Letters to the Editor

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Published: Oct 18, 2006

It is a shame what the Philadelphia Parking Authority is doing to cab drivers with GPS [Naked City, "Fare Play," Natalie Hope McDonald, Oct. 12, 2006]. It's bad enough you have to worry about dangerous passengers and the dangers of the road. The PPA thinks they can do what they want because they donate money to the school board. That's great, but Joey Merlino also gave out turkeys on Thanksgiving.

Enzo Falcone
South Philadelphia

It is indeed disturbing that police surveillance of protected free speech is being more and more accepted as the norm [Slant, "The Watchmen," Dave Lindorff, Oct. 12, 2006]. One of the reasons for this trend is that people with dissenting opinions are being demonized in the media as dangerous extremists who are prone to violence. Words like "domestic terrorist" are thrown around casually, suggesting absurdly that the radical left is in league with the likes of al-Qaida and other ultraconservative groups that murder civilians for political gain and who want nothing less than a global theocracy.

Lindorff quoted [police] Inspector Robert Tucker as saying, "At events like these, there are usually anarchists who show up and they're the ones that sometimes end up breaking glass and causing problems." This stereotype is so prevalent that even large numbers of progressives are inclined to believe them, demonstrating the power of media labeling.

The image of anarchists breaking glass can be traced to the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle and a small group of attention-craving "green anarchists" from Eugene, Ore., who caused selective property damage to several large multinational corporations. These targets were chosen because of their alarming complicity in sweatshops and human-rights abuses around the world.

Although almost all anarchists agree that there is a huge difference between this kind of action and physical violence toward people and other living things, many anarchists disagree with such tactics for pragmatic reasons. Even those who support them would laugh at the idea of smashing windows at a small, local peace rally. If the police are taking their surveillance work seriously, they should know this by now.

Anarchists believe that human beings have evolved beyond the need to get what we want by dominating, exploiting and hurting others. They aim to create a social framework that is based on voluntary cooperation, free of compulsion or authority. Some anarchists are pacifists (the most famous was literary giant Leo Tolstoy). Others believe in self-defense but recognize that their tactics must reflect the kind of world they are fighting for, a world in which no one will ever need to resort to violence to make their voice heard.

The First Amendment was adopted to protect the rights of people with ideas that the authorities find unacceptable, even dangerous. It is a check on governmental power. When such ideas (e.g. anarchism) are used an excuse to curtail free speech, the entire rationale for the Bill of Rights is called into question. It's time we stop worrying about a little broken glass and start focusing on fixing our broken world.

Mike Pesa
West Philadelphia

Hats off for wonderful coverage that will help the public become more aware that the Delaware Valley was not established by William Penn, which most people tend to believe [Naked City, "Script Tease," J.F. Pirro, Oct. 12, 2006]. It was settled by the Swedes and Finns before Penn was born.

The next time you visit City Hall, take a hard look. There is a statue of a Swede under William Penn. As you enter the building from the west entrance, there is a plaque with our Swedish forefathers' names listed. Something else to ponder: The Swedes were the ones who had established good relationships with the Native Americans, and spoke their language. Penn utilized their services as interpreters to negotiate for land. But if you look into this deeper, you will find that most of the land on which Philadelphia stands was land, as Dr. [Kim-Eric] Williams says, owned and already developed by the Swedes when Penn arrived.

Aleasa Hogate
www.SwedishHeritage.us

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