FAIRLY IRATE
Rabble, rabble, rabble [Chasen Marshall's "Fair Games," March 18]! Long live the zipper and deep-fried Klondike bar! Leave the fair alone!
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Logan Mora, via ocweekly.com
I agree: Leave the fair alone; just get rid of the CORRUPT ASSHOLES who run the place!
Tilt a Whirl Ted, via ocweekly.com
This fair board needs to be replaced AND should be held accountable for misappropriation of public funds.
Weird Al, via ocweekly.com
I hope we can save the fairgrounds and equestrian center! My entire childhood was filled with trips to the fair and swap meet! We still go!
Kim, via ocweekly.com
COOKIN' WITH GAS
In the Arco guy's defense, it's possible that it's against the company's policy to give merchandise out without collecting the full amount of the purchase [Hey, You! "Fuelish Behavior," March 18]. And then is it his responsibility to pay for your gas can in case you didn't come back? Maybe others have stiffed him before. I wouldn't take it personally; I'm sure he didn't have anything against you. Unfortunately, it's just business.
Eleni Koures, via ocweekly.com
Sorry, dude, but running out of gas is irresponsible! You wouldn't have needed a container if you had used $4 of the $6 you had on you to put in ONE gallon of gas somewhere else SOONER. Then none of this would have happened. There's a reason why cars have that red needle indicating how much fuel remains.
Dpgal66, via ocweekly.com
THE LOTUS INQUISITION
My feeling while a student at Soka University of America (SUA) was that I was living in a Potemkin village [Michelle Woo's "The School On a Hill," March 11]. It looked like a university—there were classrooms, professors and young people—but there was something amiss. Behind its "non-sectarian," "liberal arts" façade, there was a teeming faith-based culture with the insularity of a religious boarding school, which greatly diminished the university's intellectual vitality. In light of real problems and shortcomings, the endless drone of lofty rhetoric seemed not only divorced from reality, but also a deliberate distraction and, indeed, very cult-like in its homogeneity and frequency. If SUA had just called itself "Daisaku Ikeda University," there wouldn't be articles like this, nor people like me attending. Maybe going forward, the school would be wise to emphasize not just its founding principles, but also its particular origin and context?
Murphy McMahon, via ocweekly.com
This article is clearly biased and pathetic. Woo needs to go back to journalism school!
Mohinivarma, via ocweekly.com
Despite some glaring inaccuracies in this story, I am glad to see Soka Gakkai International (SGI) written about. I grew up in the organization, and it was interesting, to say the least. SGI has a colorful history, and I think the good and bad parts are worth discussion. Like many religious organizations, SGI maintains careful control of its image, so finding non-biased information is difficult. I hope the next article is more carefully written and researched. I look forward to reading more!
Aileen Holmes, via ocweekly.com
I used to be a member of Soka Gakkai, and as far as I am concerned, it is a cult. We were told as members that if we ever left the organization, our lives would be in hell. It was fear that kept many members from leaving. As far as the shakubuku (proselytizing), it was encouraged and required. Also promoted was giving a monthly contribution. You were told you would achieve "great fortune" by these financial gifts, and stories were shared of the "miracles" that took place for those who gave ever-increasing amounts. After leaving, it took me a year to fully get over the fear they had imprinted in me about leaving the organization, but I did get over it. Leaving was the best thing I have ever done for myself and my family.
Varesa, via ocweekly.com
So, maybe they should have contacted those who like working there. . . . I, for one, LOVE the place, and I am not even SGI! Maybe the author actually should have contacted the people who were supposedly quoted in the story.
Guest, via ocweekly.com
