Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________RUNNING WITH THE HADZA BY ERIC SEYFARTH (09/28/98)

Will you please, please lay off the Stone Age Africa nonsense in Wanderlust? Salon seems to have some sort of fixation with portraying Africa either as the Stone Age revisited or (as with your earlier stories "Nigerian nightmare" and "Descending the Congo") as "Heart of Darkness" for the new millennium.
Take a look at the photos that accompany your article on the Hadza. Those men are either Maasai or very acculturated Hadza. They are wearing clothing, beads and iron made by industrial processes. The Hadza have traded for iron, at least, for a very long time; their language has loan-words from different neighboring languages. They live in communities that are not particularly difficult to get to; I traveled around Hadza territory myself in the early 1980s. They are not the reconstituted australopithecines that your author seems to be imagining around Olduvai Gorge -- they are modern humans, living in 1998 and not in the Stone Age.
Treating Africa as the "Land That Time Forgot" has been a staple of Western commentary on the continent since the 19th century. In many cases, that commentary was explicitly racist; at other times, it was merely condescending. We've edited out most of the racism, but the condescension remains in articles like these. I would have thought better of Salon.
-- Scott MacEachern
"Running With the Hadza" is an exciting piece of work. It communicates an impending tragedy of what may be the last days of a valuable tribal culture and tradition, in the face of the African continent's race to keep up with westernization. It also allowed us to experience a hunt with the tribesman along with its physical demands, hunter cooperation and song. I only wish Mr. Seyfarth was in better aerobic shape so that we could have experienced more.
Still there is the question of what can be done. Perhaps nothing given the fierce cultural competition that exists, but the tone of this article might inspire some to document this culture in as spirited a fashion. Heaven forbid that the Hadza should endure the indignity of being domesticated and performing for tourists.
-- Joe Baldwin

_______________HIJACKED BY SUSIE BRIGHT (09/25/98)

I've been waiting for Susie Bright to comment on the White House to-do since Mr. Starr's report came out. Now that I have read it, I think she has allowed the fuel of this witch hunt to burn her.
If we, as a nation, can forgive a Nixon for real crimes, we will certainly forget (or giggle) at the Starr Report. It's not over, but the anticlimax of watching Clinton defend himself (with his "unique way with language"-- whatever that is) as any lawyer would, and hearing that almost everyone watching turned the channel after 15 minutes because it was just boring legal stuff, gives me hope it will pass.
I think Larry Flynt's offering Starr a job at Hustler, based on his ability to expand sexual literature's market to schools, libraries and public forums, is much more constructive than alluding to a defeat. I don't understand why announcing new findings on the size and response of a woman's clitoris would in your mind, or anyone else's, allude to Miss Lewinsky's. I don't believe rimming began or ends with the Starr Report. Frankly, I don't think my own or anyone else's sexuality has been or will be defined by this media blitz. But Susie Bright, as a "Sexpert," does have a voice -- at least as it comes to sexuality and culture. I'm sorry to have read that her spirit felt crushed.
-- Metis Black

_______________STORY TIME BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (09/29/98)

Thank you for running such a thought-provoking essay. As a writer for a new media company who also enjoys writing for personal satisfaction, I found Scott Rosenberg's arguments against the commercialization of storytelling compelling, but I don't necessarily agree completely with his argument that such stories will "contaminate the sense of honesty and authenticity that makes personal storytelling valuable in the first place."
When people see customer stories on a corporate Web site, they know the stories are biased toward the company. Why else would they be there? But they appreciate that the company has at least gone to the trouble of providing interesting, creative content on its site, rather than the same old boring "marketese" they're used to seeing elsewhere.
People don't visit corporate sites for great stories. They visit them for information. If that information is presented in a way that is both informative and entertaining, all the better.
Corporate storytelling will never replace personal narratives, and people will never see them as the same thing. As a writer, I appreciate a well-written corporate Web site, but I will still spend more time on a personal or literary site if I find the content engaging and original. And I think other people feel the same way.
I agree completely that we as individuals should not resort to marketing ourselves as personal brands, and I love Rosenberg's conclusion: "Stories arise primarily from families and communities and nations, far more than from jobs and companies. We're lucky to live in a historical moment at which technology makes it easier to tell and share stories without interference from middlemen of various stripes. Why think of ourselves as brands when we can be bards?" That's a wonderful thought and a great inspiration. I'm thinking of framing it beside my desk to remind myself that writing is a noble art, not a mere profession.
-- Carl Thress

_______________IN SHACKLES WITH THE FREEDOM BAG BY CAROL LLOYD (09/17/98)

I was amused by Carol Lloyd's piece on the Freedom Bag and thought I'd send off some gratuitous advice: You don't need a Freedom Bag. But you need freedom. I began to realize that after a trip to Paris in which I attempted to schlep 40 pounds of luggage through the Metro, up those damned escaliers and down. No more.
Now I have a cheap wheeled suitcase (Samsonite, $49, Innovation Luggage) that fits into any overhead bin. It has no sectional dividers and it therefore holds enough for any trip, three days to three years (for the latter, you may need to do laundry). I'm a runner with monster feet and the bag holds the shoes (with socks stuffed in them), plus one pair of dressy shoes and another pair of casual shoes. Don't let the Freedom folks tell you you need lots of junk from the medicine cabinet. The world is full of pharmacies and hotel bathrooms are full of sample sizes. Just pack a small toiletry kit (and when you return home, replenish empties right away so you don't have to ditz around before your next trip). Wrap the kit in a plastic bag so leaks won't ruin your other stuff. So you can't hang it on a hook. Big deal.
As to other stuff: You don't need a garment bag. You need to roll each item tightly into a cylinder shape and pack it. You won't wrinkle much and you'll find an amazing amount of room. Into the interstices, fit all your undies and running gear. Take layers: a lightweight shirt, a turtleneck, a heavier sweater and a casual jacket. Polartech pants are more comfy than jeans, weigh less and will keep you warm. Take lots of black. Take one item that makes you feel well-dressed (and make sure it packs easily.) Silk long johns are a huge help in cold weather and take up almost no space at all. I also carry a backpack (smallish) onto the plane with books, cosmetics, camera and magazines. If for business, I take the laptop instead and stuff what I can into the case. For overseas travel I wear a pouch around my neck with passport, Visa card and a little currency. Sounds wonky, but it works.
And I pack a nylon duffle, collapsed, for looser, quicker packing during adventures like inn-to-inn bike trips. At the end of the trip it can hold souvenirs and duty-free buys. It fits right on top of the rolling suitcase.
Using this method, I've traveled to San Diego, Washington, New York, Paris, Italy and Boston for stays ranging from a few days to three weeks, business trips to bike tours (yeah, I have to carry the helmet in my backpack), and have yet to have a single traumatic incident. Free at last.
-- Janice Berman
SALON | Oct. 1, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| WHY CLINTON SHOULD NOT BE IMPEACHED -- YET BY DAVID HOROWITZ

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_______________RUNNING WITH THE HADZA BY ERIC SEYFARTH (09/28/98)
	Will you please, please lay off the Stone Age Africa nonsense in Wanderlust? Salon seems to have some sort of fixation with portraying Africa either as the Stone Age revisited or (as with your earlier stories "Nigerian nightmare" and "Descending the Congo") as "Heart of Darkness" for the new millennium. Take a look at the photos that accompany your article on the Hadza. Those men are either Maasai or very acculturated Hadza. They are wearing clothing, beads and iron made by industrial processes. The Hadza have traded for iron, at least, for a very long time; their language has loan-words from different neighboring languages. They live in communities that are not particularly difficult to get to; I traveled around Hadza territory myself in the early 1980s. They are not the reconstituted australopithecines that your author seems to be imagining around Olduvai Gorge -- they are modern humans, living in 1998 and not in the Stone Age. Treating Africa as the "Land That Time Forgot" has been a staple of Western commentary on the continent since the 19th century. In many cases, that commentary was explicitly racist; at other times, it was merely condescending. We've edited out most of the racism, but the condescension remains in articles like these. I would have thought better of Salon. -- Scott MacEachern "Running With the Hadza" is an exciting piece of work. It communicates an impending tragedy of what may be the last days of a valuable tribal culture and tradition, in the face of the African continent's race to keep up with westernization. It also allowed us to experience a hunt with the tribesman along with its physical demands, hunter cooperation and song. I only wish Mr. Seyfarth was in better aerobic shape so that we could have experienced more. Still there is the question of what can be done. Perhaps nothing given the fierce cultural competition that exists, but the tone of this article might inspire some to document this culture in as spirited a fashion. Heaven forbid that the Hadza should endure the indignity of being domesticated and performing for tourists. -- Joe Baldwin
_______________HIJACKED BY SUSIE BRIGHT (09/25/98)
	I've been waiting for Susie Bright to comment on the White House to-do since Mr. Starr's report came out. Now that I have read it, I think she has allowed the fuel of this witch hunt to burn her. If we, as a nation, can forgive a Nixon for real crimes, we will certainly forget (or giggle) at the Starr Report. It's not over, but the anticlimax of watching Clinton defend himself (with his "unique way with language"-- whatever that is) as any lawyer would, and hearing that almost everyone watching turned the channel after 15 minutes because it was just boring legal stuff, gives me hope it will pass. I think Larry Flynt's offering Starr a job at Hustler, based on his ability to expand sexual literature's market to schools, libraries and public forums, is much more constructive than alluding to a defeat. I don't understand why announcing new findings on the size and response of a woman's clitoris would in your mind, or anyone else's, allude to Miss Lewinsky's. I don't believe rimming began or ends with the Starr Report. Frankly, I don't think my own or anyone else's sexuality has been or will be defined by this media blitz. But Susie Bright, as a "Sexpert," does have a voice -- at least as it comes to sexuality and culture. I'm sorry to have read that her spirit felt crushed. -- Metis Black
_______________STORY TIME BY SCOTT ROSENBERG (09/29/98)
	Thank you for running such a thought-provoking essay. As a writer for a new media company who also enjoys writing for personal satisfaction, I found Scott Rosenberg's arguments against the commercialization of storytelling compelling, but I don't necessarily agree completely with his argument that such stories will "contaminate the sense of honesty and authenticity that makes personal storytelling valuable in the first place." When people see customer stories on a corporate Web site, they know the stories are biased toward the company. Why else would they be there? But they appreciate that the company has at least gone to the trouble of providing interesting, creative content on its site, rather than the same old boring "marketese" they're used to seeing elsewhere. People don't visit corporate sites for great stories. They visit them for information. If that information is presented in a way that is both informative and entertaining, all the better. Corporate storytelling will never replace personal narratives, and people will never see them as the same thing. As a writer, I appreciate a well-written corporate Web site, but I will still spend more time on a personal or literary site if I find the content engaging and original. And I think other people feel the same way. I agree completely that we as individuals should not resort to marketing ourselves as personal brands, and I love Rosenberg's conclusion: "Stories arise primarily from families and communities and nations, far more than from jobs and companies. We're lucky to live in a historical moment at which technology makes it easier to tell and share stories without interference from middlemen of various stripes. Why think of ourselves as brands when we can be bards?" That's a wonderful thought and a great inspiration. I'm thinking of framing it beside my desk to remind myself that writing is a noble art, not a mere profession. -- Carl Thress
_______________IN SHACKLES WITH THE FREEDOM BAG BY CAROL LLOYD (09/17/98)
	I was amused by Carol Lloyd's piece on the Freedom Bag and thought I'd send off some gratuitous advice: You don't need a Freedom Bag. But you need freedom. I began to realize that after a trip to Paris in which I attempted to schlep 40 pounds of luggage through the Metro, up those damned escaliers and down. No more. Now I have a cheap wheeled suitcase (Samsonite, $49, Innovation Luggage) that fits into any overhead bin. It has no sectional dividers and it therefore holds enough for any trip, three days to three years (for the latter, you may need to do laundry). I'm a runner with monster feet and the bag holds the shoes (with socks stuffed in them), plus one pair of dressy shoes and another pair of casual shoes. Don't let the Freedom folks tell you you need lots of junk from the medicine cabinet. The world is full of pharmacies and hotel bathrooms are full of sample sizes. Just pack a small toiletry kit (and when you return home, replenish empties right away so you don't have to ditz around before your next trip). Wrap the kit in a plastic bag so leaks won't ruin your other stuff. So you can't hang it on a hook. Big deal. As to other stuff: You don't need a garment bag. You need to roll each item tightly into a cylinder shape and pack it. You won't wrinkle much and you'll find an amazing amount of room. Into the interstices, fit all your undies and running gear. Take layers: a lightweight shirt, a turtleneck, a heavier sweater and a casual jacket. Polartech pants are more comfy than jeans, weigh less and will keep you warm. Take lots of black. Take one item that makes you feel well-dressed (and make sure it packs easily.) Silk long johns are a huge help in cold weather and take up almost no space at all. I also carry a backpack (smallish) onto the plane with books, cosmetics, camera and magazines. If for business, I take the laptop instead and stuff what I can into the case. For overseas travel I wear a pouch around my neck with passport, Visa card and a little currency. Sounds wonky, but it works. And I pack a nylon duffle, collapsed, for looser, quicker packing during adventures like inn-to-inn bike trips. At the end of the trip it can hold souvenirs and duty-free buys. It fits right on top of the rolling suitcase. Using this method, I've traveled to San Diego, Washington, New York, Paris, Italy and Boston for stays ranging from a few days to three weeks, business trips to bike tours (yeah, I have to carry the helmet in my backpack), and have yet to have a single traumatic incident. Free at last. -- Janice Berman SALON \| Oct. 1, 1998