Letters – December 2018

By The People of the Eastern Suburbs on November 27, 2018 in Other

CHICKEN BONES

Today our dog went for his walk and he ate a cooked chicken bone that someone had dropped on the ground instead of putting it in the rubbish bin.

I have seen a lot of bones around the area and do not understand why people would not dispose of them properly. Most people would not litter other rubbish, so why do they think it’s okay to throw bones away?

Cooked bones are brittle and they can easily crack and splinter, which can lead to choking, internal injuries, punctured organs or even death. We don’t know yet if our dog will be okay, we just have to wait. So, please think. It’s not okay to throw bones on the ground; put them in the bin with all of your other rubbish.

Jo, Clovelly

DRIVE WITH YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON!

After seeing way too many ‘near misses’ with cars who don’t put their headlights on when needed, I wonder if you can print the following in your letter/whinge section:

Are your headlights on?

• If you are driving at dusk, put your headlights on!
• If it’s raining, put your headlights on!
• If you have a small car (and not a huge SUV), put your headlights on (all the time)!
• If you are exiting Eastgate or Westfield car parks after 5pm, put your headlights on!
• If you are in the Harbour Tunnel or Cross City Tunnel – or any tunnel for that matter – put your headlights on!

It’s not rocket science – no headlights on and you cannot be seen. Help prevent a future accident that resulted because nobody could see you.

Love your mag!

Louise, Bondi Junction

CORNROW COMMENTS CAUSE CONCERN

Hairstyle has no place in Australia? So who is this woman from the blue rinse set whose generalist and I’d hazard racist views were given valuable column space on page 24 (Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, The Beast, November 2018)? A usually great little magazine, you shouldn’t support such small-minded views.

Matt Tilbury, Dover Heights

CONDEMNING CORNROWS IS RACIST

Gotta say I found your comment re cornrows culturally ignorant, racist and shocking. I’m a regular reader of The Beast and understand a satirical tone can be conveyed in print, but your tone was unclear and the comments left me bewildered.

Did no one within your office flag this before going to print? “No place in Australian society”, “outlawed immediately”, “identifying criminals” – really? Was it said in jest and the humour somehow went over my head? All the other points under the “Thumbs Down” heading seemed to fall within the bounds of reason. But the cornrows comment? No.

I don’t get it. If you thought you were being witty, then playing with fire is really foolish, irresponsible and immature.

If your comments are genuine and sincere, you have my pity and you really need to check yourself.

Carol, Bondi

OUTLAW MOUSTACHES AND SHAVED HEADS

I’ve been reading The Beast magazine since I moved to the Eastern Suburbs/Coogee over a year ago. I’m a fan of it all. There are always good laughs, recipes and informa- tion to help you feel more like a local. One thing, however, in the November issue left a very sour taste in my mouth and I am giving it a big thumbs down.

To stereotype a hairstyle discriminates against many people and races; it’s sickening and disgraceful in this day and age. That’s like comparing moustaches to paedophiles or (saying) women with shaved heads are lesbians. A little harsh, would you say? Maybe next time you see that 10 year-old kid who came back from a holiday in Jamaica with cornrows or braids you should send them straight to a youth detention centre.

Stephen, Coogee

EDITOR’S REPLY

I feel the need to write something in reply to these accusatory letters we received about our thumbs down to ‘cornrows’ in the November edition of The Beast.

While the hairstyle has most certainly been popularised by African Americans, this was not some thinly veiled racist attack on behalf of The Beast.

In fact, we were poking fun at white folk who sport the questionable hairstyle. It was tongue-in-cheek and no offence was intended, and I strongly doubt that any was taken aside from that of a few virtue signalling keyboard warriors keen to find offence in literally anything.

We at The Beast reserve the right to call a hairstyle shithouse if we believe it is thus, and offer up that we feel the same way about mullets (except for Finchy’s), frullets, fades, perms, undercuts and mohawks, among others. The ‘devon patch’, or ‘Friar Tuck’ as it is also sometimes referred, is far more acceptable.

Dan and James, Publishers

UNSUSTAINABLE BAZ

I have enjoyed The Beast for several years, but why does Barry du Bois have a takeaway cup in his hand on the cover (The Beast, November 2018). Very sad. Not loving The Beast at the moment.

Rebecca, Bondi Beach

WE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER SIGN…

At around 10.30am on Saturday, a Randwick City Council ranger drove her car on to Grant Reserve in Coogee and then proceeded to pack up a field that had a bunch of kids playing touch footy. When
questioned about this she explained that there had been a complaint from a resident and that no “or- ganised” games were allowed in the park. When pressed on what “organised” meant she gave the definition of “having previously arranged to meet and play at the reserve”. I guess this definition doesn’t leave much room for anything other than chance meetings between sport loving locals!

Much to the bewilderment of those present she continued to warn off the guys playing soccer and a kids party.

I look forward to reading the new sign that will have to be erected detailing all the ‘Dos and Don’ts’ in Randwick parks.

Bewildered but not surprised

RESPONSE FROM RANDWICK COUNCIL

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Council provides a large number of sports fields for organised sporting activities, competitions and training. We also provide local parks like Grant Reserve for informal activities. We love seeing people using our parks and encourage this.

Our parks around Coogee are very popular and our challenge is to manage lots of people wanting to use limited amounts of space in different ways. We do our best to provide spaces for everybody, but sometimes conflict occurs. We’re always looking for ways we can improve and we’re looking into this issue further.

Randwick City Council

EASTERN SUBURBS RECYCLING ENTREPRENEURS

Harry in the November edition of The Beast is unsure about whether people should get the 10-cent refundable bottles out of random recycling bins (Letters, The Beast, November 2018).

I totally support it. Once the bins are on the street I personally don’t mind if anyone removes any- thing from my bins, not just drink containers.

Sue, Randwick