I had several reactions to the May 11, 2000 editorial. In
(chronological) order they are:
1. You had published the April Fool’s edition late. I truly thought you must be joking.
2. You’ve finally come “out” as a concrete cuddler. It has been obvious for years that you have never met a pavement segment you do not adore, but, confession being good for the soul, you decided to openly and publicly confront your predilections, curious as they may be.
3. The most frightening. Social Darwinism. Man is superior, therefore the steelhead must die. Some men are more superior than others. Hutus are superior so Tutsis must die. Turks are superior so Armenians must die. Germans are superior so Jews and Eastern Europeans must die. Europeans are superior so Native Americans must die. After all, Arnold, since, as you put it, “[I]f there really is a Darwinian battle going on for space and food and territory, should we [Hutus, Turks, Germans, Europeans] feel bad because we’re winning?” “If the steelhead trout [Tutsi, Armenian, Jew, Eastern European, Native American] is rapidly becoming extinct, isn’t it arguable that the reason is they’re insufficiently adaptive to exist in a changing environment?”
Bill Sampson