Mr. Wilde said:
<i know we have been over this graffiti thing again and
again, but graffiti on a newspaper box is not "part of
what I believe is a culture of 'inner city thinking'
in both government and corporate leadership in our
city," as mr peterson says, it is graffiti on a
newspaper box.>
I think you are completely wrong. Paying attention to the small details can
reveal a larger kind of thinking. If someone as big as the Star Tribune
just leaves it's stuff in the streets to look junky, then it is contributing
to the "inner city look." Multiply that over thousands and thousands of
locations and with other companies and it begins to wear down the soul.
There is a huge psychological value to creating a great looking city that
respects itself.
<if we want to talk about something really trivial,
lets discuss the thousands of children sleeping in
homeless shelters in this city every night. Where is
the leadership on that issue?>
I don't really think I deserved this snide remark. Homeless children is an
appropriate issue. Why don't you post more about it instead of demeaning
someone else's issue.
Apparently, Mr. Wilde knows nothing about my background, I've helped create
hundreds of units of housing for homeless people, what have you done Mr.
Wilde? And part of that effort was to create "respectable housing that
promotes self-respect." There isn't any reason we can't do that city wide.
And cleaning up the graffiti, fixing our streets, picking up the trash,
reducing airplane noise, painting and repairing buildings, etc. is all part
of a bigger picture to help us think more highly of ourselves. I've seen it
happen in neighborhoods. One neighbor moves in, plants a tree and some
flowers. Than another catches the virus and pretty soon the whole area
looks better and ultimately people feel better about themselves.
In a larger scheme, I believe that if people can get self-respect back, then
perhaps they aren't as likely to become homeless again. It is part of
solving the homeless problem.
Russ Peterson
Ward 9
Standish
R U S S E L L P E T E R S O N D E S I G N
"You can only fly if you stretch your wings."
Russell W. Peterson, RA, CID
Founder
3857 23rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55407
612-724-2331
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
