RE: City Council

["Pieron, Andriette" <andriette@neill-lib.org>]

Dear Mr. Guyer,

I am like you, a list lurker, and I don't take the time to comment on every issue. But since I'm a Moscow citizen and you asked for comments, here's my two cents...

My suggestion is that the City Council not act hastily.  This seems like a very "big" "top"ic right now but I guarantee that if we don't jump too quickly to change laws etc. the furor will die down very soon and we will laugh at ourselves for making such a benign issue into such a large one.  We really don't have to legislate ourselves into straight jackets just so people can be more comfortable. This is not a live or die issue, please don't invest too much time on it.  There are more important things going on in the world requiring thought, love and attention.

It certainly makes me laugh, being Dutch, that we are getting so "hot" in Moscow, Idaho over such a non-issues as topless women.  I agree with the statement about getting into this half of the century, and to that I would add:

Vive le difference!

Andriette Pieron
Community Services Librarian
Neill Public Library
210 N. Grand Ave.
Pullman, WA  99163
338-3269
andriette@neill-lib.org

-----Original Message-----
From: John Guyer [mailto:johnguy@moscow.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 10:39 PM
To: 'John Danahy'; 'Vision2020'
Subject: RE: City Council


Mr. Danahy,

I generally just read the list, but I felt your post needed a response.
I am not replying to join in debate (in fact, I do not intend to respond
to any other posts), rather, I am writing to ask the public to take it
down a notch on this issue.  That being said, let me address a couple of
things that prompted my post.

1) You are correct that the city council is mostly male (4 to 2).
However that is neither here nor there.   You imply that male
representatives are incapable of making unbiased decisions for female
constituents. While many reading this list may agree with your
assumption, it does not make it true.  Both men and women vote for
officials to represent their interests.  Women voted for the male
dominated council, just as men did.  Women decided that this council
best represented them, just as the men did.  That is the point of
representative government.  Were the women voting for male
representatives capable of making a decision in their best interests?

It is also important to note, while on this point, that the majority of
the correspondence submitted to me on this issue has been from outraged
mothers.  Where is their opinion fit within your assumption?

2) Your comment regarding the sight of female skin and Burkas being the
next stop appears to me to be inflammatory.  We all know that this is
not about "skin."  Again the assumption here is that if we treat women
different from men in any way, we are some how devaluing them.  We all
know that is not the case.  A similar slippery slope argument (and just
as unhelpful) the other direction might be,  "Why stop at the waistline?
What's next, unisex bathrooms?"  You see, these types of arguments tend
to sensationalize an issue rather then sticking with logical, points.

I encourage people with opinions on the issue to write me with your
concerns on either side of the issue (indeed I have had many comments
already).  If you write, I would only ask that you avoid sensationalism,
and divisive comments.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

John B. Guyer
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moscow City Council
johnguy@moscow.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



-----Original Message-----
From: John Danahy [mailto:JDANAHY@turbonet.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 12:20 PM
To: Vision2020
Subject: City Council


So, a male dominated city council will pass laws requiring women to
cover themselves because the male dominated city council believes that
the site of female skin is indecent?  What next?  Burkas?

John Danahy
jdanahy@turbonet.com