June Johns
Offensive Ad – Response
I have a concern about the “We must keep our children asleep” ad that has run in The Gabber for a couple of weeks now. A community member responded to the ad here last week, declaring that his 31-year background in psychology and human behavior endowed him with appropriate perspective and authority to judge the content as offensive. My dad thought the ad was so funny that he posted it on Facebook and received a similar response from a similarly educated person on the other side of our state. My concern here is that there was nothing subtle about the sarcastic tone of the ad (a portion literally reads “It is dangerous to tell children the truth. They might become discerning or, God forbid, empathetic.” I don’t think I’m overstepping to say that the sarcasm isn’t exactly subtle). It was a blatant and obviously satirical jab at the state’s existing administration and their current initiatives. So why aren’t educated and seemingly intelligent folks getting it? Are we collectively losing our ability to discern fact from fiction and news from satire, or is it because in today’s political climate, truth can genuinely be stranger than fiction, and this ad is one that could have been slightly reworded and run as a serious piece these days? I don’t know. But what I do know is that for very different reasons, it’s not a good look for either side of the aisle. –Jonah Hanowitz, Gulfport
What Strange Things Can You Borrow From The Library?
Reading the Gabber issue No.2777, I noticed library staff was asked, “what strange things can be borrowed from the library?” So I figured why not add to the conversation by letting Gabber readers know about some spectacular and wonderful things that can be checked out at the Gulfport Public Library and some other services we offer that you may not know about. Everyone knows you can get the latest book or movie, try your hand at a new crafting project, or take the kids to story time, but did you know you could also check out books, audio books, music, and movies all from the comfort of your own home? That is right, and all you need is a library card! Just use our online resources at mygulfport.us/gpl. While you are there, check out Gale LegalForms (paid for by the Friends of the Library), learn a new language through Pronuciator, or access military records through Fold3 for ancestry research. Remember all that is available before you walk through the door. If you do visit the library (and we hope you do), you can come checkout free museum passes to a cornucopia of local museums including the James Museum, Imagine Museum, Great Explorations, the MFA, and the Holocaust Museum, to name a few. Did I mention you can also apply for a passport or that we have an officially certified wildlife habitat? What else does your library right down the street have? I guess you’ll have to check it out and see. –David Mather, Director of the Gulfport Public Library
Gulfport’s Newest Citizen
I do hope that Jenny will share her learning about our constitutional republic. Every citizen should know the answers to each of the hundred citizen questions. Don’t be a freedom freeloader. Shameful that one of the other Gabber writers “doesn’t do politics.” You see, the legacy given by [the] Founding Fathers is that we the people must participate in government in order to preserve our cherished liberty. The Constitution is the solution. It’s the owner’s manual of our community, our society, our nation from the ground up – not from the top down. I’m guilty myself of letting things slip into 2020, having been single parent. Working to keep up the mortgage and interact with kids’ teachers left me no time for politics either. Now in retirement I’m working harder than ever to ensure blessings of liberty for my grandkids: Going to community meetings to stir interest in clean, hand-counted elections, Door knocking to promote Constitutional candidates, as well as leading study groups of our U.S. Constitution. “We The People” – that’s me and that’s y’all, doing politics, doing government, not letting an oligarchy run amuck. Didn’t you have enough of a wake-up call with the lockdown? Pelosi and her ice cream? –Lydia Davidson, formerly Gulfport, now Atlanta
Correction: Raquel V. Reyes co-chairs Sleuthfest; the Sept. 15 review of “Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking” named her as a co-founder. Additionally, the book is available in October. The Gabber regrets the error.
