www.theotherpress.ca

OPINIONS.

 

Return to sender

An open letter to the
writers of open letters

Sharon Miki, Columnist

hen I was nine years old, I

used my allowance to buy
six cupcakes from my school’s
bake sale. It wasn’t really
something that I was proud of,
but it was my decision. It was
my business, until my frenemy
Brittany stood up in front of the
class and loudly proclaimed
that she was worried about me
getting fat, because she had seen
me purchase said cupcakes.
She wouldn’t want me to be
too chubby to play with her on
the playground. At the time,
I recall being embarrassed
and seeing through Brittany’s
feigned concern for me as a ploy
to bring attention to her own
superior eating habits and lean
figure; she was using me as a
vehicle for her own humble-
bragging, and I didn’t like it. I
feel these same feelings when
I see the swarm of open letters
penned by low-level celebrities
to more famous pop icons, as in
the recent series of open letters
from Sinead O’Connor to Miley
Cyrus. Is using the specific
medium of an open letter really
about genuine concern, or is
it more about a ploy to garner
viral attention for yourself?

An open letter is a letter
targeted towards a specific
individual, but is released to
a wide audience. Historically,
open letters were used as a way
for a person to present a position

 

on a topic or to disseminate a
political message that might
not otherwise be heard by the
public. Martin Luther King,
Jr., for example, wrote his
“Letter from Birmingham Jail”
as an open letter to spread
his message of non-violent
resistance to racism while he
was imprisoned.

However, in our current

 

Proto courtresy of www.02varvera.wordpress.com

social media-saturated culture,
open letters have largely become
a way for people to spread
their opinions about someone
through the veil of niceness
and faux concern. While I fully
support one’s right to express
their opinions, I take issue with
using the open letter medium
to do so if it’s simply a way to
capitalize on someone else’s

fame while trying to make the
writer seem nice.

For example, in the case
of O’Connor’s open letters to
Cyrus, I can’t fault O’Connor
for having a view on the
sexualization of Cyrus’s public
image; however, I do feel that
using an open letter in which
she’s highly critical “in the
spirit of motherliness and with

love” taints her message with

a condescending tone that
makes her sincerity unreliable.
Moreover, her open letter is
filled with self-congratulatory
anecdotes that come across
more as self-affirmation than as
a message to Cyrus: “The look
I chose, I chose on purpose at a
time when my record company
were encouraging me to do what
you have done. I felt ] would
rather be judged on my talent
and not my looks. I am happy
that I made that choice, not least
because I do not find myself

on the proverbial rag heap

now that I am almost 47 yrs

of age... which unfortunately
many female artists who have
based their image around their
sexuality, end up on when they
reach middle age.”

Sure, O’Connor can feel
good about her choices as
much as she wants, but using
contrived concern over Cyrus
to capitalize on Cyrus’ current
fame is in poor taste. If the
ostensible point of an open
letter is to spread a message
of significance when other
means are not available then
O’Connor’s missive misses
the mark as it becomes more
a pathetic attempt to grasp at
the coattails of someone else’s
relevance than a sincere letter of
concern.

So, what's the solution? If
you find yourself desperately
needing to tell someone how
you feel, go ahead and write
that letter. Just put an address
on it instead of sending it out for
the whole world to read.

 

We dont need no education

Homework and exams
can only do so much

Elliot
Chan
Opinions Editor
‘ts opinions@theotherpress.ca

M33 Twain once said,
“Don’t let schooling
interfere with your education.”
As I round into the latter-
half of my two-year program,
this quote resonates more
than ever. Sometimes I get
so focussed on grades and
assignments that I forget the
whole reason I signed up
for college in the first place.
After all, I’m attending post-
secondary for the same reason
everybody else is: to achieve my
full potential in a career of my

 

choice. But when an opportunity
knocks, what choice do I really
have?

The education system can
only teach me so much before
I become disinterested and
start to reject the content. Nay,
it’s just my inability to retain
it. I sit through lectures, I jot
down notes, and go through
the classroom motions until I’m
released once again with a list of
readings, several assignments,
a scheduled exam, and project
deadlines. Unsure of what
I’m getting out of it, I feel
overwhelmed and anxious.

People tell me to pay
my dues, but trudging along
learning something that will be
forgotten or never applied feels
like a complete waste. Public
schools and general studies are
just that—general. Catering to

the masses and focussing on a
few, schooling may often feel
like the instructor is teaching
to another student while you
sit idly by waiting for some
relevant content to spark your
interest. Sure, with a little
luck, we'll end up with that
piece of paper honouring our
completion—but is it worth the
price?

I say build your own
curriculum and don’t just
follow schooling. Classrooms
and lecture halls can only do
so much. In preparing for the
real world, it’s important, nay,
critical to experience the real
world. Don’t just get a part-
time job at a local restaurant
if you're studying law. Strive
for something in your field
and don’t fall for the trap of
convenient work. I understand

that those opportunities are
hard to come by and jobs are
incredibly competitive, but take
the chance. You'll learn more
interning at a firm than you
would serving drinks, or even
cramming for an exam.
Volunteering may seem like
offering free labour, but if you
think that then what do you
think homework is? Being an
unpaid helper shows the public
that you care about your craft,
that you’re willing to take time
out of your busy schedule to
learn, and that money isn’t the
priority. Volunteering is a terrific
way to network and meet future
employers, regardless of the
volunteering circumstances.
By surrounding yourself with
people of the same professional
interests, you can gain
knowledge and inspirational

fuel.

Travelling is the best and
only way to see the world.
You'll learn more about yourself
sitting at a bus terminal halfway
around the world than you
would sitting in a two-hour
lecture about global economics.
Didn’t get the course you
wanted? Instead of spending
your money on meeting your
post-secondary credit quota,
book a trip. Tuition comes in
many forms and that means
education does as well.

Just because you are in
school, that doesn’t mean
you can’t learn outside of it.
Workplace preparation is more
than exams and homework. It
never hurts to be an all-around
interesting person.

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