and to homeless people. What a concept! Let's give Utahns a good deal for a change. JESSE DEHAY Ogden Utahns pay less tax per pupil than any otherstate for education but they neglect the fact that we also pay more pertaxpayerthan any otherstate. A reduction in child exemptions would raise education funds as Ms. Jones states, but it would also raise this moneyfrom the people who con- tribute to the large birthrate. Ms. Jones indeed shows courage to present an equitable fund-raising idea in the Legislature. ERROL REMINGTON Salt LakeCity The Other RogueState Iraq may or may not have chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein may or may not be willing to attack another country, Iraqi people may or may not support him. The country is impoverished by economic sanctions. Considering all that, Iraq's potential threat seems questionable andinsignificant. A much more serious threat to world peace comes from a country that we know for sure possesses chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction, has a strong army and rich financial re sources, reportedly enjoys the Support of the majorityofits citizens, js headed by a power-hungry warmon gering maniacof limited mental ca. pacity, and has already proven jts resolve to strike by havingattacked several sovereign nations within the pastfew years, Any guesses? VADIM KLISHKO Layton |
