Where is true America?
Emerson Richards’ recent plea to save Forks from commercialization [“Sucking the life out of Forks,” Opinion, guest commentary, Dec. 5] was heartfelt, but way off base.
I found the statement, “Forks is what is left of true America” profoundly offensive. The only true America is America, and all of America.
The American character is a product of diversity. America is made up of a hundred immigrant stocks, religions, cuisines, colors, classes, climates, geographies and environments. To declare one place, people, or subculture to be more American than the others, is to miss the whole point of the American experiment.
We are an inclusive culture, not an exclusive one.
To claim that one group of Americans represents true America is to disinherit the rest of us. It creates a dangerous division with a minority of so-called true Americans besieged by a vast majority who have been branded less American. We get too much of that kind of dangerous divisiveness from our pundits and politicians.
The “Twilight” fad will fade as soon as the last book is made into a movie. In the meantime, let Forks enjoy the boost to its economy brought by true American tourists visiting a true American town.
— John J. McKay, Seattle
A note from a Port Angeles native
I just read “Sucking the life out of Forks,” and as a Port Angeles native, and a fellow undergraduate, I am disappointed by the writer’s selfishness.
As someone who loves hiking around the Olympic Peninsula, I admit that I understand wanting Forks to remain pristine. However, the writer fails to realize that a major reason why Forks seems so pure and genuine to author Emerson Richards, is that many people from the Olympic Peninsula are poverty-stricken.
So, by urging people not to visit Forks because of “Twilight,” Richards implies Forks is only worthy of upward mobility if new businesses are sufficiently quaint.
It is shameful that she prioritizes her desire for a remote vacation spot over the livelihoods of everyone capitalizing on “Twilight.”
Granted, it would be nice if everyone could make a living without embracing teen vampire fads. It would also be nice if more people wanted to visit Forks just for the nature, but neither is likely to happen, and I wish the author would consider that the Olympic Peninsula does not just exist for her enjoyment, but that there are people here trying to make a living.
— Katherine Flowers, Port Angeles