ITEMS

Reactions to trespassing at St. Anne's retreat

Reactions to the trespassing incident at St. Anne's brings out various points of view.

St. Anne’s reaction a lesson in itself

To the editor:
The era in which the constitution of our nation was formed was preceded by many abuses against individuals and their property. Because of this, the founding fathers created the Bill of Rights to help define what “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” entailed.

Article 10 deals with the rights of criminals and those accused of crimes. It states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Several forms of punishments a God-fearing people will always cry out against are: verbal assault (death threats), physical assault and sexual assault. They should not be tolerated even in a parent and child relationship.

I am saddened by the many letters that contend that tie youths who trespassed at St. Anne’s were not entitled to the respect that is due all men, regardless of their crime, because of the sanctity of life which is given at God’s hand. Many have justified their feelings by expressing loyalty to the rights of property owners.”

Let’s remember that the property owners exercised their rights. They pardoned the youths on the grounds of the treatment they had received. I applaud this compassionate attitude. We, as a people, claim that an individual does not have to be tried twice for the same crime. These youths were tried, convicted and punished by individuals, not by a judge and jury; another crime against the form of government we uphold.

Judgements against the parents have been unfair and untrue. I personally know five sets of these parents. If any who have accused them of being unloving and irresponsible lived by them for several months, they would know that nothing is further from the truth. Unfortunately, many judge the character of God by the actions of his children, too.

The greatest tragedy of this incident is not the trespassing or the vandalism (which the youths spotlighted did not commit), but the feelings of self-righeousness [righteousness] and bitterness that have surfaced in the community.

Good parents have been attacked repeatedly, youths have been told they deserve unlawful and immoral treatment, a public servant has been condemned for uploading the rights of the property owners, and a newspaper that has tried hard to help parents protect other people’s children from experiencing similar terror and injustices has been criticized with explosive emotionalism.

When times are hard, the people show their true character. Let’s learn from this and humble ourselves so that future times find us united in brotherly love and upholding the sacred rights God gave us and we are blessed enough to have protected under the laws of our great land.

April Anderson
Amalga

Trespass raises question of values

To the editor:
I moved from California to Logan because I love the area and the values seemed better here. But I was troubled by the incident at St. Anne’s.

The caretakers seem to be the only ones who really learned something from the whole thing. They are being punished and they sure won’t do anything like it again. But what about the kids or their parents?

The kids and parents have not come forward and offered to pay the owners for the damage that has been done by vandalism and breaking and entering at Saint Anne’s. And they have not offered to help in the repairs.

The damage may not have been done by those kids, but that is not my point. I think that paying for the damage and getting involved in the repairs would teach them to value others’ property and to take responsibility.

Richard Primbs
Logan

Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives, FOLK COLL 32

Reproduction for publication, exhibition, web display or commercial use is only permissible with the consent of the USU Libraries Special Collections and Archives, phone (435) 797-2663.

Utah State University Folklore in the news collection, 1973-2012, FOLK COLL 32

http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv04849

St. Anne's Retreat

http://digital.lib.usu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p16944coll20/id/37

SCAFOLK032Bx003Fd07Item0023.pdf

St. Anne’s reaction a lesson in itself

To the editor:
The era in which the constitution of our nation was formed was preceded by many abuses against individuals and their property. Because of this, the founding fathers created the Bill of Rights to help define what “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” entailed.

Article 10 deals with the rights of criminals and those accused of crimes. It states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Several forms of punishments a God-fearing people will always cry out against are: verbal assault (death threats), physical assault and sexual assault. They should not be tolerated even in a parent and child relationship.

I am saddened by the many letters that contend that tie youths who trespassed at St. Anne’s were not entitled to the respect that is due all men, regardless of their crime, because of the sanctity of life which is given at God’s hand. Many have justified their feelings by expressing loyalty to the rights of property owners.”

Let’s remember that the property owners exercised their rights. They pardoned the youths on the grounds of the treatment they had received. I applaud this compassionate attitude. We, as a people, claim that an individual does not have to be tried twice for the same crime. These youths were tried, convicted and punished by individuals, not by a judge and jury; another crime against the form of government we uphold.

Judgements against the parents have been unfair and untrue. I personally know five sets of these parents. If any who have accused them of being unloving and irresponsible lived by them for several months, they would know that nothing is further from the truth. Unfortunately, many judge the character of God by the actions of his children, too.

The greatest tragedy of this incident is not the trespassing or the vandalism (which the youths spotlighted did not commit), but the feelings of self-righeousness [righteousness] and bitterness that have surfaced in the community.

Good parents have been attacked repeatedly, youths have been told they deserve unlawful and immoral treatment, a public servant has been condemned for uploading the rights of the property owners, and a newspaper that has tried hard to help parents protect other people’s children from experiencing similar terror and injustices has been criticized with explosive emotionalism.

When times are hard, the people show their true character. Let’s learn from this and humble ourselves so that future times find us united in brotherly love and upholding the sacred rights God gave us and we are blessed enough to have protected under the laws of our great land.

April Anderson
Amalga

Trespass raises question of values

To the editor:
I moved from California to Logan because I love the area and the values seemed better here. But I was troubled by the incident at St. Anne’s.

The caretakers seem to be the only ones who really learned something from the whole thing. They are being punished and they sure won’t do anything like it again. But what about the kids or their parents?

The kids and parents have not come forward and offered to pay the owners for the damage that has been done by vandalism and breaking and entering at Saint Anne’s. And they have not offered to help in the repairs.

The damage may not have been done by those kids, but that is not my point. I think that paying for the damage and getting involved in the repairs would teach them to value others’ property and to take responsibility.

Richard Primbs
Logan