Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Does Dunbar Spend His Life With His Head Down the Wells?
RECEIVED Mon., Oct. 10, 2011
Dear Editor,
Re: "City Hall Hustle" [News, Oct. 7]: Does columnist Dunbar spend his life with his head down the Wells? He seems not to pay attention to what he writes and quotes. Is he aware that it is his columns, rather than the people’s demonstrations he belittles, that are inchoate?
If he had moved his rear end sufficiently to be present at any of the weeklong series of meetings, open to all, that preceded the Occupation, he might have understood just how broad based and consensus driven this democratic movement actually is. As usual, Wells limited his research to what was easily available on the Web. Where I come from, this is known as reportorial laziness in the extreme.
This movement does not exist for the convenience of the small-minded or intellectually challenged. Many sites were discussed but City Hall provided the best combination of essential elements: great visibility, access to both financial and political hubs, adequate space, a known location for people to congregate, and an actual facility that supports assembly. There is no other location in Austin that is comparable. Glad to see that the selection Dumbar disparages is indeed “weird” like the Austin we celebrate.
While City Hall may not be a primary object of our collective anger, there are those that see the reduction of social services and the efforts to ignore the citizenry as reflections of the same arrogance that has infected the corporatist governments from Wisconsin to D.C. and the elitism of corporatist business suites and their many willing servants in the mass media.
These beautiful, dedicated, and insightful people need no direction from the likes of the inchoate, insensitive, egotistical Dumbar. We and we alone will democratically determine the direction, goals, and commitments this movement will evolve into. Unlike the traditional models, our democracy is consensus-based, and we shall take the time necessary to arrive at our goals. You are all invited!
Re: "City Hall Hustle" [News, Oct. 7]: Does columnist Dunbar spend his life with his head down the Wells? He seems not to pay attention to what he writes and quotes. Is he aware that it is his columns, rather than the people’s demonstrations he belittles, that are inchoate?
If he had moved his rear end sufficiently to be present at any of the weeklong series of meetings, open to all, that preceded the Occupation, he might have understood just how broad based and consensus driven this democratic movement actually is. As usual, Wells limited his research to what was easily available on the Web. Where I come from, this is known as reportorial laziness in the extreme.
This movement does not exist for the convenience of the small-minded or intellectually challenged. Many sites were discussed but City Hall provided the best combination of essential elements: great visibility, access to both financial and political hubs, adequate space, a known location for people to congregate, and an actual facility that supports assembly. There is no other location in Austin that is comparable. Glad to see that the selection Dumbar disparages is indeed “weird” like the Austin we celebrate.
While City Hall may not be a primary object of our collective anger, there are those that see the reduction of social services and the efforts to ignore the citizenry as reflections of the same arrogance that has infected the corporatist governments from Wisconsin to D.C. and the elitism of corporatist business suites and their many willing servants in the mass media.
These beautiful, dedicated, and insightful people need no direction from the likes of the inchoate, insensitive, egotistical Dumbar. We and we alone will democratically determine the direction, goals, and commitments this movement will evolve into. Unlike the traditional models, our democracy is consensus-based, and we shall take the time necessary to arrive at our goals. You are all invited!
Leslie Aisenman
