The top of the front-page article, “Second Amendment rally draws support, opposition,” on June 18 again highlights skewed issues of importance, even in our local paper. What parts of the news are pushed to the top of the page? What parts end up on the back?
To a crowd of 100 people, Cliven Bundy spoke in Belchertown on June 16 to support Second Amendment rights. Bundy uses his experience started by his failure to pay fines when his cattle grazed on government land to pretend that he is a hero. In order to recoup $1 million dollars owed to the U.S. government, federal agents seized his cattle and thus started the standoff.
Bundy was arrested before the charges against him were dismissed due to withholding of evidence by the government. This is no American hero. This is a businessman who cut corners to keep profits high and now manipulates his experiences to add a voice to the Second Amendment dispute.
To learn about the “counterprotest” on June 16, the reader must turn to the back page of the section. This part was about half the size as the “protest” section. One of the speakers, Lily Stowe-Alekman, a recent Belchertown High School graduate, told about a repurposed nursery rhyme: to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” children now sing, “Lockdown, Lockdown, Lock the Door.”
Envisioning our youngest school children learning this lesson might cause one a moment of solemn contemplation, and perhaps lead to intelligent discussions and actions. On the front page, we should have seen Stowe-Alekman and read her words. She’s part of our community and represents it more authentically.
Tawnya Kelley Tiskus
Easthampton