Mueller Lake Park Outdoor Amphitheater
Why Be Upset by the Truth Being Shown?
RECEIVED Mon., Nov. 28, 2005
Dear Chronicle,
I have been embarrassed to be an Austinite twice in my life. The first time was when Coyote Cafe closed down because the food was too hot for the Austin palate. That one hurt. Not because I loved the restaurant but because I knew then that the rest of the world would find out that what we love to say about ourselves in Austin is actually not true. At least not anymore. How pathetic. I am still tortured by conjured images of stylish yuppie types sending their food back and badgering the waiter for more iced tea.
The second time was when I opened the Nov. 25 issue of the Chronicle and read letter after letter [“Postmarks”] complaining about dead cats on the cover [“What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?,” News, Nov. 18]. Inexplicably, most of the angry letters seemed to come from people who loved cats or were against euthanasia on animals. Am I the only one lost here? I understand we have bizarre, unhealthy, and unnatural attitudes about death in this country, but setting that aside for another time, why would you get upset about the truth being shown to you, especially when it has the potential to remediate the situation? The photograph shows prostrate cats, but the context has some of us breaking out in melodramatic fits of rage. How about directing some of that outrage toward finding a proactive solution to the problem of too many unwanted pets?
I have been embarrassed to be an Austinite twice in my life. The first time was when Coyote Cafe closed down because the food was too hot for the Austin palate. That one hurt. Not because I loved the restaurant but because I knew then that the rest of the world would find out that what we love to say about ourselves in Austin is actually not true. At least not anymore. How pathetic. I am still tortured by conjured images of stylish yuppie types sending their food back and badgering the waiter for more iced tea.
The second time was when I opened the Nov. 25 issue of the Chronicle and read letter after letter [“Postmarks”] complaining about dead cats on the cover [“What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?,” News, Nov. 18]. Inexplicably, most of the angry letters seemed to come from people who loved cats or were against euthanasia on animals. Am I the only one lost here? I understand we have bizarre, unhealthy, and unnatural attitudes about death in this country, but setting that aside for another time, why would you get upset about the truth being shown to you, especially when it has the potential to remediate the situation? The photograph shows prostrate cats, but the context has some of us breaking out in melodramatic fits of rage. How about directing some of that outrage toward finding a proactive solution to the problem of too many unwanted pets?
David Burks
