Writer couldn't ride
To the editor,
For Kamy Shaygan to suggest that the equestrian competition be eliminated from the Olympics was beyond ridiculous. It was akin to when Jose Canseco was commenting on the Tour de France and said, "Anyone can ride a bike." I would like to see Jose haul his buns over the French Alps on a bicycle, and I would love to see Kamy try to complete just the cross country portion of the equestrian competition, not to mention the whole three days that are involved in both the team and individual events. Both would be amusement beyond measure!
Cris Ballard
Administrative Associate
S.A.D. feedback surprising
To the editor,
I am personally shocked by the recent responses and attacks against S.A.D. (Students Against the Death Penalty). From insulting letters in the Wildcat to actually hacking into our Website and threatening phone calls, S.A.D. has received shocking and violent feedback from a few people in Tucson. I do not understand Stephen Emerson's criticism of the club. If it is to have "lost it" for wanting to prevent killing and trying to protect human rights, then I do not want to know what is considered to have not "lost it."
I am especially surprised at the criticism aimed against Amnesty. Amnesty is basically an amazing group of individuals whose mission is to protect human rights, such as the protection of women's rights and the release of prisoners of conscience like Lori Berenson in Peru. The people involved with Amnesty, SAS, and S.A.D. have really impressed me by their ongoing desire and dedication to protect and to understand people around the world. What surprises me though is that only about 20 students out of U of A's 35,000 students are involved with Amnesty. I hope in the future that more students will follow Amnesty's good example.
I cannot agree with Emerson's argument that families of victims need "closure." What he calls "closure," I define as "revenge." Blood does not clean blood away. Can taking someone's life really make up for the life of the victim? Does the state need to follow the criminal's example and murder an individual? How can we give this right to the government, when we consider it wrong for the people? Are we going to now advocate for the government to steal from us and beat us too? I actually found an interesting article from a pro-death penalty page about the families' need for "closure." Many found that the death penalty did not actually provide closure at all: "Taking a life doesn't fill that void, but it's generally after the execution (that the families) realize this. Not too many people will honestly say publicly that it didn't do much though because they've spent most of their lives trying to set someone in the death penalty." There is also a group, comprised of the families of victims, that try to get the death penalty abolished. They are called the Families for Reconciliation. If anything, these people impressed me with their mature moral judgments and their ability to deny their need for revenge.
As for the attacks against Ahmad Saad Nasim, I am really surprised that someone wants to dictate how Saad personally interprets his religion. He cannot be held accountable for the actions of every Muslim government, nor can we be held accountable for the actions of all Christian countries. Are we going to say that we are lying about Christianity if we say we believe that the Holocaust was wrong? Under this premise, I guess we can claim America as not a truly Christian country as we still have not abolished the death penalty unlike other Christian countries, for example all the countries of Europe!
Jane Williams
President of S.A.D. (Students Against the Death penalty)
German studies and linguistics senior
Equestrians useful
To the editor,
I am responding to the column on the uselessness of equestrian sports. As a former member of the United States Equestrian Team, a student of the U.S. three-day eventing coach, Jack LeGoff, and a student at the University of Arizona, I feel it is my responsibility to enlighten you on the subject of equestrian sports. The U.S. sport arose from competition among members of the US cavalry. The goal was to create a horse and rider team that could effectively charge into any battle situation. This required unity, bravery, athleticism, skill and complete trust between horse and rider. The first U.S. participation in equestrian Olympics was in 1912 in Stockholm. That makes 88 years of highly qualified Olympic officials deciding that equestrian sports are indeed worthy.
The actual hours, tears, sweat, miles and blood the real equestrian puts into their sport is representative of the commitment they have made to themselves, their team, their coach, their family, their horse and most of all, their country. You see, the freedoms you enjoy today are due, in part, to those equestrians who fought to secure it for all of us.
It was once said that it is better to say nothing while others wonder whether you possess the slightest hint of intelligence, rather than to open your mouth and eliminate all doubt. I am certain that you speak from naive ignorance, and not the blatant stupidity your column resembles. If you still doubt the usefulness of the sport, I invite you to try it for yourself.
I am certain you will find you are in far worse shape than you thought, have much less coordination than you ever dreamed and if you are in the least bit observant, you will find a source of pride and passion for a sport that played a key roll in the freedom you have to express your opinions in your column.
Amber Joy Bill
Veterinary sciences senior and proud U.S. equestrian
