A Cross, the Great Divide
I went to the Montague Bookmill a few Thursdays ago to see the first local screening of Purple State of Mind with John Marks and Craig Detweiler. It was an interesting flick. There was also an interesting follow-up discussion with John Marks after the film. It was certainly a subject worthy of our thought and attention.
Imagine, then, how pleased I was to see the following week's Advocate front-page story covering this documentary and event. But then I took another look at the photo on the cover that supposedly went along with the headline, "A Question of Faith" (Feb. 7). A dark young man, blindfolded and captive, is being grabbed by another man. They are both inside some cage-like structure. The graphics surrounding the photo are in the shape of a Christian cross.
In light of the fact that this artwork has nothing at all to do with anything John Marks discussed, nothing at all to do with anything in the film, and nothing at all to do with the headline or the accompanying stories, I had to wonder what was going on here. Why on earth would the Advocate stoop to such an instantly upsetting, violent, brutal and divisive image when it has nothing whatsoever to do with anything? Is this just about "selling" papers? If so, how cynical, how dishonest, and how disappointing. I had a higher opinion of the Advocate, but not anymore.
Paul Kaufman
Via email
[The editor responds: The image inside the cross is of a refugee in a detainment camp in the occupied West Bank. The cover illustration is intended to represent the dilemma John Marks faced as a war correspondent and an evangelical Christian, confronted by extreme human suffering and injustice, particularly the plight of citizens detained by military forces, and unable to square it with his Christian faith. Marks discussed his loss of faith in his interview with the Advocate.]
Bullies with Bullets
As I've watched the debates over your Sunday hunting feature, "Open Season," Jan. 17, I have failed to see one important point mentioned: The list of game allowed to be hunted includes crows, squirrels and opossums. Two of the three offer little in the way of a meal and make for unremarkable trophies, and the third feigns death. ("Tonic immobility" is recognized not only in opossums, but in many species, ranging from bison to tiger sharks to 21 species of snakes.) What satisfaction can possibly be wrought from killing something, long range, that much smaller and weaker than yourself? Keeping Sundays hunting-free allows all of us, wildlife included, a respite from bullies with bullets.
L.A. Pomeroy
Northampton
