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What is causing this epidemic of mass shootings and, now, stabbings, in this country?
Most folks blame it on multiple factors, such as mental illness, a lack of available and affordable mental health services, easy access to firearms and lack of gun restrictions.
A new nonfiction book at the library blames it on technology and social media.
Elon Musk believes that we are video game characters... living inside a video game.
And Musk believes the gamers are responsible for this epidemic of mass shootings and, now, stabbings.
My neighbor, Catfish, puts the blame on Santa Claus — and his elves!
I personally share Elon Musk’s conviction that we are living inside of a video game and that the game-designer, and gamers, are responsible for these near-daily massing shootings and stabbings
But we better keep an eye on Santa’s elves! Some of them look pretty shady! (Did I tell you about the one I caught looking at Cosmo?)
But Santa’s elves wouldn’t commit mass shootings!
But a video-gamer might! And many do!
I side with Musk — that we are living in a video game that includes mass shootings and stabbings!
The Metaverse that Mark Zuckerberg and his company Meta are erecting for us to move into will be like living inside a video game.
And tons of video games offer mass shootings and stabbings for entertainment.
So it’s not far-fetched nor unscientific to believe that we are living inside a video game... as video game characters... and that mass shootings and stabbings are part of the game... and for the entertainment of our gamers!!!
RICHARD D. POPE
Hendersonville
Abortion, rent and property values... is Murphy next to ban IVF?
Since abortion and contraception rights and funding is a major threat to rental demand and, therefore,
property values, every homeowner needs to oppose them and every tenant support them, as nearly all local homeowners fairly consistantly and vigorously fight all such threats at city hall every week.
Of course, the opposite is true of the IVF (in vitro fertilization) regulation I hear is being drafted in Tennessee, giving overpopulation activists and tenants a rare opportunity to triangulate with fundies on the single issue of IVF as seperate from abortion rights as I once did on zoning.
I wonder how Kansan tenants would have voted on IVF? Same goes for conservation land.
I gave up on filling Sandy Mush Game Lands with childfree singlewides when I gave up on WNC to focus on partisan moving vans and Antelope, Oregon.
I only got one out of about 100 I planned.
Better luck with the Antelope A-frames.
Might Murphy ban IVF?
ALAN DITMORE
Leceister
City accused of shafting local blacks by shifting Juneteenth gala management to non-local blacks
Ex-organizer hoping ‘the cavalry will arrive...’
My name is Paul Howell and I’m from Asheville, N.C.
You all do remember Asheville, N.C.?
The place in WNC that was so quick to say they were going to make reparations for the black community of Asheville.
Well, that’s a whole ‘nother story to be covered soon.
My problem and concern is with the City of Asheville snatching JuneteenthofAsheville out of the hands of the people that have been doing Juneteenth in Asheville since 2011, with no fanfare nor funding from anyone.
The city has in place one Jon Filman, community events manager, who (it) just so happens, wanted to take control of JuneteenthofAsheville this past June, yet the small group of four held their own with him, as he stated that the city could hold their own event if we didn’t go along with him.
Of course, once the city manager (Debra Campbell) and city attorney (Brad Branham) got involved, he quickly changed course.
Yet with this being the first nationally recognized Juneteenth as a holiday, we were provided no assistance from this man on behalf of the City of Asheville with any promotion/assistance with sponsors, as was agreed upon, and definitely no advertising, yet we were required to have the “City of Asheville†on everything we shared — with the city logo being placed where he wanted it at.
Seems that $25,000 alone is spent on fireworks for the Fourth of July with commercials, radio ads and mention at City Council meetings ... and we were told by Jon Filman that if the city did it on their own, they would put more than $10,000 into it, yet a big ado was supposedly made about the city putting $10,000 into JuneteenthofAsheville, of which each and every dollar was required to be accounted for.
Well, now heading into the second year of being recognized as a national holiday, this person has concocted a scheme to remove and exclude the people that have put in the work when there was no funding nor interest in Juneteenth, by creating a process for anyone from anywhere to put in a proposal to produce JuneteenthofAsheville for the city, rather than the city offering a proposal to work with the people who have been doing JuneteenthofAsheville — like they have in place with the Downtown Association of Asheville to do the Fourth of July every year.
Yet, for some reason, this contract isn’t available for the black residents that care about Juneteenth, just so they can bring in their people and make it lucrative for them, when our interest is to make the event lucrative for our community, businesses and kids.
I have the people, documentary, pictures and numbers to support our feelings that Asheville, N.C., as they have continuously been known to do, is taking something started and fulfilled through the local black community and for the local black community by the local black community ... and put things into the hands of black people who aren’t local nor of the community.
For too long, the little people in this town have been walked over.
I’m tired and I want to use my voice to bring attention to this place that’s so good — with it’s appearance from the outside with the Biltmore House and Grove Park Inn —while constantly doing everything to keep the local black community away from equity and inclusion.
I am really hoping to hear from you all — and that we can get the attention to get the assistance we need, so that the everyday person isn’t just kicked to the curb when the event becomes more about money ... and less about the people.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this — and hopefully the calvary will arrive....
PAUL WILLIAM HOWELL
Asheville
EDITOR’S NOTE: Howell described himself at the end of his letters as follows: “Community advocate/event planner (self- taught), ordinary father/grandfather.â€
The good, bad and ugly of the March Against Hate in Jacksonville, Fla.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter to the editor concerns the author’s participation in a March Against Hate in Jacksonville, Fla., on the morning of Dec. 6.
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I don’t know who this person is who sent the anonymous text message to me that is reprinted at the end of this letter, but I hope that he gets my response to his lying diatribe about my visit to Jacksonville.
I received no message from the Sons of Confederate Veterans not to go to Jacksonville. I did not expect a large gathering of people to join in with me. I did hear from a damn yankee who touted contextual messages.
However, wherever this has been done in Florida, it’s just a bunch of lies aimed at discrediting the Southern soldier and the Southern people and shortly thereafter the removal of the Confederate cenotaph.
All the yankees and knee-benders — who didn’t want me to come into Jacksonville — did was to tout falsehoods about their undertakings to keep the Confederate cenotaphs standing.
However, that is a grand lie. The grand cenotaph that once stood across from (Jacksonville) City Hall is gone.
I am proud to stand with those who tire of watching the cultural genocide of our (Southern) homeland. And not to forget the illegal justification of (U.S. Sen.) Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that she and her Naming Commission do what they are doing because our Southern armies were traitors.
I don’t expect that those of us — who are tired of watching cowering-down and knee-bending — expect any help in bringing Warren and DNA Traitor (Ty) Seidule to task, or Jacksonville Mayor (Lenny) Curry.
I am a son of former loyal slaves, and a loyal son of the South, and I don’t grovel to cowards for permission to make a stand against those who have declared war upon our homeland, once again.
And I truly hope this message makes it’s way to them.
God bless you!
H.K. EDGERTON
Asheville
Chairman, Board of Advisors Emeritus, Southern Legal Resource Center
Member, Save Southern Heritage Florida
President, Southern Heritage 411
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the text of an anonymous text message that Edgerton included with his letter — and was sent to him in response to his Dec. 6 March Against Hate†in Jacksonville.
I’m sorry to say SSH-FL (Save Southern Heritage Florida) has lost my support.
That boneheaded move to fly the Battle Flag (of the Confederate States of America) in Jacksonville has created a hornets nest —when one wasn’t needed.
No one is supportive of this tactic, as proven when no one showed when H.K. (Edgerton of Asheville) was here... except the three folks who traveled from Tampa.
The local SCV (Sons of Confederate Veterans) camp even told you (Edgerton) not to do it.
In the future, please don’t use our sacred flag in such a way that dishonors it.
To say this stunt was wildly successful is a lie — I know (this to be true from) being a Jacksonville resident and monument supporter.
Sent from my iPhoneOn Dec 14, 2022, at 5:06 PM,
Save Southern Heritage - Florida
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