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CounterPunch
November
16, 2002
An Open Letter to the National Council
of Women's Organizations on the Augusta Golf Club Campaign
by DON MONIAK
Dear NCWO,
I am a self-employed consultant and free-lance
writer who lives 20 miles from Augusta, GA in Aiken, SC. I have
also worked for non-profit environmental and social justice activist
groups for about 6 years. I have followed your campaign to pressure
the Augusta National Golf Club to allow women into the membership.
The entire issue has puzzled me for some time, so I have some
questions:
1. Have any other private clubs received
letters from NCWO similar to the one sent to the Augusta National?
2. Your original letter stated: "Our
member groups are very concerned that the nation's premier golf
event, the Masters, is hosted by a club that discriminates against
women by excluding them from membership."
a. Are you also aware that the club discriminates
against the commoners as well? How many non-millionaires or non-celebrities
wear a green jacket?
b. Which of your member groups originally
expressed concern about this issue? Were all of your member groups
solicited for their opinion as to the gravity of the issue and
whether pursuing it was a worthwhile cause?
c. What victory for women's rights will
derive from one or two multi- millionaire women (in all likelihood
white women) CEO's hobnobbing with the white male CEO's of Citigroup
or IBM?
3. Are you aware that the Augusta National
Golf Course was suffering from bad publicity on two fronts prior
to your campaign, and that one repercussion of your campaign
has been to stifle discussion on these issues as locals rally
around their landmark?
a. Mr. Hootie Johnson's letters to past
Masters champions revoking their lifetime privelege to participate
in the tournament. This was Arnold Palmer's last year, something
that did not go over well with his legion of fans, male and female
alike.
b. The Augusta National has systematically
purchased extensive tracts of land on the West Side of its boundary
in order to expand their territory. The Augusta Chronicle, in
a rare show of laudable investigative journalism, ran a Sunday
feature prior to your campaign. Their reporters described a club
acting with minimal respect to its long-time neighbors, one that
uses shadowy Limited Liability Company's to buy up land for resale
to Augusta National. From all indications these actions have
fragmented and demoralized a part of the community.
How can NCWO's concerns compare to these
other issues? How does NCWO feel about singlehandedly reversing
public opinions about Mr. Johnson and the club?
4. Another repercussion is providing
some cover to the world of CEO's. While Citigroup and its financial
con artist colleagues are under attack for abusing the market,
here comes NCWO with the opportunity for a dose of positive publicity.
Does this bother NCWO at all?
5. How many women are willing to protest
the Master's tournament next year?
If there is some bias in my tone, you
detected correctly. This issue is so trivial in the grand scale
of things and diverts attention from multitudes of other issues.
It appears to me, as a activist with media skills, that this
functions---inadvertently or intentionally---as a stunt to draw
attention to an organization that cannot make its primary issues
resonate with the public. It is also an example of lame duck
activism, akin to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton taking umbrage
at the dialogue in Barber Shop. It gets publicity, accomplishes
nothing of value, and generally just provokes the regressive
faction of the Republican Party.
Feel free to post this letter on your
website if you are willing to answer it.
Sincerely,
Don Moniak
dmoniak@bellsouth.net
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