[Mb-civic] Letter

[Barbara Siomos]

Ian thank you for T-r-y-i-n-g to enlighten those condo folks (figures it
was on the east side) yet I fear they will never learn.

peace,
barbara
>From: "Ian" <ialterman at nyc.rr.com> 
>To: "Civic" <mb-civic at islandlists.com> 
>Date: Sat, Dec 11, 2004, 4:05pm 

From: Ian 
To: letters at nytimes.com 
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 4:05 PM
Subject: Letter

The situation surrounding the removal of an active red-tailed hawk's
nest by the Co-op Board of an East Side building ("No Fighting the
Co-op Board, Even With Talons," Dec. 11) is indicative of an ugly and
arrogant mindset: that we "permit" other life forms to live as long as
they do not interfere with our lives.  This, despite the fact that
they were here first, and that we interfered - and continue to interfere
- far more with their lives than they do with ours.
 
Indeed, even setting aside our general ongoing pollution of the air,
water and land shared by all living things, we think nothing of
destroying their biospheres, ecosystems and refuges - and even driving
them to extinction - so that we can survive.  But just let one of them
dare to try to survive by building a nest on one of our buildings...
 
In this regard, we should not be angry with the members of the Co-op
Board who voted to destroy the nest.  Rather, we should be filled with
sadness and pity that they have so little compassion for anything that
even remotely interferes with their anthropocentric lives.
 
Rev. Ian Alterman
New York City