It was with disbelief that I read the Feb. 27 article Steep fines hack at sloppy yards. When did we become so uncaring about our neighbors? If Antoinette Stavropoulos is unable to mow her lawn and does not have the money to hire someone to do it, why does the board think she will be able to pay $200 a day as a penalty for this unfortunate situation? As the article stated, "Others cannot maintain their land because of old age or illness." Why didn't one of the members of the board go mow her lawn for her or send a teenage boy or girl who might need to learn the value of helping a neighbor in need? Why didn't one of her neighbors offer assistance?
Does the New Port Richey Code Enforcement Board really believe that Stavropoulos deserves to lose her home? Don't they think she'd love to have a beautifully manicured yard if she could afford one?
Tampa has 39 people working for the Code Enforcement Department. How much money is Tampa spending in order to tell people what they have to do with their own property? Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper, and kinder, to offer some of those "criminals" a helping hand?
-- Mary Murphy, Belleair
Erect a monument of tolerance
Regarding the destruction wrought at the "Virgin Mary building": I am an agnostic and personally placed no special significance on the image that appeared in the glass. However, despite my personal beliefs, I deny no one their beliefs, nor their religious icons. I find the destruction of this shrine reprehensible, and beneath even the basest levels of human conduct. Although the damage can not be undone, it is my hope that some sort of appropriate monument can be erected in its place - perhaps one extolling the virtues of tolerance.
-- Phil Penne, St. Petersburg
An image of forgiveness
I read with dismay the account of the how the image of the Blessed Mother in Clearwater was vandalized. However, as a Catholic, I was even more dismayed that many people were so deeply disturbed by the incident. Yes, it is terrible that this beautiful and meaningful image has been destroyed, but it was only an image, even if a miraculous one.
Catholics are often questioned about why we "pray to statues," which, of course, is inaccurate. We don't actually worship figurines, or windows on office buildings, either. We pray to what these things represent. This image in Clearwater, while certainly remarkable and inspirational, was, at best, only a likeness of our beloved Blessed Virgin.
I don't know what was going on in the minds of those responsible for this act, but I do know that Mary will always be there for those who believe in her, windows or not. She would also encourage us to forgive the unhappy individuals who committed this act.
-- Barbara B. Booker, Spring Hill
A shattering loss for all
Re: A shattering loss for Mary's faithful, March 2.
Although a Protestant, I should think that the vandalism of the image of the Virgin Mary on the office building in Clearwater would be considered a loss for us all, and not just "for Mary's faithful," as your headline states.
Aren't we all in this thing together? Isn't bigotry and hatred in our community a shattering loss for all?
-- Ed Davis, Tampa
A narrow view of religion
Re: A Jesus Christians are unused to seeing, Feb. 26.
I read Kenneth L. Woodward's column on Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ with complete astonishment at his lack of spiritual and cosmopolitan logic and sensitivity. His careless one-sentence reductions of other faiths showed considerable ignorance outside of his apparently narrow field of interest in religion. He is another religious person who has yet to see the forest for the trees, who has yet to grasp the destination while wallowing in the black and white symbols on the map.
I see great unity and similarities in faiths other than my own, because I recognize that the destination is the same, the paths are many. Woodward's focus is on the separating and material issues that are not the true passion of Christ's message or the Buddha's message. Woodward may have read his Bible, but it seems he has not thought much about what he has read. I affirm he and others like him will some day do so, and maybe discover the beauty of the world's vast religions and be happier for it.
-- John Martin, St. Petersburg
Distractions from the real question
The criticism of Mel Gibson and his movie, The Passion of the Christ, has been vicious. I'm not surprised, because I think your columnists and many letter writers are trying to distract themselves from the main question, which is: If Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, who came to free us from our sins, then what am I going to do about it?
People are afraid of that question. It's easier to criticize the film, the violence it contains, possible anti-Semitism, Mel Gibson's conservatism, etc., than to tackle the question - "Who is Jesus and what does he mean to my life?"
-- Cyril Merrill, Spring Hill
A deluge of foolishness
Re: New Passion criticism: No black Jesus? Feb. 28.
I am about out of patience with all the lines of print that have been devoted to the ridiculous criticisms of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. First it was accusations of anti-Semitism. Now we have people harping about the fact that Jesus isn't depicted as being black.
I was a Biblical Studies major at a Christian college and, from my perspective, the film was a reasonably faithful rendering of the events surrounding the crucifixion as recorded in the Gospels. Remember the Gospels? These documents are the only primary sources we have concerning Jesus and his death; either one accepts these accounts as historically reliable or one does not. Ultimately, it is a question of faith.
The film accurately portrays the execution of Jesus of Nazareth as being a collaborative effort between members of the Jewish religious leadership (not the Jewish people as a whole) and the Roman provincial authorities. The movie portrays Jesus himself as the Palestinian Jew that he clearly was, not a black African. Any other speculative nonsense that has been written is an indulgence in theologicum ad absurdum.
Clearly, there is some kind of intellectual cachet to be gained from anything that is critical of an orthodox view of the central figure of the Christian faith. Why is it that this Galilean prophet haunts our imaginations to such an extent as to inspire all this deluge of foolishness concerning him? As a believer in Jesus and in what was accomplished for us by his Passion, I think I know the answer to that question.
-- John Feeney, St. Petersburg
That's entertainment
I just want to compliment Bill Maxwell for his column Gibson's artistic vision (Feb. 29). What a revealing, thoughtful and thought-provoking piece. It reminded me of what a friend told me years ago when I was criticizing a movie. She said, "John, it's only a movie!"
-- John Edward Armstrong, St. Petersburg
Bubba's punishment too severe
Imagine waking up one morning and finding a police officer at your front door telling you that Mr. Smith has been following you around town for the last three years and has noticed that you broke the law 26 times and called the police the other day to register a complaint. Then he hands you 26 violation tickets and says that since you have so many violations, your driving privileges are now revoked for life and you must pay a hefty fine. This would seem extremely unfair to most, if not all, people. Most people would start driving with much more attention to the rules after the first ticket, let alone the second or the third.
I did not listen to the Bubba the Love Sponge show in the morning. It's not that I found his show offensive, I just chose to listen to something that I thought was more entertaining. I had the right to choose to turn the radio dial to something different. I no longer have the right to choose, for that choice was made for me by Clear Channel under the pressure of the FCC that never gave Clem due process in fining him within a reasonable time period for each infraction.
Best of luck to you, Mr. Clem. I hope you get back on the air where you deserve to be.
-- Tim Amburgey, Clearwater
Neither offensive nor entertaining
On a recent morning I tuned into 98 Rock and much to my surprise I heard ... music! What I didn't hear was Bubba the Love Sponge Clem slurping coffee, sucking mucus through his sinuses, or his annoying nasal rhetoric. I am not offended by Mr. Clem's vulgarity. I am not amused by it either, and that's the problem. Bubba was no longer funny. His "schtick" became tired, predictable and as sophisticated as a middle-school boy with a mirror taped to his shoe. Thank you 98 Rock, I am a returned listener.
-- Sean Haney, St. Petersburg
Clean up all the filth
Does Bubba's being fired mean the FCC is finally going to crack down on obscene language and filth on TV and radio? That would sure be a step in the right direction. How many years have there been complaints about Bubba? And yet no one dared to fire him, until Clear Channel got a big fine lobbied against them? When anything makes a buck, it's okay, but when the fine outweighs the profit, then and only then do they act.
How a mother could listen to Bubba is beyond my understanding. I've caught him a couple of times when changing stations and quickly found something more decent to listen to. Let's see what happens to those who allowed the filth to be exposed during the Super Bowl halftime show. The advertisements that are allowed today are also not clean and decent.
Why do we allow these things to be aired? Why can't we clean up all channels of communication, not just people like Bubba? It would be a real blessing if we could turn on the TV and radio and see movies without any filth involved.
-- Frances Glaros, Clearwater
Lying gone commercial
Re: What's the solution to all of this lying, cheating and stealing? by Robert Trigaux, Feb. 23.
You said, "Lying, cheating and stealing increasingly are creeping into the mainstream of corporate America." Well, if you have noticed in the past 10 to 20 years, the commercial business has been advertising lies to the people - and, in particular, to the children - of our nation.
Just about any commercial you look at today tells a lie about the product. It has become accepted information. Our children see this and think it is okay to lie. These children grow up to be adults in business and carry the lies on into their lives. They have been getting away with these acts for so long that it no longer seems like lying, cheating or stealing to them.
Guess what we have to do is clean up the airways... if that is possible!
-- Albert Toth, St. Petersburg
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