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DO WHAT?
Re: Greg Benson's Article “Why We've Stayed."
(May 25] Perhaps Mr. Benson should have
sobered up for his writing classes, because !
have no idea what the point of his article is. He
goes from bemoaning his lost wasted youth to
cheering for the Athens of the here and now.
Then he closes the article with a backhand to our
city. So, which is it? I am left scratching my
head.
Tim Beynart
Athens
OUT OF ATHENS
Just read Greg Benson's column and felt the
need to reply, as I still check out Flagpole on
line, mostly for Dean's cartoon. I arrived for col
lege in '87 and left by '90. (Academic probation
only lasted so long then.) I took summer school
and fall off, because I liked the kinship that con
gealed when the campus closed up. I was a
“townie" and proud of it Sitting in the old Grit
(J. Hartley style) by the train station felt like
sitting in a fishbowl as drunken "Greek* types
peered in to see if anyone famous was inside.
Parties with impromptu bongo sessions a la
Jeremy Ayers. Going to Potters, seeing Deonna
Mann's performances at the 40 Watt sitting in
Jim Herbert's class, photography with Professor
Nix, eating on the cheap at the Taco Stand,
seeing the Chili Peppers at the lounge, seeing
fields of kudzu. I rolled through again three
years after I left and was saddened. A Gap store
downtown, large tracts of land turning into sub
divisions, strip malls and chain-type restaurants.
I don't know if Pat Keim's bike is still hanging in
the Globe. I don't know if Joey Tatum still sells
his cappuccino from his cart in the feU. I don't
know if you can still drive 40 minutes and see
R.A. Miller and buy some of his art I don't know
if I'd recognize Athens today, 15 years later. I'm
not sure I want to.
Scott Eckelaert
Cleveland, WI
SINGLE FAMILY
No living unit whether it be in single-family
zones or multi-family zones, was intended for
occupancy by more than a single family. If there
is any rule, it should be the same in all zones.
The reason for the "difference"; i.e., two unre
lated persons in single-family but four unrelated
persons in multi-family was purely-political to
appease those owners of apartments and other
multi-family buildings not to oppose the ordi
nance at the time.
Today, over a decade later, when the govern
ment lawyers had to defend this unfair and illegal
ordinance, they trump up many other outrageous
reasons, which even the new local judge could see
through, about why it should be so, having
nothing to do with the original plan.
This shows the duplicity of the "Unified"
government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.
Had this government sought to restrict the
number to two in all zones, as they should have
done, there would have been so much objection
from the apartment and slum owners in multi
family zones that no law could have been passed
in the first place.
If someone fails to get a building permit, the
lawyers will argue that the "reason* fo- its neces
sity is "public safety." But the real and true
reason for building permits, since the owner of
property is solely responsible for the safety of
their own premises, is so the government can find
out what is going on on private oroperty and raise
the taxes to provide more income to the govern
ment The failure to appeal this decision is further
proof of the favoritism toward the owners of the
high density slum housing in Athens, including
their own "public" housing, to which the rules do
not apply either.
Winfield J. Abbe
Athens
BASE METAL
In Michael Wehurrt's review of the new
Darkthrone album [June 1] he refers to the band
as "the true Fugazi of Norwegian black metaL* A
clever comparison, to be sure, and an apt one if
you consider their longevity and influence. When
this comparison starts to fell apart however, is
when you consider the fact that Darkthrone
doesn't exactly share Fugazfs liberal social
agenda. In feet Darkthrone's former record label
(Peaceville Records) actually refused to promote
their 1994 Album Yransitvanian (sic) Hunger
when the oand issued a statement coinciding
with the record's release which read, in part "We
wish to state that "Transilvanian Hunger" is
beyond criticism, and any man who attempts to
do so should be thoroughly patronized for his
obviously Jewish behavior."
Grammatical issues aside (English is, after aU,
not Darkthrone's native tongue), this anti-
Semitism is indicative of a dangerous subculture
in the black metal scene. National Socialist Black
Metal (NS BM) is a troubling movement that con
tinues to thrive in Europe, and you don't usually
have to turn over too many rocks to find it Does
this mean that your favorite black metal band are
Nazis? Probably not Does this mean that
Darkthrone are Nazis? I don't know. I can only
read the public statements and react accordingly.
The point I guess I'm trying to make here is
that European black-folk-Vi king-pagan-whatever-
you-want-to-caU-it metal is one of the more inter
esting musical movements of the early 21st cen
tury. There's unbelievable creativity and experi
mentation in this scene, and what's troubling is
that I find myself having to do research every
time I discover a new band to make sure they
aren't Fourth-Reich dumbshits. It's not always
easy, either. A band like Poland's Graveland has
nothing blatant in their lyrics to suggest that
they're racists, but you don't have to read too
many interviews with their vocalist Rob Darken to
get gems like this: "I have to wake up the pagan
identity in all white people, the pride of the white
pagan warrior!"
Is the new Darkthrone album good? Probably.
Woburn's review isn't the only positive reac
tion I've heard to this album. But I won't be
buying it I'm sure there's a larger argument here.
At what point do an artist's personal beliefs and
actions become so troubling that they overshadow
his musk? After all, James Brown's not exactly
anti-domestic violence, but people still buy his
records. Still racism and anti-Semitism aren't
exactly the influences I'm looking for in a metal
band, and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one..
Robert Newsome
Athens
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JUNE 15, 2005 • FLAGP0LE.COM 5