Editor:
I am writing about the preview for the 4th Annual Synergy Fair that your journalist Emily Hobelmann wrote up (“Synergasm,” Nov. 13). The preview was written up in a way that made me think that the writer did not take the event seriously. I think the preview was sarcastic, “tongue-in-cheek” stereotyping and had a negative tone to it. I certainly did not get a sense that the preview was intended to be helpful in inspiring people to come to this event. I’m sure that many people connected with the event, as well as attendees, were offended by the preview. The preview actually makes me wonder if Emily Hobelmann herself is one of the “holistic haters” that she mentions in the article. If so, she probably wasn’t the best choice to write up the preview.
Humboldt County has a very large population of people who appreciate and take serious the types of things represented by the Synergy Fair. Caroline Snow has worked very hard to create it, and does not deserve to have it written about in such a flippant manner. I hope your publication will take care to be more respectful in the future. I hope that people who have not yet attended the fair will check it out next year so that they too can “bathe in the light of healing goodness!”
— Dana Quillman, Arcata
Editor:
It was with real sadness that I read the belittling entry titled “Synergasm” in your Calendar section prior to this year’s Synergy Fair.
At a time when “health care” in this nation is on its knees, why would Journal editors permit a mean-spirited, sarcastic, counter-productive article that ridicules not only the Synergy Fair but the 50 businesses who offer low-cost samplings of alternative healing? The Synergy Fair is a service to all of us, the invention of one forward-thinking young person in our community, Caroline Snow. Each year that she boldly rents the Community Center and commences the months of preparation that go into creating the Synergy Fair, I am amazed by her commitment, courage and generosity.
Is this town so flush, that we can afford to have one of our newspapers undermine the most important, annual showcase for so many of our local businesses? Why did you give a reporter who still thinks Ayurvedic healing is something new and ridiculous a whole extra box to showcase her ignorance? I hope that you will “do your homework” next year and find out what a unique event the Synergy Fair is. Prior to that, however, I hope you will do an article on the Synergy Fair and on our local healers that reveals what a unique wealth of opportunities we are privileged to have right here in Humboldt County.
— Joan Dunning, Bayside
Sweet Spot: Close call, but Joan Dunning wins a Bon Boniere sundae for sending our favorite letter of the week.
This article appears in Black Friday.
"Ayurvedic healing" may not be "new" but it certainly is ridiculous to insist that we take seriously an ancient Hindu superstition complete with "cosmic energy" and "canals" that carry prana." Indeed, in a time of economic crisis it’s both cruel and stupid to insist that quackery be taken seriously by those who are truly suffering. But perhaps the quacks come out of the woodwork when times are tough.
The real question is: is this town so flush that we can throw a fair for quacks when our medical professionals are underpaid, overbooked?
Kudos to your reporter for pointing this out.