RTP-area local music and culture

[Ruby Sinreich <ruby AT lotusmedia.org>]

If you read my letter, I explicitly said "I'm not here to tell anyone 
what to do."  So I wish you would stop saying I'm calling for a 
boycott.  I don't think anyone has suggested that.

I'm trying to be honest about the compromises all of us make every day 
so we can live and participate in our society.  How many of you are in 
favor of sweatshops and child labor?  OK, now look down at your shoes, 
look at the back of your computer.  How and where do you think these 
things are made?  How many of you drove to work alone in your cars 
today, even though you know there are other ways to get there - 
especially on Car Free Day. 
(http://orangepolitics.org/2004/09/time-to-go-car-free/)  So no none of 
are perfect, but it doesn't mean we can't try to do better and be more 
conscious of our impact on the world.

I think we all have some inherent responsibility for our part in the 
local and global economy.  Counter to what you may have read, I am not 
perfect.  So I go to the drive-in because I want to support local 
businesses (especially theaters and especially drive-ins), but I 
personally draw the line at giving money to the gun and ammo shop 
(which the theater partially subsidizes).

I think it's great to see the community coming together over this 
issue, but we may be missing an opportunity to make some positive 
change instead of just reinstate the status quo.  For example, what if 
this new SOS "foundation" retained ownership over part of the theater 
and managed it for the community's benefit, or what if they worked with 
the Center for Community Self-Help to establish a sustainable and 
healthy business to complement the drive-in.  Again: I'm not here to 
tell anyone what to do.  I'm just dreaming out loud.  There is more 
than one way to do this.

I find it strange that my moral dilemma seems to outrage some of you.  
I am just raising questions, you have to answer them for yourselves.  
As Brian's letter said "When people give time and money to such a fine 
cause, they become partners in the cause's future."

= Ruby

On Wednesday, September 22, 2004, at 09:15  AM, grady wrote:

> Wait, which is it? Either you've enjoyed seeing movies at the Starlite 
> many times, or you're not gonna give money to an institution that puts 
> more guns into your community. You can't have it both ways, because 
> it's clear from the various articles that the movies and the gun shop 
> are complementary revenue streams for a single entity.
>
> Or are you somehow able to make some convuluted rationalization that 
> your movie-ticket purchase only supports the drive-in side of the 
> business, but donating money for a piece of plywood to rebuild the 
> screen would be going beyond that to support the gun shop itself?
>
> Perhaps you're saying that you're not going to attend any more movies 
> at the Starlite as long as they're selling guns, assuming the screen 
> is rebuilt & the drive-in reopens? If that's the case, perhaps you 
> should state that more clearly. As Todd says, you appear to be calling 
> for a boycott, but in somewhat vague terms.
>
> I fully support your right to be skeeved and upset about the gun shop, 
> but I don't think you can sit tall & proud on that high horse of yours 
> unless you're clearer about exactly what it is you intend to do & what 
> you'd like the rest of us to do. Because at the moment I, for one, 
> will be a little bit peeved if a bunch of us donate the money to 
> rebuild the screen & then I run into you at the drive-in next summer.
>
> Ross
>
> Ruby Sinreich wrote:
>
> > I have enjoyed seeing movies at  the Starlite many times, but never 
> > without some inner conflict about  the guns at the snack bar.  
> > Whenever I see a gun, my day usually gets  worse.
>
> [ . . . ]
>
> > All I've said is that I don't  personally want to give money to an 
> > institution that puts more guns  into my community.  It's against my 
> > religious and my political beliefs.   I'm not gonna do it.
>
> -- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ch-scene
--
Ruby Sinreich :: ruby AT lotusmedia.org :: http://lotusmedia.org/blog
"Instead of hating the people you think are the warmakers, hate the 
appetites and the disorder in your own soul, which are the causes of 
war. If you love peace, then hate injustice, hate tyranny, hate greed, 
but hate these things in yourself, not in another."  -Thomas Merton