Letters to the Editor 2-21-13

The French in Mali
Editor: I was disappointed in Susan Swartz’s Valentine’s Day article (“Dance defiant against the big, dumb brutes,” Feb. 14). The VDay Rising event she mentioned was a joyous celebration of song and dance and also a protest against the abuse of women. It’s becoming an annual day of protest on Feb. 14. But equating VDay events with the recent French invasion of Mali doesn’t make any sense. It’s hard to imagine that anyone but corrupt Malian government officials and military contractors welcome the French bombing runs. Mali is one of the poorest places on Earth with one of the highest infant mortality rates. France was the colonial occupier of Mali for 100 years during the slave trade when the French shipped half a million slaves out of the region to sugar plantations like Haiti, where a slave wasn’t expected to live more than 10 years. The French bringing democracy to Mali is laughable after their support for the brutal military crackdown of democratic protests in neighboring Algeria in 1990.
My hunch is that the French military is more concerned with protecting French business interests in Mali (including Uranium) than women’s rights. The world is a complex place and deserves much better language than what Swartz gives us in her confusing commentary.
Peter Schurch
Sebastopol
Give Graton a break
Editor: Whose idea was it to use the inaccurate headline, “No suspects yet in Graton killings” (Feb. 14)? The accompanying article correctly places the drug deal gone wrong on Ross Station Road in Forestville, where it actually happened.
I know Forestville is working hard to be just as upstanding as Graton, but they get to take the attention for this crime, not us. Graton is no longer a rough and tumble town known for bar fights and random violence. Haven’t you heard we’ve become downright genteel? We’ve put down our guns and taken up art and fine cuisine. We have a reputation to uphold! You could have even said Sebastopol, since that’s the mailing address for the neighborhood where the three men were killed.
It’s bad enough that people are going to start coming to Graton looking for a casino located in Rohnert Park. Let’s not assign nearby murders to us as well.
Lesa Tanner
Graton