Give Us Liber-Tee Or…Oh, Forget It
Overheated A2 rhetoric strikes again! The sale of one of the city’s golf courses, should such a thing ever happen, would be “lethal for the residents and golfers of Ann Arbor,” writes golf course architect William Newcomb. “To sell off a corner of the golf course is morally corrupt and philosophically bankrupt … If the city sells even the smallest piece of park, then all that we value in Ann Arbor is lost.” We only regret that Newcomb has but one Other Voices column to offer for his city.
To Ann Arbor Residents:
The Ann Arbor City Council is, if you believe the rumors and speculation that I do, currently planning to sell off every bit of green space in the city.
But there is a historical context that should make every God-fearing resident apoplectic with class-based rage, a precedent unknown to most of the gentle naifs that simply wish to conserve our sylvan idylls.
You know who else wanted to sell off golf courses for public works? That’s right, Hitler.
Most Ann Arbor residents don’t know that Dachau was once the premier Bavarian links, nor that Poland’s golf enthusiasm led them to invite the Nazis into their country under the pretext of an international Open.
How cruelly they were rewarded.
I can say, without fear of hyperbole, that we must never again allow golf courses to serve any public function outside of inefficient recreation. I must remind the Ann Arbor resident that the Nazis were also concerned with efficiency and public infrastructure.
We pledged “Never again,” and yet Ann Arbor is sliding down that slippery slope that leads inexorably from the sale of golf courses to the Holocaust.
Is nothing sacred? Our only hope to save 11 million lives is to oppose even the slightest concession of our golf courses.
Remember, Hitler didn’t start with beer halls. Hitler started with careful balancing of property development interests.
The golf courses lost. The Jews lost.
Can Ann Arbor afford another Hitler?
posted by js on October 27th, 2007 at 2:10 pmIt’s not funny to joke about the Holocaust.
Nor was it ethical of the AA News to print that silly Other Voices column, when Council the very day before passed a resolution saying they would never sell off any golf course land. Besides, in order to do that, it would take a vote of the citizens of AA.
AAIO is truly becoming more and more irelevant.
posted by from a REAL oldie on October 27th, 2007 at 2:51 pm“Irelevant”? Or “awesome”?
I vote “awesome”.
p.s. [sic]
posted by Murph on October 27th, 2007 at 3:02 pmDon’t blame the a to the a to the i to the oh oh o for any Holocaust jokers who post on the site, oldie. . .
posted by David Boyle on October 27th, 2007 at 3:49 pmIt’s a parody of that letter a while back about how putting a police station near the library is like Nazi Germany.
posted by ann arbor is overrated on October 27th, 2007 at 4:44 pmParody? Did I miss something?
posted by Pformer Pfizer now on Pfeast Coast on October 27th, 2007 at 5:24 pmThe resolution Council passed isn’t binding. It can be rescinded at any time. Since Council refused to put a charter amendment on the ballot protecting parks from sale, all the pro-build Council membershave to do is rescind that resolution and they can sell all the parkland they want.
posted by Anonymous on October 27th, 2007 at 6:56 pmMembershave would be a good band name.
posted by Brandon on October 27th, 2007 at 8:27 pmthespacebarisoverrated
posted by TD on October 27th, 2007 at 9:16 pmMaybe we can make the golf course into a giant dog park. Or, let’s build a jail and a municipal building there. Big buildings with no parking lots. Just shared bicycles you can ride from downtown to the former golf course when you want to pay your water bill or parking ticket.
posted by Just a homeowner on October 28th, 2007 at 10:10 pmGolf — the opiate of the masses!
posted by Daniel on October 28th, 2007 at 10:15 pmAnonymous: Except in the state of Michigan it requires a vote of the people to sell parkland.
Besides, are you that cynical to think they would pass the resolution then turn around and rescind it? Why pass it in the first place, doesn’t it just make it harder?
I have been around Ann Arbor for a long time and they have never, ever sold a piece of parkland so far as I know.
posted by ted huey on October 28th, 2007 at 10:46 pmI’m with Murph.
posted by HNG on October 29th, 2007 at 8:30 amIf Mel Brooks can make Holocaust jokes, then so can AAIO posters, by God. (Of course, that post wasn’t even a “Holocaust joke.”)
Never mind! It is true that not only was Hitler a teetotaler and possessor of one testicle, but he hated golf and the very ideals embodied in it, whatever those ideals are.
posted by Dave on October 29th, 2007 at 12:40 pm“If Mel Brooks can make Holocaust jokes, then so can AAIO posters, by God. (Of course, that post wasn’t even a “Holocaust joke.”)”
What joke? I only meant that selling off even an inch of Ann Arbor’s golf courses would be the greatest crime against humanity since the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Never mind! It is true that not only was Hitler a teetotaler and possessor of one testicle, but he hated golf and the very ideals embodied in it, whatever those ideals are.”
I dunno, but those ideals are likely Scottish, and you know what those people are like.
posted by js on October 29th, 2007 at 3:28 pmCity Council is going down the same road with this latest parks resolution as it did last year with another parks resolution. City Council reduced the parks budget even though that earlier resolution had promised the citizens that it would not.
This time around, Second Ward Council member Stephen Rapundalo is suddenly faced with a write-in campaign by Ed Amonsen (www.EdAmonsen.org), who promises not to sell park land and builld a new City Hall with the proceeds. Not surprisingly, Rapundalo is the sponsor of this latest resolution. Will his sponsorship save him from a worried electorate? Stay tuned.
posted by Anonymous on October 29th, 2007 at 6:39 pmYou know who else didn’t like golf courses and confiscated them for public use….Stalin.
posted by Kozzie on October 30th, 2007 at 2:17 pmKozzie: I was skeptical, but Google immediately turned up an article about Stalin and golf.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on October 30th, 2007 at 2:42 pmGolf sucks. So does most of A2 culture.
posted by Grew up here. on October 31st, 2007 at 4:20 pmI hear that Hitler hated golf because when he tried to play golf, it turns out he had a terrible slice. So bad, in fact, that he sliced off his schwanzstucker!
posted by chicopanther on October 31st, 2007 at 5:42 pmDr. Frederick Frankenstein: For the experiment to be a success, all of the body parts must be enlarged.
Inga: His veins, his feet, his hands, his organs vould all have to be increased in size.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: Exactly.
Inga: He vould have an enormous schwanzstucker.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: That goes without saying.
Inga: Voof.
posted by peter honeyman on October 31st, 2007 at 6:47 pmI know for a fact that our esteemed Mayor loves the game. I recently observed him leaving the U of M Golf course in his 700 series BMW with a bunch of cash cascading out of the trunk as he turned west onto Stadium escorted by two squad cars and Herman Goering’s personal color guard.
posted by greenmeany on November 1st, 2007 at 9:54 pmWas he eating babies?
posted by js on November 4th, 2007 at 1:43 pmnow really, wouldn’t he be riding his bike?
posted by from a REAL oldie on November 5th, 2007 at 4:41 pmI only bring up Stalin because I get tired of all the publicity Hitler gets when it comes to atrocities. Stalin deserves some of that too.
posted by Kozzie on November 15th, 2007 at 5:40 pmANN ARBOR POLICE: Fighting Crime One Drink At A Time.
Who cares about Golf courses, let’s get the drunk Cops off the Road?!
posted by greenmeany on December 1st, 2007 at 1:58 pm