Dear Indiana University Board of Trustees Member,
I write to you on behalf of the Griffey Woods. I am not a resident here, nor a student, nor a person of any noteworthy standing in the community, but I am a devout lover of nature. I have been in Bloomington for only a short time, but I have visited these woods and been struck by their unique beauty. No doubt these woods are not ancient, but they are rebuilding towards a prior state in an amazing way; the budding health of their ecosystem is evidenced by a proliferation of oaks, beech, squirrels, rabbits, maples, perhaps an owl or two. These creatures are quite content carving out their destiny in this place, free of any aid, control, or contamination by human hands. Upon entering this place, one is exposed to the exhilarating humility of being a guest, and the opportunity exists there to practice the steps of lightness and honor so exquisitely perfected by cultures prior to our own. One can also sense the reverence in which they are held by the many community members who find an outlet from their undoubtedly busy lives to seek this experience of communion with something greater than themselves.
Board Member, I would like to stress the difference between this experience and the one of playing golf. A golf course is a place where American Culture goes to experience itself, and one can easily conjure a whole host of amusing images of the frustrated extension of an anxious, dissatisfied, get-to-the-top-fast lifestyle manifesting itself in broken golf clubs and the verbal assault of caddies. I would ask you to consider whether a golf course is a place where one goes to relax?
We are also well acquainted with the golf course as an elitist social sphere, where the wealthy of America have traditionally commingled at the exclusion of the vast majority of the people--excepting of course caddies, and what sort of a relationship does the caddy have to the golfer? Can it possibly be a healthy one? A one based on mutual respect and equality, those values that we so cherish? And of no small consequence also is the traditional association between golf and rank racial and ethnic discrimination.
Let me ask you, board member, is this the type of entity that belongs in any sort of proximity to a university, traditionally a place of openness and opportunity?
The game of golf itself does not necessarily imply all this, but it does imply sine qua non a very violent and abrupt extermination of a lot of wildlife and the direct conversion of a freely evolving (sacred) place into one governed by the heavy hand of humankind, with all the drain on outside resources which that entails. Can we afford, at this late hour, to sacrifice any of our dwindling wilderness, especially for such an expense as a golf course?
Board member, I urge you to direct your sensibilities towards the inherent value of these woods. I am calling you on behalf of the irreplaceable sacredness of the trees and the ecosystem of Griffey Lake to forsake this idea of a golf course and allow the creatures to go on their way in peace, to protect this area even. If it helps to think of it as a resource for human enrichment, so be it.
Lastly, I would like to call your attention to the energy of the liberal and committed citizens of Bloomington who are cultivating a new ecological consciousness in concert with many others around the country. Board member, I assure you that there are people out there willing to sacrifice life and limb to non-violently block the destruction of such a place as Griffey Woods, as we have seen recently in Headwaters Forest (CA), Owl Creek (ID), Minnehaha Park (MN), and the Alleghenies (PA). If you are interested in finding out more about the dramatic nature of these campaigns, the web will yield more information than the mainstream media. I do not wish to threaten you, but to raise the possibility to you that environmentalists across the country are watching, and you may have a pitched battle on your hands if you decide to go ahead with the course. I imagine that you are concerned about money. If so you should factor in that beyond the fact of such a thing being a PR nightmare for your school, it will dramatically increase the costs of construction.
Thank You for your time and consideration.
in the spirit of David "Gypsy" Chain and Judi Bari,
owen johnson
1/14/00
trustees
another letter to a bloodthirsty school
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