Dear Editor,
Feeling a little unsettled today because my “Veterans for Kamala” sign was removed from my front yard. So much for freedom of speech and my private property. With former President Trump’s open disrespect for veterans, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that someone felt empowered to violate my space.
However, I must confess that in 1960 when I was 9 years old, I took down a Nixon sign on Halloween. So, maybe I’m just the victim of an Alpine 9-year-old, or maybe someone acting like one.
Hugh Garrett, USAF, Retired
Alpine
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Last Thursday, the Brewster County Sheriff’s Department created a Facebook post about two high school students involved in a non-credible bomb threat that included their full names and mugshots. I imagine that the department, likely and understandably, sought to deter young people in the future from draining much-needed resources from actual threats and likely desired to promote the department’s hard work and efforts. What they did, however, was bring more hurt to our school community during an already extraordinarily sad and tender moment. I am grateful that the sheriff’s department responded swiftly and thoroughly to the threat, and that they eventually disabled comments on the post, yet many of the nearly 100 comments that had already been written in the almost three hours that the post was open were deeply disheartening. Many were ugly, and many crossed boundaries that became overly personal. Some even jokingly suggested violence against the students while apparently attempting to criticize the students’ alleged jokes of violence.
The Brewster County Sheriff’s Department needs to reconsider their social media policy, evaluating whether sharing mugshots actually serves our county, and especially assessing if allowing comments on such posts is beneficial to building community when there is no immediate threat that warrants the dissemination of such information. Comment sections rarely reflect the best of humanity; instead, they serve as spaces for people to share largely unhelpful and divisive thoughts, where they become environments of officially-sanctioned cyberbullying. Our society has moved away from such tools of public shaming, in part because they are inhumane and also because we lack evidence that they actually reduce recidivism. In our small towns, where we all know each other, the social consequences of allegedly committing unwanted acts are already great enough. They are woven into the fabric of our day-to-day lives.
The courts have ruled that the comment sections on pages of public departments and officials are considered public fora and the comments therein are, therefore, protected under the First Amendment. However, the courts have also ruled that those same offices have the power and discretion about what they share and to disable all comments altogether. Many people defend the continued importance of publishing mugshots on social media and keeping comments open, as they argue that doing so ensures transparency of law enforcement and government offices and allows easy avenues for citizens to share pertinent information that could be useful to investigations. However, the result of last Thursday’s post – as well as similar ones that share mugshots where there is no immediate danger – was to feed the public’s voyeuristic desire for salacious gossip in the hopes of bolstering Sheriff Dodson’s re-election campaign.
Public offices do not need to be content creators, and they do not need to generate clickbait. They need to share information that will keep us safe, support a sense of belonging and move our communities forward. I hope that the sheriff’s department will re-examine how they use mugshots in the future on their social media page and their decision to leave comments open, and I hope that the public will reflect whether or not that comment they want to post is necessary to building and supporting the safety and humanity of our community.
Klara Aizupitis
Terlingua
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Dear Editor,
Thank you for telling the story of the “Ballad of H.E. Dupuy.” It brought back memories for myself and others about the early days in Presidio. I was six years old in 1959, but remember very clearly seeing Mr. Dupuy’s blue car on the side of the road in front of our house immediately after he was shot.
Thanks for the memories. It’s why I subscribe to The Sentinel.
Jeff Bradford
San Jose, California
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The economy is booming. Tourists flock to the BB region. When adjusted for inflation, gas is the same price as in 1961 when I first visited here. Look at the parking lots, full, and the RVs keep rolling.
Inflation is not “spiraling out of control.” If it were, food baskets would not be full. This is the 21st century, all prices seem high. Our economy is huge. Our citizens will continue to make adventure and live the good life I am grateful to share with you.
Robert Schmitt
Alpine
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To the Editor:
On behalf of The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati, I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone who made Chinati Weekend 2024 so special. Implicit in and fundamental to Donald Judd’s vision for Chinati was the creation of something more than a singular community; he invited many interconnected communities of artists and friends to participate. Chinati Weekend is a time for these communities, both local and international, to come together in celebration of Judd’s ideas. Thank you for being among these friends and supporters.
Thank you to the artists who participated in the 37th Annual Chinati Weekend: Zoe Leonard, whose exhibition Al río / To the River is on view through June 2025; Artist in Residence Willie Binnie; performers Kim Gordon, Guadalupe Rosales of Veteranas & Rucas, Ashley Evans of Quecholatanrica, and Mateo Galindo and Jon Lujan of PROXYGENTE; and program participants Lynne Cooke, Natalie Diaz and Dolores Dorantes for their thinking, conversations and readings. I also want to thank the individuals and teams who supported these artists in their efforts: Salar Rajabnik; Jocelyn Davis; and Anders Bergstrom, Jennifer Grimyser, Kat Hamrock, Randy Kennedy and Tiffany Wang of Hauser & Wirth.
Thank you to Kathleen Irvin Loughlin and Christopher Loughlin, Celeste and Anthony Meier, Lisa and John Runyon, and Rod and Nancy Sanders as well at Chinati’s Director’s Circle for their generous support of Al río / To the River. And a special thank you to Joey Benton and the SILLA team for their contributions to exhibition design; Matt Scobey for his work as an exhibition preparator; Ben Esquival and 360 Art Services of Houston; and The Menil Collection.
Chinati Weekend 2024 was supported by our wonderful Board of Trustees: Douglas Baxter, Gabe Catone, Lee Baumann Cohn, J. Patrick Collins, Chad Dayton, Miguel Fernandez, Mack Fowler, Franck Giraud, Sam Hamilton, George Kelly, Courtney J. Martin, Anthony Meier, Noelle M. Reed, Annabelle Selldorf, Sir Nicholas Serota, Richard Shiff, Neil Subin, José Noé Suro, and Steven Volpe. Additional support was provided by Maestro Dobel, RG | NY, Aesop, Ben E. Keith, and Glazer’s Beer & Beverage. Chinati Weekend programming, in particular, was made possible with support from the the City of Marfa, the Marfa Chamber of Commerce and Texas Commission on the Arts.
Chinati would like to extend a special thanks to Marfa residents Brian Espinoza and Hannah and Michael Serva for their warm hospitality and excellent food. Thank you to Rob Crowley, Tim Crowley, Monika Bernstein, INDUSTRIHAUS, Cactus Liquors, Para Llevar, Rene Vergara of CS Limousines and Saint George Hall for supporting events with your time and service throughout the weekend. And thank you to Jeanhee Yu, MarfaMUST, and all of the local artists who welcomed visitors to your studios throughout the weekend.
Chinati is grateful for the ongoing support of our members and friends, along with the contributions of the people of Marfa and Far West Texas. Thank you to Fatima Anaza, Silvia Bueno, Joe Cashiola, Eliana Catano, Gabriel Chavarria, Jennifer Conners, Lorrinda Corrio, Alberto De Leon, Mo Eldridge, Jennifer Elsner, Janet Enriquez, Julie Fisher, Naomi Francis, Nancy Francis, Jess Garrett, Faith Gay, Rachel Gomez, Ginger Griffice, Quin Chaiken Hamilton, Audrey Herrera, Griselda Hinojos, Jocelyn Jerrils, Tim Johnson, Lauren King, Roxye Lara, Claire Lindsay-McGinn, Barbara Love, Sarah Madero, Brooks Marginot, Alex Marks, Adeline Marquez, Socorro Mena, Dylan McShan, Antonio Munez, Zulema Munoz, Linda Ojeda, Curtis Pittman, Sara Pittman, Gigi Portillo, Melia Ramirez, Simone Ross, Simone Rubi, Sam Salazar, Citlalli Sanchez, Ivan Serdar, Meche Muñoz Silva, Sierra Slaughter, Mayra Torres, Mia Valentini, Angie Valgiusti, Sarah Vasquez, and JoAnn Williams for your significant participation. And a sincere thank you to Rainer Judd, Flavin Judd, Richard Griggs, and the entire staff at Judd Foundation for their support of the weekend.
Chinati’s educational and public programming is supported with generous grants from the Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation, Humanities Texas, Milton & Sally Avery Arts Fund, Prentice Farrar Brown and Alline Ford Foundation, Pulitzer Foundation, Rea Charitable Trust, Ruth Stanton Foundation, Start Small Foundation, Still Water Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, The Brown Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, The Donald and Carole Chaiken Foundation, The George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, The Permian Basin Area Foundation, The Sarofim Foundation, Union Pacific Foundation, and Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust.
Caring for and sharing Chinati would not be possible without the contributions of our staff, who work hard all year and who worked incredibly hard to make this weekend happen. Many thanks to our exceptional visitor services staff, docents, and guards: Angela Aguilera, Norma Ruacho Avila, Janelle Borsberry, Karina Cantens, Shea Carley, Mark Cash, Kathie Compton, Caroline Crawley, Elizabeth Davis, Candy Dominguez, Janet Enriquez, Susan Flusche, Nancy Francis, Naomi Francis, J.D. Garcia, Anahi Garcia, Kyp Hinojos, Christine Jackson, Alex Kamelhair, Clarissa Lloyd, Kat McKenna, Suzanne McLeod, Annette Mendoza, Linda Ojeda, Dillon Orr, Rory Parks, Janelley Pereira, Curtis Pittman, Sara Pittman, Citlalli Sanchez, Arturo Daniel Santos, Vianney Sylvana Santos, Ben Shurley, Julio Soto, Prepney Torres, Stacey Tucker, Janayah Villa, Victoria Villareal, and Amy White.
Thank you to our terrific interns: Melissa Gardner, Haley Levin, and Joy Smythe-Macaulay. And thank you to my supportive and hard-working colleagues: Tobin Becker, Julie Bernal, Luci Bockelie, Julie Carey, Sylvana Diaz, Rowdy Dugan, Malinda Galindo, Regina Gutierrez, Pearl Hesselden, Robert Lara, Miguel Leyva, Hannah Marshall, Stephen Martin, Sam Riehl, Michael Roch, Jen Rowles, Logan Smith, and Shelley Smith. Congratulations to Sandra Hinojos, who celebrates a remarkable 30 years at Chinati.
We look forward to welcoming you back soon.
With appreciation,
Caitlin Murray, Director
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Dear Editor,
I am writing to thank the incredible group of folks who made screening Zurawski v Texas in Marfa and Alpine possible –– Maryam Amiryani, Hilary Scruggs Beebe, David Beebe, Mo Eldridge, Susan Hays, Nicki Ittner, Lisa Kettyle, Hillary Pierce, Tina Rivera, Julia Roland, Marjie Scott, Brett Scott, Dedie Taylor and Nick Terry. I was proud and honored to share this film with my home community.
As two Texas women and journalists, Abbie Perrault and I set out to understand what abortion bans mean in practice. What we found was devastating –– women in Texas were being denied access to abortions, even when their lives were at stake.
We hope this film challenges preconceived notions about abortion and that above all else it makes the argument that abortion should be non-partisan and treated like all other healthcare. If you didn’t get to see the film this past weekend, stay tuned for upcoming opportunities to watch it.
All my best,
Maisie Crow
Marfa