Dissenting Opinions: Letters to the Editors

Published October 9, 2007

Sometimes reading The Water Tower inspires our readers to get naked and fight the power. But most of the time, they just send e-mails. Excerpt below:

I appreciate and identify with the overarching theme of Max Bookman’s article, “ I Like Girls Who Smoke Cigarettes (in the September 17, 2007 issue).” The masochistic tendencies embodied in an attitude which dissents against prevailing public health recommendations (as Mr. Bookman so carefully puts it, the “I just don’t give a fuck” approach) combined with my own latent inclination to project self-loathing for indulging in the occasional late night while-intoxicated cig onto a partner makes for a potentially angst-ridden and exciting carnal encounter. Yes, for some girls, cigarettes do indeed add an edge to their sexual appeal.So, while football as rebellious at UVM works in a very low-level, flimsy vein at best, when viewed on a national level, his reference becomes doubly-moot, if such a thing exists. Football, the ol’ pigskin, a Thanksgiving Day tradition is this not the case. If baseball hadn’t claimed that it was as American as apple-pie first, I suspect football would have in its place.

Basically, this article aims to dissuade any loyal Water Tower reader from applying the gallant and romantic term of “rebellious” or “counterculture” to the club football team. While I commend the work involved in organizing and running such a daunting endeavor, by no means should any player on the team be considered a social innovator based solely on his involvement with the team. Let’s be careful to reserve terms like “rebellious” for deserving movements such as SLAP, whose work aims to achieve more than mindless lining up against and running into other padded players. Both improve quality of life — SLAP helps put food on the table of countless otherwise unasserted and marginalized voices, and who knows, watching a club football game could be quite enjoyable. When it comes down to it, though, I would much rather watch a rugby game- all the excitement of football’s hard hits, just that UVM’s ruggers don’t need to hide behind pads.

–Henry Melcher

Have something to say? Send it to thewatertowernews (at) gmail (dot) com or click “Contact Us” at the top of your screen!

Print This Article

Comments