The Reporter welcomes original, signed letters
to the editor. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to
specific articles in the Reporter. They may be edited for clarity and
space. Include address and phone number for verification purposes;
these will not be published. Mail to Letters, Santa Fe Reporter, PO Box
2306, Santa Fe NM 87504, deliver to 132 E. Marcy St., fax to
505-988-5348 or e-mail (editor@sfreporter.com).
BREAKING SILENCE
As the parents of Jenine Clifford we can no longer remain silent [Cover story, July 20:
]. When Melisa Panagakos of St. Michael's High School told the Reporter she was appalled to recognize the distorted cover picture as her fellow student [Letters, July 27:
], Editor Julia Goldberg's cynically disingenuous response was "the cover image…was not intended to depict Jenine Clifford." The fact is the cover image grotesquely distorted an unmistakable likeness of our VERY REAL daughter who died by suicide only three months ago. Reporter Nathan Dinsdale and his editors were impatient to use this suicide for their story. Ignoring the family's refusal to be involved in any way, Mr. Dinsdale exploited a phone conversation and printed it. He also shamelessly lied to a now distressed friend of Jenine to convince him that participating was okay with the family. Left with few facts to go on, Dinsdale relentlessly exploited Jenine's online blog and the images she posted there for her friends.
The tortured cover image and equally distorted story tragically misrepresent the true face of suicide. People who are considering suicide hide their pain and don't understand that their depression is an illness. The Reporter gives the parents in our community the deadly impression that they will be warned of suicidal thoughts by the mind-numbing anguish in their child's face. The Reporter needs to admit that they have wounded the cause they pretended to help, and by conjuring a "ghost" they abused the VERY REAL memories family, friends and her community have of Jenine Clifford.
Jenine's Mother and Father
Santa Fe
Editor's Note:
As previously stated, the cover image used for the story in question was truly not intended to depict Jenine Clifford. The illustrator of this piece, in fact, never saw a photo of Jenine as we did not have one until after the illustration was underway.
This note is not intended to aggravate what is clearly a painful situation, but we would like the opportunity to respond to allegations we believe inaccurately portray what occurred in the reporting process of this story. Reporter Nathan Dinsdale first made contact with the Cliffords through a family friend and was told they would consider speaking with him. Subsequently, after visiting Warehouse 21, two friends of Jenine Clifford's were contacted who expressed a willingness to speak about their friend. Through the family friend we were then told the Cliffords did not wish to speak to us but would send a package of materials about their daughter. That package never arrived and we were then told by Jenine's friends that they had been asked not to speak with us. At that point, we put the story on hold for two months.
Reporter Dinsdale then contacted the Cliffords again, who said they needed time to consider speaking with us. After several telephone conversations, reporter Dinsdale was told they would not speak with us, but would send materials about Jenine. Reporter Dinsdale asked the Cliffords for permission to speak with Jenine's friends and was told that doing so was up to the individuals in question. We received a final letter from the Cliffords saying they did not want to participate in the story and we did not contact them again after that. Reporting about teenage suicide, a terrible problem in our community, is not something we approached lightly.
REALITY SHOW?
I found your recent story, "Walking With The Ghost," to be extremely insensitive. I understand that we must talk about teen suicide honestly and openly and involve schools, families and the greater community in finding solutions. It is imperative to do so if we want to save young lives. To help us, the media can play a powerful role by informing the public about the risk factors, warning signs and recent research advances. Indeed, your reporter did provide some of this information. However, there were some very disturbing and offensive aspects to this story. In particular, I was disturbed by the reporter's "casual" invasion into the private grief of Jenine Clifford's family and closest friends. He openly acknowledges the indescribable pain these parents and friends feel following Jenine's suicide. So, how could he attend, listen and document their very intimate, personal and painful goodbyes at the mortuary chapel and later at the church? I can only imagine that this seeming lack of respect and compassion, combined with the story's excerpts from Jenine's online journal, were only done to give the article a "reality show" twist.
Cynthia Gonzales
Executive Director
NM Suicide Intervention Project
FIGHT APATHY
I agree that "now is the vital time": Santa Fe is bound and determined to evolve, but it's up to those of us who've chosen to be here or are here despite our choices to make the path [J Spot, Aug. 10:
]. Unfortunately, there is a lot of apathy here, and it's beyond me how that could be possible. There's beauty, history, and culture everywhere here, and we're living in a time when all of that is threatened. It's just not good enough to sit on the sidelines while our hometown political artists, musicians, poets, writers and performers who twirl fire struggle to connect with us. Check Fox News or CNN, then take a look around your City Different. Stop taking yourselves so seriously, and start putting your money where the courage is.
James Williams
Santa Fe
DAY OF DECEIT
The following information is offered to any who believes that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed to avoid a US invasion of Japan and to save lives [Outtakes, Aug. 10:
]. The Decision To Bomb by Gar Alperovitz and his lecture, "Hiroshima: New Facts & Old Myths," are available at www.AlternativeRadio.org. Also, read "Bush and The Bomb," an Aug. 10 article by Marjorie Cohn on www.Truthout.com. If the Los Alamos Education Group is honestly interested in "balance," they will peruse
www.whatreallyhappened.com/McCollum
, which details the US government's eight-step plan to provoke Japan into attacking us. All eight steps of the plan were implemented. Day Of Deceit by Robert Stinnett provides additional information. Sadly, "Nuke 'em all" and "Go to Hell hippies" mindsets rarely have the interest or courage to question their own prejudices in an objective and rational search for truth.
Ron Stone
Santa Fe
ORGANIC REVOLUTION
The vituperative slam against Annapurna Restaurant [Letters, Aug. 10:
] confuses the purpose of an Ayurvedic clinic and a restaurant. I frequent the restaurant and enjoy the food.
Knowing which foods support an individual's constitution requires diagnosis from an advanced practitioner of Ayurveda. It is up to the individual to follow that diet. Annapurna caters the meals for Panchakarma cleansing sessions of Dr. Vasant Lad in Albuquerque. Dr. Lad was born, raised and trained in Ayurveda in India.
What Annapurna offers is fresh, warm-cooked, organic, vegetarian cuisine that nourishes without using anything fermented. Much of what is on the menu is gluten-free and suits the lactose intolerant. This is Ayurvedic. Try finding restaurant fare that meets those standards anywhere in the world. Aside from Ayurvedic dietary cleansing and maintenance tenets, Annapurna offers yummy East Indian food that is satisfying for those seeking something different even if one knows nothing about Ayurveda.
Valerie Pijoan
Tesuque
