Buying a town with a barbecue
Re “He’s delving into history to find gold,” May 27
Here is a perfect example of the rich being out of touch. David Badner, a venture capitalist, brags about his Miami condo, sports cars and boats. He buys a defunct gold mine near the quiet community of Jamestown, Colo., and hopes to win over the locals by throwing a barbecue and bringing in “a band, face painters, a clown.”
“I’ll pay for it — I won’t be handing out the paper plates,” he says. Really? How typical of the rich and insensitive — buy off the
potential hindrance to your endeavors with food and trinkets.
Former Jamestown Mayor Ken Lenarcic hit it on the head: The residents will get nothing out of the mining venture — except a barbecue. Big deal.
Linda Navroth
Los Angeles
::
We can’t speak for Jamestown (no one can), but we know the residents well because we live there part of the year. The people are concerned about air, water and noise pollution, plus the extreme fire danger in this forested area. At least one of the proposed drill sites is within half a mile of much of the town.
The residents of Jamestown include professors, medical professionals, high-tech consultants, teachers, artists and skilled workers. Badner insults the town by his assumption that he can win them over with a barbecue and clowns.
Jerome and Sylvia Welner
Manhattan Beach and Mitt Romney’s ancestors moved to Mexico to practice polygamy after the U.S. government forced Utah to stop it. Bob Marley had 11children by several different women; I’ve had three wives and several girlfriends.
Although many societies impose monogamy, it has not evolved. Evolution requires genetic changes to an entire population, whereas monogamy, where it occurs, is a non-genetically produced cultural tradition. In her book “Anatomy of Love,” anthropologist Helen Fisher pointed out that economic factors largely determine human mating patterns. Sociologists have shown that in the U.S., monogamous families of a husband and wife have been steadily declining.
Where it occurs, monogamy in humans is a cultural and even individual choice; it is not genetically determined.
Henry A. Hespenheide
Hermosa Beach The writer is a professor emeritus in UCLA’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology.