A Petty, Fake State...

My father read this Letter to the Editor to me from the Salt Lake Tribune Today. This lady is right on:

" It was with great interest I finally read about the 2002 Winter Olympics and the Greek Orthodox community of the Greater Salt Lake Valley (Tribune, Jan. 2). No matter how Mitt Romney and the Mormons, excuse me, I guess they prefer to be called Latter-day Saints now, make it out to be, unfortunately there's no way getting around "The Mormon Olympics!"

It was with great pride in our heritage our choir submitted our name to "audition" for the Olympics. We recognize the Mormon Tabernacle Choir as the "Olympic Choir." We just felt with our community being one of the largest Greek communities west of the Mississippi, it would be a great honor for the community choirs of Salt Lake City, Ogden and Price to join together to sing the Greek national anthem at the Opening Ceremony. We all watched in awe and excitement when this was done in Sydney and thought, what a great opportunity for us. I can't understand how one little song could take "that" much away from "The Olympic Choir." Unfortunately, we all know who rules the roost in Salt Lake City.

ANDREA K. ORTON
Salt Lake City "

Yeah, don't be involved in the Olympics for anything other than a goddamned food-booth where you can sell jai-rows (gyros) to the white folk who can afford to buy the tickets to the games... why the hell would we want anyone to remember the fact that the Greeks were right behind the LDS settlers and helped found this land on THEIR backs just as much and the Mormons did... Forget the fact that the Greeks helped build and mine in the coal pits and the copper mines (and who ended up dying for the cause)... Forget the fact that the Greek Orthodox church was one of the first churches built in the valley... Forget the fact that most Greeks were forced to drop their ethnic names because the wonderfully open-minded Mormon settlers didn't trust them and wouldn't offer common trade because of it, leaving families to either abandon their family-given names or starve (which is what happened to my Great-Grandfather)... Forget the fact that the choir speaks the native language the Greek National Anthem is written in... Let's not have any Greek involvement in a proud tradition the GREEKS started... IN GREECE...

Oh, but sell your gyros, because the state needs the revenue to pay for the Mo's Games.

You know what, I forgot, they allowed us to have an Official Olympic Pin. Right next to the Ice Cream and Green freakin' Jell-o pins. How ethnic. I think I feel warm inside.