Feedback:Music article short on facts

Regarding “Store Sells Punk, Not Apologies,” it sounds to me that the title was there to offend people from the start. It then listed Johnny Rotten as a punk icon. Doesn’t Johnny Rotten have a show on VH-1 now? As for “denizens of seemingly unpunk Oak Harbor,” yes, I have a sense of humor for you referring to me as a denizen, but that just fans the fire of those who don’t see the humor in the songs.

Maybe the author is not aware that the members of one of punk’s more popular groups to date, “The Accused,” were educated right here in “unpunk Oak Harbor.” They were around before there was a Dave’s, or even a Joe’s Island Music. Could there be another evil music or instrument store on the island corrupting teenagers?

The articles describes “predominantly conservative Oak Harbor.” How many times are you going to tell the citizens how conservative they are? Don’t you think they know that?

The controversy cited was between a grandmother and grandchild. It had nothing to do with the store owner, the newspaper, or the local community.

The article didn’t even list the age of the grandchild. To me the grandchild could be a 16 year old boy with the new Janet Jackson album. To someone else it could have been a nine year old with Slipknot.

The oldest daughter of the household I live in came home with an album by the same band. There was a discussion with the mother about the lyrics, it didn’t go to the store owner, or make it into the newspaper.

My mother went cover to back and read the lyrics to the albums I bought, in the car on the way home from the store. My parents would listen to the lyrics and if they didn’t feel the message was appropriate they would make sure they let me know how they felt and that what the song was saying was not the way they were raising me. They didn’t take the albums away, they didn’t take it to the store, and it didn’t show up in the press. They didn’t need a parental advisory sticker.

What point is the article making? It lists punk music, Dave’s store, a problem between a grandmother and child, store policies, freedom of speech, apologies, and large chain stores vs. the local guy. Want to do a story on the Island punk scene? Great. One on Dave’s store? Great. Another on the freedom of speech? Wonderful. The article seems to have too many issues with few facts.

James (Ben) Robinson

Oak Harbor

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