Love Letters/Hate Mail

Hypocrisy in Action

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Dream Police" in the June 24-30 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

It's such a shame these Hispanic organizations have chosen to sully themselves by advocating for the wage slavery and exploitation of illegal workers by criminal businesses that undermines the local economy instead of focusing on doing something positive for the community they represent.

Aren't the critics who equate requiring and verifying legality to being anti-Hispanic basically saying most Hispanics are criminals? This irrational "Hispandering" only serves an illegal underground economy and those who profit from manipulating it with a wink and a nod from the federal government. It is exactly this distorted, twisted, perverted attitude that enables Tulsa to be home to stories of exploitation like the fraud, human trafficking, false imprisonment and civil rights violations at John Pickle Co., the death of Eleazar Torres-Gomez at Cintas, the Public Works Scandal and the collapse of Arrow trucking, just to name a few.

Mr. Lizama sounds like a bootlegger lobbying against the repeal of prohibition. Hypocrisy in action is a lecture on morality and bias from the Cartel for the American Dream.

-Raoul Duke

All About Tacos

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Hungry for a Decision" in the June 24-30 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

These awful, nasty taco stands must be shut down; most of them show no documentation whatsoever regarding health permits, business permits or sales tax submissions. They are a blight on the landscape; one has been parked and apparently abandoned at 41st and Garnett forever. Something must be done.

-Glenda Mims

Dear Editor:

This is just more small-minded Tulsa bigotry and fear. Go to Austin, there's a taco stand on every corner, and they're usually better than any Mexican restaurant. It's a normal part of living in a city.

That also goes for the stands in Tulsa -- Tacos Velvet Elvis, the stand in the parking lot of Las Americas, the permanent stands like Mr. Taco and Tacos Don Francisco -- all amazing, and free of the processing and corporate handling that taints the food at places like On the Border.

A friend of mine ate at On the Border (a national franchise) recently and found a metal washer in her enchilada. More than once I've had corporate Mexican food and bit into the remains of the plastic storage bag from the refried beans. This has never happened to me at any taco stand, and the food tastes infinitely better.

Open your small minds. Or even better, get out of our town. There are an excess number of bigots in this city, and it's time to do some house cleaning. I say we round 'em up on buses, drive them across the border and drop them off in Mexico.

On second thought, I'd never want to do that to Mexico.

-Josh Kline

More on the PAC

Dear Editor:

(In response to "Look Before You Leap, Mr. Mayor ... " in the June 17-23 issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly)

Privatizing the PAC is a bad idea. Giving the PAC to SMG is an even worse idea. It will destroy local arts jobs if the Mayor has his way. The PAC was developed to support local arts, which makes Tulsa a more desirable city for the citizens and potential businesses and industries. All the money everyone donates to the arts to make Tulsa a cultural jewel will be wasted if the profit making SMG is handed this job. Sure they will bring in acts ... out of town acts ... that take their profits out of Tulsa, and that pay non-Tulsans who leave town when the show is over.

-Kathy Henry

Dear Editor:

Mr. Jamison speaks wisdom, deep, thoughtful and insightful wisdom. Turning over management of a valued community resource such as our PAC to a "for-profit" business group (no matter the quality of the business) initiates a process that sets the stage for a domino effect of tragedy for our arts community. Our youth, as our future, will suffer the long term consequences for what may seem to be immediate gains. This would seem to fall in the category of penny wise ... and pound (or ton?) foolish. Please, Mr. Mayor and dedicated decision-maker, don't gamble on this one.

-Erwin Janssen

Dear Editor:

Thank you for an excellent article. Tulsa's arts organizations are undervalued assets. Instead of endangering the future viability of local performing arts, the city actually should be capitalizing on the economic and civic benefits of Tulsa's rich cultural resources. With its well-deserved reputation for the quality of its visual and performing arts, Tulsa could be joining forward-looking cities across the world that recognize the fundamental importance of the role of the arts in the economic health of the their cities. These cities ensure that the arts are an integral part of a city's vision and planning. Now is a time to make the arts part of Tulsa's overall development strategy, not a time to risk their future and Tulsa's ability to compete in a changing and challenging environment.

-Joan Seay

Dear Editor:

Excellent article! Classic example of why we need a healthy investigative press! To keep our government serving the common good. Let's not change how we manage the PAC -- we're already doing a good job!

-R. Richards