Dear editor:
In response to the column about the Muncie Mardi Gras "flop," I think John King needs to take a look at the big picture. His article was full of exaggerations and meaningless ramble. The part about the carp? Really, what was that?
Saturday's Mardi Gras party proved that, if given a good reason, people will go downtown. And, not only were they downtown, but we were enjoying these temporary setups, proving to area merchants that those sites are worth something. I thought this was a brilliant way to advertise downtown real estate.
"If you want to motivate people in Muncie, you need only make a flimsy promise of a party." Sorry, buddy, that's all it takes to motivate most anybody. It has nothing to do with being from Muncie or being a "bar-fly," it has to do with being human and wanting an escape from everyday life, if just for a short while.
No one claimed a Mardi Gras party would solve all Muncie's problems. The goal wasn't to find people a "decent job" or to mend their "broken homes and dreams." It was something fun to do - a break from our everyday ho-hum lives.
I won't disagree that it was crowded and dirty - even very crowded and very dirty - but have you ever been to New Orleans? Mardi Gras time or not, the city is swarming with hundreds of thousands of drunk, dirty, obnoxious people.
Beggars tap-dance with cans on their shoes for money, breasts are flashed, beads hang around the necks of young and old, fat and thin, rich and poor, many half-dressed and even more whose gender is indiscernible. Yes, people urinate on the street, and you complained about the bushes? In New Orleans they don't even have the decency to look for a bush.
But, even with all this, people spend thousands of dollars to vacation there every day. Why? Because it's fun and it's culture. Not Minnetrista culture, but culture nonetheless. You're a graduate student, and I'm sure you're a smart guy.
You should have the foresight to anticipate what a Mardi Gras party would entail.
Kelly Miller
Senior
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