Letters To The Editor
I didn’t know that Bay Crossings was so editorially
slanted, I’m turned off that you have set yourself up as an
anti-bridge commute group, not to mention anti-Marin (See 4/7/04 “We
say that Golden Gate Bridge drivers can damn well afford $8”). Your
snide attitude and failure to recognize that there are working class
people and service providers who cannot use the ferry was what
prompted me to request removal in the first place.
It’s a shame you’ve lost me because I agree with
so many of your positions regarding the importance of ferries. I
find it intellectually lazy to take the easy shot and insinuate that
every GG bridge driver is
well off. I’m almost glad you haven’t removed me from your list yet,
as I found that my low opinion was well deserved by your latest
ridiculous analogy: “What exactly are the ideals for which we are
fighting in Iraq if they do not include the sanctity of the
electoral process?”
Imagine an organization committed to getting
people out of cars, supporting Operation Iraqi Liberation (the
acronym being *exactly* what the ideals are for), and on the premise
of the sanctity of the electoral process! Last I checked, the
variety of electoral processes in the world run a wide range, some
better than ours, most worse. I may wish the worse ones weren’t, but
don’t find it my job as a US citizen to impose mine.
Stick to ferry advocating and waterfront
celebration, your editors are in over their heads.
Wayne Bush
The Proprietor Responds:
I enjoyed your thoughtful letter and am truly sorry to be losing you
as a reader. I hope you will reconsider. But before severing
electronic ties, may I:
Admit that:
— my screed was over the top, and as a demagogue I don’t measure up
well.
— the existing ferry system is indeed a boutique system, and access
to it is limited to a group even more elite than the Marinites I
have lambasted.
You’re a gifted writer, surprisingly so given that
you don’t sense:
— Marin’s deserved opprobrium for failing to tax itself for public
transport while all the while finger-wagging for the politically
correct in all things to all people, and;
— that “working class people and service providers” are profoundly
victimized by public policy stretching back 50 years favoring cars
over egalitarian public transit. Building the bridges was the
original sin, replacing a vastly more effective, economical and
environmentally friendly regional ferry/rail network.
— that, as generalizations go (and in my opinion), “every GG bridge
driver is well off” amounts to a pretty safe bet.
I think it was fair to go after Arnold’s attempt
to gut the regional transit measure the people passed. It showed an
arrogance, by ignoring public process, which I thought Republicans
supported.
Thanks for your input.
Bobby Winston
Proprietor, Bay Crossings