LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Letter proves Crystal's point

To the Editor: Park writes in his letter that "it is inexcusable to justify the usage of certain, obvious four-letter words as 'sometimes good' simply because you believe 'they possess a power held by no other type or word'." He goes on to question whether Crystal has ever taken an English course, implying, I suppose, that any real student of the English language would never use such words. Has Park ever read Salinger? Words are words, Park. Tools for communication. Yes, "certain, obvious four-letter words" are offensive, but that is exactly the reason people use them. They are, in general, crude, distasteful and offensive, and that is the entire point. Sometimes, art (apart from just rap as an example) should offend. It should be blatantly angry and disrespectful. It should be crude. In such cases, such words often do "possess a power held by no other type of word." But it's not just the words that are important. It's the context. Do you get as enraged watching, say, Die Hard as you do from listening to rap musicians ('cause, y'know, Bruce Willis swears a lot in that movie)? I'm guessing not. If you did, some might call you oversensitive. If you didn't, some might suggest that it's not those words that are bothering you, but the people delivering them. A lot of rap is about anger and rage and so forth. The words are appropriate to the material. If you don't want to hear it, you don't have to listen, but don't come down on people for saying what they want to say. In your closing, you advised Crystal to "cut the rhetoric and write about something pressing or interesting, for that matter." If you didn't find the article interesting, Park, why did you respond? The fact that Crystal provoked such a strong reaction out of you suggests he did his job pretty well to me. Andrew Melbourne College '99 Simplistic conculsions To the Editor: In "Riding America's Rails," J. Christopher Robbins lambastes Amtrak's "creaky coaches" and "aggravating delays," concluding simplistically that "complete privatization? is the only option." He doesn't analyze the causes of Amtrak's current woes, nor does he mention that there is no entirely private intercity passenger rail system in the world. As for "cranky conductors," he should see for himself how dramatically attitudes have changed. Amtrak's problems are largely rooted in public and private misconceptions that have guided (or misguided) policy for decades: · While our highway and aviation infrastructures are supported by trust funds, Amtrak -- lacking a dedicated source of funding -- depends on yearly appropriations. Unable to make long-tern investments, Amtrak even lacks sufficient funds to maintain its aging equipment. · In 1995, Amtrak's capital and operating appropriation totaled $820 million (less, in constant dollars, than in 1980). Highways received $19.8 billion, and aviation $8.3 billion. · According to the Department of Transportation, federal and state gas taxes cover only 60 percent of the costs incurred by cars and trucks. The airlines also receive hidden federal subsidies (airports, air traffic controllers). · Amtrak, subjected to discriminatory taxes for decades, is now saddled with a federal deficit reduction tax of 6.8 cents per gallon of fuel, while the airlines receive a waiver and the highway users' tax goes into the Highway Trust Fund. · Current policy, which keeps gas prices and highway tolls unreasonably low, provides a disincentive for using public transportation. While Robbins compares the Metroliner unfavorably to France's TGV and Germany's ICE (Intercity Express, not an "Ice train"), he conveniently ignores the fact that over the past 20 years Amtrak has received a mere $2 billion in federal funds for capital improvement. France and Germany each spent $90 billion on rail in 1994 alone. A national rail system provides important economic (less dependence on imported oil, reduced trade deficit), environmental and societal benefits. Privatization won't work. Just give Amtrak a level playing field. Margaret Maurin International Development Consultant Graduate School of Fine Arts '88