Letters to the Editor

From: Daniel Evan Mafrice
To: threeweeks@umich.edu
Subject: Cantor article

I found your article completely disgusting and the fact that both the author and the printer can hide behind a bull shit disclaimer and policy of not labeling your writing is just cowardly. Freedom of the press? Yeah right. This may mean that you have the freedom to disrespect people, be vulgar, intrude on others private lives and piss on someone's grave, but don't think for a second that you can do this and maintain any form of respect for yourself.

It seems like you have missed the creative and comical point in satirical writing. To articulate events in our society in a comedic fashion takes creativity, skill, and an understanding of what is funny to the majority of society. The ONION in Wisconsin might be the place you need to look to learn these skills. The wiriting and printing of this article shows that both the author and the producers of this paper lack complete social understanding of good satirical writing. It further demonstrates that you have absolutely no understanding of what kind of pain true grieving is, and would love to see somebody shit on you when you have to deal with this at some point in life. Although I feel that you have no defense for your actions, I would gladly accept any comments to this e-mail.

I can only suggest that you formaly apologise to the Cantors and the university of michigan society.

First off, our 'bull shit disclaimer and policy' is not intended to make us blameless. As editors, it is our responsibility to decide what goes in and what stays out. It's our 'fault', then. Our writers don't need harassment when they didn't make the decision to show the University.

A funny thing about the last issue is that we here at E3W headquarters were far more concerned about the reaction to the Keyes story than the Cantor story. We even went so far as to put a warning on it.

There was a Cassandra in our midst, but, as is the case with Cassandras, we didn't think much of his protests. Why we were so sure that the Cantor story would not raise a ruckus is a bit of mystery in retrospect.

However, raise a ruckus it did, both negatively and positively; we've heard from people like Mr. Mafrice above and people who thought it's the best thing we've run. It's hard to be properly contrite when many people involved in the production of the paper feel the article was justified, but we can say that we are much less sure of ourselves than we were before.

Have we "crossed the line"? That depends upon where your line is but, frankly, if we aren't offending someone we probably aren't addressing the issues that separate satire from mere comedy.

However, there is a difference between offense and hurt, and we strayed too far from our point into the personal side of the matter. For that, we do apologize.

But (you knew there was going to be a but), there was a point to be made by the article, and if there is a similar point to be made about a similarly charged topic, the E3W will cross that minefield again. We will (hopefully) be wiser and more measured, but no less willing to say what we think.

-Ed.
From: La rose de Quebec
To: threeweeks@umich.edu
Subject: er� no comment � Ed.

a fine and noble pursuit, the every three weekly. a stirring work, it delves deeply into the human psyche and provokes every emotion from disgust to bliss in one fell swoop. amazing. i am unaware of any other small group of well-intentioned engineers who can transform such "taboo" issues as racism, sock-wearing, and freshmen girls plonging to bloody deaths into absolute hilarity. i commend your efforts--you bring honour to middle-class suburbia.

so i leave you with this: persist, young scholars. there will be those who will say that making light of mr. cantor's grief is "offensive." others will suffer from acute myocardial infarctions upon reading your ridicule of professor ralph williams. still others will convince themselves that you are all latent homosexuals, and your "paper" is only some sort of bizarre paraphilia while your "staff" is but a moderately-sized engineering orgy. but with the grace of persistence, you will triumph over these evil forces and remain, in my heart as well as in courtney cantor's memory, a bunch of fucking assholes who deserve a pulitzer prize. thanks for the cotton-pickin' good read. write on!!

Bonus points for using "acute myocardial infarctions". But we're not homosexuals. Yes, Amol does like musicals, Kit is well dressed, and Raffi is neat, but no one of us has all three of those traits.

-Ed