jon@dmcityview.com

Toboggan tussle began for no reason

I'm all for watchdogs and activists, but what has transpired on our city's East Side regarding the so-called "tearing down" of a sledding hill has been despicable, and for no reason whatsoever. See, you never open your mouth until you know what the shot is, until you've absorbed all of the facts. Being an activist and a watchdog requires patience and reason. Without those two qualities, really, all you're doing is bitching. You're background noise, a blabbermouth, a naysayer.

Case in point: Nan Rinner, a squeaky wheel who has bulldozed a handful of ass-kissing city council members into actually considering not taking up the First Tee Program on its offer to enhance Grandview Golf Course. Never mind that the program itself would benefit hundreds of kids every summer, that the improvements would be, for the most part, free of charge, or that the city might get back in black if it tweaks the course a bit, Rinner heard that the hill might be altered somewhat and she went on the attack. What was she attacking? Well, she doesn't exactly know, as plans had not been released when she blew her stack. All she knows is that she doesn't want them to "touch the hill."

But what if "touching the hill" made the hill better? What if it made the ride longer, steeper? What if it meant the kids sledding down the hill wouldn't have to crash into tires and a chain link fence at the bottom? According to architects, who folks like Rinner haven't bothered to listen to, the hill will be "enhanced" and "better." Does that matter? Or does it matter that East-Side kids might get to participate in a world-class program that might not otherwise be made available to them? Of course not. You lash out so that city leaders - well known for avoiding any and all slippery slopes - know you mean business.

Forget the fact that you can't be for something unless that something stands against something else, and you can't be against something that does not exist, the proposal for what First Tee envisioned hadn't even been made when the daggers came out, when folks like Rinner showed their fangs.

"If they cut down our hill, then let them cut Waveland's down, too," East-Side dentist Richard Fuller told The Des Moines Register in an article whose headline read: "East-siders cry foul at plans to level hill" - regardless of the fact that no such plan had even been introduced. And despite butchering the credibility of a once-proud family-owned newspaper, it also kills the credibility of Fuller, as well. See, he doesn't even know what he's mad at so he lashes out at another part of the community. How old is he, 10? Comments like that and like those of Rinner give activists, true activists, a bad name.

Why? Because despite what some reporters want you to believe, First Tee isn't against the East Side; it's for the East Side. This is about building up a community, not tearing it down. Perhaps the First Tee program's initial plan will be something to be upset about. Perhaps it won't work and will need to be adjusted. Perhaps First Tee will be told to take a hike. But shouldn't people see the plan first before attacking it? And shouldn't headlines like "Fight to save D.M. sledding hill gains speed" be held until the hill itself is actually known to be at risk? Responsible, reasonable people would say, "yes."

True activists fight for the livelihood of their children, and they fight hard for it - whether that means the preservation of a sledding hill, a youth golf program or a way to have both. True city leaders aren't so anxious to give every squeaky wheel that rolls through the door ample amounts of grease until there is something to really squeak about. And true newspapers, ones that strive to make the communities in which they publish better places (sliding readership and profits going to Washington D.C. or not), do not "enhance" the news to make it sexier, or pit people against one another to stretch a story out.

There are, quite obviously, some things worth fighting for. But don't knuckle up until there is actually something to swing at. And don't ever swing unless there's an honest-to-God fight to be had.

I applaud Nan Rinner for gathering up 1,000 signatures, for busting her hump to bring her corner of the world together and for making her first ever pilgrimage to City Hall so that her voice could be heard. But what is contemptible is her blatantly looking a gift horse in the mouth - one that could make the quality of life better for the side of town that she proclaims to love so much without even knowing what the end result would be. Truth be told, that type of behavior makes her nothing more than a nasty old gasbag who enjoys the sound of her own voice and a brawl. And that is not activism. That's just being a pain in the ass. CV

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