Letters to the Editor

Resist protesting hateful anti-gay pastor with more hate

To the Daily:

In regards to the impending arrival of Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church ("Anti-gay pastor plans to crash Gay Pride Week celebrations," 1/11/01) I hope people will look at this sensibly and reasonably and I pray that everyone will greet him with the respect that he, as a human being, deserves.

Don't get me wrong, I strongly disagree with everything that he believes in. Growing up in the South, I tried to stand by my gay friends as they were harassed, worrying about the possibility that a Fred Phelps-type would decide to follow through on one of the many death threats my friends received.

These people are so full of fear of what they don't understand that they use hate and intimidation to make others just as afraid as they are.

This being said, look at it from the perspective of the past KKK gatherings here at the University. These people come here looking for trouble knowing how ready we are to defend the other members of this community. They come here looking for justification in their twisted beliefs.

So I ask you, when Phelps comes to Ann Arbor, greet this man with love and respect. Give him a warm University welcome. Fighting hate with hate only breeds more. The only affective thing is love and although it will be difficult, that is what we're going to have to show him. Then, as he leaves, he'll be highly disappointed and at the very least won't have more ammo for his fire.

Please, be sensible and help the members of our community in their time of need like we always have and hopefully always will.

Deanna Hence

LSA sophomore

Cantor shouldn't blame 'U' for death

To the Daily:

Hopefully the settlement between the University and George Cantor ("Cantor suit settled for $100,000," 1/11/01) will be the end of all this nonsensical finger pointing.

A girl falls out of her residence hall room window after being seen drinking at a fraternity party. First, we hear the windows are to blame, yet extensive testing shows that they were not faulty. Then the Cantor family blames the fraternity where Courtney was seen drinking, then the maker of the loft she slept on and then the University for not teaching students about the perils of drinking.

As much of a tragedy as this situation is, could it not be possible that perhaps the "blame," so to speak, lies with the Cantor family, or, heaven forbid, with Courtney herself? Maybe her parents should take responsibility for teaching (or perhaps not teaching) their daughter about the dangers of alcohol. Or perhaps they did sit down with Courtney, but maybe their words fell upon deaf ears.

I was always taught to take responsibility for my own actions and the choices I make in life. And like everyone, I sometimes make stupid mistakes that I later regret.

Maybe that is what George Cantor feels, or maybe that is what Courtney would feel today if she had survived the fall. But she did not, so he blames the windows, blames the fraternity, blames the loft, blames the University, he blames everyone else. Sometimes, I suppose, we cannot admit where the blame truly lies.

Amanda Zeoli

Art and Design junior