Letters

On the Grill

No barbecue bias: Each year the Cold River Cattle Company BBQ Team,
consisting mainly of small businesses and private sponsors in the $500 to $2,000
range, raises money for the Sunshine Kids, and this year the Small Steps Nurturing
Center.

We also throw a Miss Blue Jeans Contest, which is open to passersby as both
entrants and audience. I am disturbed by Robb Walsh’s use of an inaccurate description
of the racial profiles as a premise for the article about racism in the barbecue
competition in Houston [“Barbecue
in Black and White,” May 1].

Among the girls in our competition this year were black, Hispanic, Asian and
Native American faces and names. At no point was race a consideration for acceptance
of an entrant, and I think Mr. Walsh should apologize for such an implication.
The audience also contained a good mixture of the racial cross-section of Houston’s
multicultural society, albeit in less-than-perfect proportional representation,
but Mr. Walsh seems to exhibit somewhat selective vision at times. Might I suggest
he get his eyes checked, if not his bias.

Jeremy Goodwin
Houston

Hot sauce: After reading “Barbecue in Black and White,” I am convinced
that Robb Walsh is much more than a food critic. Thank you for a wonderful piece
of culinary journalism that is not afraid to call things as they are. The barbecue
at Goode Co., Otto’s and Pappas is overrated, overhyped and soul-less. To call
food from those establishments “real Texas barbecue” is as embarrassing as it
is insulting.

Sandra Puente
Houston

Love bites: I have to say I’ve never given so much thought to barbecue
before. I’ve lived all over the South and have eaten it from North Carolina
to Texas and back, without realizing there was so much history behind it.

Thanks for the thought-provoking article. So, do you think if I walked up to
Bill Bridges and said, “Hey, you old crazy-ass cracker” that he would know I
was saying it with affection?

Name withheld by request
Houston

Shrink Wrapped

Overhaul psychiatry: While I’m sure that the Devereux facility was motivated
by an interest in maintaining funding, I can’t help feeling that we’re missing
the forest for the trees [“A
Hanging Offense,” by Margaret Downing, April 24].

Cecilia was a child from a drunken, abusive home who allegedly suffered a sexual
assault when she was only nine years old. Her response to this world is an angry,
violent one — can anyone blame her?

Yet the finding of the medical community is that she has a chemical imbalance
that is responsible for her behavior, a total denial of basic cause and effect.
For there even to be a hope of saving those Cecilias still living, there needs
to be a re-evaluation of the entire basis of the psychiatric profession. What
really did come first — the chicken or the egg?

Mary Jane Holliday
Houston

Stories that matter: Your story on Cecilia was touching, and I wish
more people would take the time to write stories about things that matter to
someone. Maybe, like you said, no one ever knew she was here. Your story can
help them to see the light, for things that go on in places like this.

I usually don’t even read the papers because it’s always the same: who shot
who and war and all those things. With this story, I could not put the paper
down. Someone told what happened to a little girl who all along was crying out
for help, for someone to love her and pay attention to her.

Thank you. I encourage you to keep up the good work.

Shante S. Francis
Houston

Jail Hell

Dehumanizing prisons: I was not surprised to read in Scott Nowell’s
article [“Mail
Sacked,” April 24] that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has taken
yet another draconian step toward the total dehumanization of Texas prisoners,
many of whom are nonviolent offenders.

Until I moved from Texas back to my native Massachusetts last year, I was an
avid listener of Ray Hill’s Prison Show on KPFT, although I have no friends
or relatives in the Texas prison system. It reminded me that convicts are also
human beings who are loved by their family and friends in the same way their
victims are loved. It also kept the following question in the forefront of my
thought: How much punishment is enough?

I can imagine that the continued dehumanization and oppression of one of the
free world’s largest prison populations (through the revocation of privileges
rooted in common decency) eventually will result in significant unrest and revolt
and a decisive political backlash against those who use the harsh treatment
of prisoners for election-year grandstanding.

It pains me that in Texas, a state that I love, the prison system has more
in common with that of the Soviet Union than that of most free, democratic societies
outside the birthplace of “compassionate conservatism.” Then again, as Stalin
used to say after political purges, “Life is getting better, comrades, life
is getting better.”

William G. Harris
Boston

Routine Wonders

Graceless awe: Your articles interested me greatly [“Stung“
and “Teamwork,”
by Zoe Carmichael, April 24 and May 1]. I also practiced long and hard and was
given an opportunity to try out for the Texas City team. There were many girls
who were not picked, including me. I was disappointed, but then I realized I
didn’t have the grace and skill it took to perform the high kicks that the team
is known for. It doesn’t matter what color you are. Before you trash Texas City’s
drill team, look around the county in order to gain a fair perspective of how
the area school districts are different and how they are alike.

You did a grave disservice to the Stingarettes, and they deserve an apology.
Whenever there are issues between people of color and others, the race card
is always played first. Ms. Weatherspoon said the routines weren’t that hard.
Try interviewing one of the officers from the Stingarettes drill team. You’ll
find out how hard it truly is, indeed.

Sandy Salazar
Texas City

Deserving more: I was really glad for the article. I was lucky enough
to come from schools that picked their squads based on the girls’ actual talent
and not their race. I had the opportunity to be on a diverse squad, which to
me is the best.

The girls mentioned in the article seemed like drill team material, already
practicing and taking extra dance classes to increase their skills. When selecting
a drill team, that’s exactly what coaches look for — commitment and dedication
— and all these girls had it. This makes it even more appalling that they didn’t
make the squad. Hence the reason the race issue came into question.

I’ve known of other drill teams that want all the girls to be a specific height,
weight and race. How insane! Even the Radio City Rockettes have African-American
members. High school is supposed to be fun, and drill team is a part of that.
I feel sorry that this experience has been taken away from them because of racist
people.

Texas City should be grateful to have these girls gracing their squad.

Erin Scoggan
Houston

Pride and passion: The battles over racism were indeed fought long
ago, and it is an aspect of our society that should no longer exist. It is understandable
that these girls and their parents simply want to be given the same opportunities
as everyone else.

However, an accurate opinion of this article cannot be formed without the percentage
of girls that made it out of girls that tried out. The breakdown of the team
is not far from that of Texas City High School. In 2001, the Stingarette dance
team consisted of 8 percent African-Americans, 30 percent Hispanics and 62 percent
Caucasians.

The Stingarettes team is hardly a discriminating organization when you consider
that nowhere on the tryout score sheet does it ask for ethnicity, that our constitution
prohibits it, and that five of the 12 officers are non-Caucasian.

This article also succeeded in being a tacky representation of the audacious
media. As a Hispanic three-year member and senior military officer of the Stingarettes,
I am appalled by these allegations. I have always been proud to be a Stingarette
and represent a team that has the school- and community-wide reputation of being
a refined, dedicated and talented team of girls.

These allegations were made out of understandable heartbreak and frustration.
It’s never easy to handle rejection. It becomes a matter of handling the situation
maturely, allowing it to make you stronger and motivate you to work harder,
and not allowing yourself to give in to vindictive attacks and assumptions.

Elyssa Nicole Yanas
Texas City

White focus: I’m a white senior honor student at Texas City High School
and I am against the racism at TCHS. It seems every year blacks are excluded
from something, be it sports, clubs or drill team.

I’ve noticed the Stingarettes always seem to focus on the white girls, which
is not fair; some black girls are way more talented than half of the squad.
Honestly, I would not want to be on the squad because it’s always the slutty,
stuck-up and rich white girls who make it. Racism has been going on a long time
at TCHS, and it’s about time someone did something to stop it.

Kelly Wood
Texas City

Hoops horrors: Why don’t you get all the facts first? I guess it’s
easier to write an article from one side, and not both. Taking things seriously
is what educating young people is all about.

I guess next you’ll interview some of the parents of the nine white young men
who didn’t make the basketball team.

David Millerwrowski
Texas City

Lozano and Lucre

Skewed priorities: I was manning a table at the 420 event for Houston
Copwatch, and the only trouble I heard of came from Alex Lozano [Racket,
by John Nova Lomax, May 1]. The man can’t seem to separate charity from making
a buck. Then again, maybe that’s all he’s about. His own words condemn him.
He calls Garcia “one of the sweetest guys in the business” like it’s an insult.

And if he thinks he’s one of the few people in Houston who actually care about
the music business here, then he’s part of the problem. I will continue to support
NORML as a private citizen and member, as well as a member of Copwatch, since
the war on drugs is nothing less than a war on our civil rights. And I will
also spread the word about Alex Lozano.

Larry Boozer
Houston

NORML campaign: Thanks for letting people know what happened at the
Houston NORML benefit. I think you showed Alex Lozano’s main goal was to profit
from this event for a nonprofit group that has had to endure Reefer Madness for far too long.

That has been one of the main reasons marijuana has remained illegal: money!
The drug dealers stand to lose a lucrative black market caused by marijuana
prohibition, and the law enforcement/prison community would lose funding because
marijuana is the main component of our country’s failed drug policy.

Texas House Bill 715, which would reduce possession of an ounce or less of
marijuana to a class C misdemeanor, is pending in a Texas legislative committee
because we will lose federal highway money because of a clause in the bill.

I want to thank all the sponsors, volunteers, bands and clubs that helped
out. Our “hempstorian” Duane said Pam from Silky’s, Walter’s and Fat Cat’s invited
Houston NORML back for next year.

Steve Nolin, treasurer
Houston NORML

Strung out: I and a couple of co-workers purchased tickets for the
guitar that was to be raffled at the 420 Festival, and we did not receive a
refund (I still have my ticket).

I will be contacting Mr. Lozano to ask for the refund since he is allegedly
the one who took the guitar, but I doubt that I will be successful. Judging
by his actions and behavior at the festival and his comments in the article,
it appears that his favorite “worthy cause” is himself and his favorite “local
music” is the money jangling in his pocket.

Name withheld by request
Houston