University of Virginia Library

Chandler

It has given me no little pleasure
to read the many letters of criticism
that have been printed in this year's
Cavalier Daily which are directed
against various and sundry fascist
and/or communist plots that I have
allegedly spearheaded during my
term of office on the Student
Council. My pleasure derives not so
much from seeing my own name in
print (I have a typewriter that I use
for that purpose), but rather it
arises from the blatant boorishness
of the vast majority of my functionally
illiterate detractors (Engineering
School, please comment).
They are, I would imaging, people
who take your often-erroneous
news coverage as truth, SDS literature
as pure lies, and the merits of
the late Dr. King as debatable. I feel
rather sorry for these people as
they strike out blindly against what
they can't comprehend and haven't
studied. This is not to say, of
course, that I am above criticism -
I would only hope that in the
future it might be of a little higher
quality.

I am writing not so much in
response to any single letter or
cause, but rather in response to the
type of criticism which helps to put
a chuckle in an otherwise dry paper
and at the same time lowers the
intellectual content (such as it is) of
your rag - in short, the type of
letter I am writing.

The issue of "Dixie" is a good
example. As a native Georgian
(USA not CCCP), it was my song
too. I also used to use the word
"nigger" in polite conversation. But
I grew up and put away childish
things (except, naturally, my Grand
Dragon Halloween costume and my
teddy). I abstained on the same
vote in the Fall. It is, granted, a
very debatable issue. It was debated
and a majority (Bolshevik) of
Council voted in favor of asking
WUVA and the pep band to refrain
from playing the song. We did so
reluctantly, not vindictively. The
point, however, is that the Council
has not sent a flying squad of Black
Shirts and KGBs to liquidate the
band or destroy the Rotunda as the
phantom rednecks would have us
believe. And so it goes with nearly
every issue that beats the unimaginative
over the head - reaction is
their sole capacity.

I hope that this letter will produce
another veritable storm of
protest and trust that such objections
will continue to be of the
same low caliber and base humor
that has heretofore been their only
distinguishing attributes. I would,
however, welcome a change.

Yes, mudslinging can be fun!