I have this habit, when I am unsure of etiquette and sometimes even moral issues, to ask around. Here are two from the last two days. In today’s Independent under the headline, “Daughter of legendary Sam Cooke keeps music alive” I read, “Legendary Motown recording artist Sam Cooke . . .” Well it turns out (another term for “in my opinion”) that Cooke has nothing to do with Motown, either the record label, the musical style or even the city, Detroit. Should I write a scathing letter to Rusty or just let it go because I am probably the only person who cares and in any case, it was just a PR release? Secondly, and perhaps more problematic, is this event that happened yesterday as I was driving to Frys. The car (or rather the driver) in front of me tossed out a lit cigarette into the road - which I careful drove over. After muttering some curses I said to myself, “If this driver pulls into Frys I am going to talk to them.” He (it turned out to be) did pull into Frys - I parked as close as I could and followed him in. He went over to the “Turn your change into money” machine and started plugging in his change. I picked up a “This weeks specials” and lurked around because I did not want to approach him when he was doing cash stuff. I waited and waited and waited and finally decided that he had dodged a bullet and went shopping. But what really was the thing to do? Was it me who dodged the bullet? Your thoughts, please.
C: You can’t fix stupid. There was a day when I would confront such idiots, but it simply isn’t worth it and does no good. It is like arguing with a bigot. You are not going to win or change the behavior. People are getting shot over less. Shake your head and move on...as you did.
This is one of the reasons non-smokers hate smokers. Many toss butts, lit and non lit, around as if they are nothing. People who don’t otherwise litter still toss butts. Not sure the reason. Some writers just write off the top of their heads while others take a moment to look up facts. But since we are in a post-fact era most anything goes. It does say something about the writer who thinks all black singers were Motown. I think you should Opinion it. He’s a writer. He needs to understand.
I doubt that Rusty wrote the blurb, it more likely came out of SC Promotions (or something) and they probably got it from Carla's PR people. By the way, have you tried googling her?
Well you wrote "It does say something about the writer who thinks all black singers were Motown." - I suspect (yet another of the 47 words & phrases that mean "my opinion") it could also be PR people trying to claim as wide an inheritance as possible. I have, by the way, sometimes been called a cynic.
Well you wrote "Should I write a scathing letter to Rusty or just let it go..." Anyway, I did and she has quite a musical and performance history. The family has an interesting history itself including one daughter who eventually moved to South Africa and became Zeriiya Zekkariyas.
Thanks 3RG, I will hang on to that address. Being a non-hierarchical sort myself I sort of feel that it is my responsibility to deal with the incidents I observe myself rather than passing it on to some authority figure but I can see the value of this site for when that does not work out. I usually have a pen in my car and goodness knows there is enough paper floating around inside so that I can dash down a license plate # and a cross roads. A small step for mankind, a giant step for me, thanks again.
Tossing a lit cigarette is a $1024 fine in Washington ( no idea how they came up with that number). I see a lot of cigarette butts on the SC golf courses, especially around the cart paths near the teeing areas.
The link is appreciated. Maybe if they hear from an authority-type person they will remember it. As an FYI, if you post something so helpful as this littering link, if you can remember, type something like littering link next to it. Otherwise it's difficult to search here if you lose it and don't have a key word to search with. Could a group start an anti-butt littering campaign in SC? Someone did stand up and mention butt littering around the rec centers at one of the board meetings. I don't remember if the board replied in any way.
