RE: Mall

["Shahab Mesbah" <meteor2@moscow.com>]

Dear friends,

I do not see why we cannot be active in ALL the issues facing us. Does it
mean that we put up with smaller issues if the big issues are remaining?!

On the other point, since some of the friends felt that a boycott would give
no incentives to the mall for fixing the mistake, I was attempting to be
open to other people's suggestions (something obviously foreign to some
people). I was willing to change my position to a more moderate one since
some friends made some good points. If we were willing to be more flexible
perhaps we would not have the disunity we have... no?!

As many of you know by now, I do not have a high opinion of malls; in fact,
I think they are leaches. I have the advantage of some formal education in
urban planning and you will find that the long-term effect of most malls on
their cities is a negative one. This is not a future seeing proposition...
it is history. Malls are the primary players in urban sprawl and slum
creation.

I can count the number of times I have been to the mall on one hand! This is
not about my support of the mall... they never had my support. It is about
the rest of the friends. This is why I was tempering my position. If you
have a problem with that... then I guess we differ in a fundamental way! I
feel that tempering and modifying our position is the whole point behind
vision2020.

Your brother,

Shahab...


-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Borden [mailto:mborden@moscow.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2000 5:43 AM
To: vision2020@moscow.com
Subject: Mall

So, we're going to have a demonstration and picket the mall; and then
we're going to boycott it forever.
Yahoo! Do you know how silly you sound? There are a lot more important
issues that might repond to some well applied activism than some ratty
looking shrubs at the mall. As I see it, the mall complied with the
letter of the ordinance by keeping the trees, and violated the spirit by
removing the shrubs. I haven't looked, so correct me if I'm wrong. How
about protesting some of the real issues on the Palouse, like the ever
increasing gouge of the students that the University calls a fee
structure, or the totally uncontrolled growth in the Moscow area, or the
maniacal driving by testosterone loaded kids wearing backwards ballcaps.
Ooops. I'm stereotyping kids with backwards ballcaps.

Michael Borden
Moscow, ID