Angry? Irritated? Upset? Bottling up your emotions can turn you into an unpleasant person. Nobody likes that. Instead of waiting to explode, channel your aggression into a slow burn. Elevating angry opinions to a rant is cathartic and more digestible than the subtleties of passive-aggression. Don’t know where to start? Take a tip from some locals who know how to say exactly what they mean.
Art for who?
“Two of Toledo's major art "institutions", the Toledo Museum of Art and the Toledo Arts Commission are in the process of systematically taking away the opportunities that Toledo artists have always had before. The Toledo Museum of Art has now greatly increased the traditional area for the Toledo Area Art Exhibition to include major cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, etc., which has greatly reduced the number of accepted Toledo Area artists. The 2014 TAA show has only two local female artists and 9 local male artists (to add insult to injury, most of the selected male artists were museum insiders and people with museum connections.) In the 2013 TAA show there were roughly 76 area artists included, and the majority were women. ALL the prize money went out of the city of Toledo in 2014, none of the Toledo area artists won any of the monetary awards! This is offensive and insulting and should not be tolerated.
The Arts Commission's Parkwood Gallery is now closed for Toledo area artists. In the past, there were continual rotating three-person shows throughout the year which provided a tremendous opportunity for exposure and to make sales of their artwork. Also, in the past, the Arts Commission's major fund raiser, The Mix, included artwork from 60-80 local artists. This Mix opportunity for artists, for the most part, has been taken away by the Arts Commission. The artists used to "mix" with art buyers at The Mix, now, that is mostly gone. Also, the one night of opportunity for artists to have their work exposed, during the Art Walks, Loops etc., the Art Commission has now taken the artists out of the loop. Artists used to be promoted in the Arts Commission Art Walk materials. In the past, artists names, along with the gallery where they were being shown, were displayed on all the maps, brochures, Facebook and their website. For the most part now, artists names are NOT included, so no one can know where any artist might be on the entire art walk.
Toledo has a long, rich artistic legacy that far exceeds its size, from Dominick Labino, to Edith Franklin, to Israel Abramofsky, etc. Toledoans should not put up with their arts institutions erasing their hard working, talented Toledo artists from their very own city. These "art" institutions should be embracing, nourishing, promoting and collaborating with its own local artists. It could be a win-win situation all around for the artists and the art institutions. It seems that now, since the local artists do not give these arts institutions any grant money, the local artists are being driven "out of the picture". In today's Toledo Museum of Art and the Toledo arts commision, money talks and the local artists are told to take a walk.
Penny Gentieu, Toledo
DIY Toledo
“I hear all the time that all the young people are leaving Toledo —because it's boring, because there aren't good jobs, because this town has no class. It's like saying, ‘I'm getting a divorce, because it's all his fault.’ Look in the mirror.
Toledo is as boring as you make it. If you want the next generation to live here, stay here, and enjoy it here, then make it a place worth living. Invest in the community —buy local, start a side business, support local higher education, mentor a high school student, hire an intern and pay them well, throw a company party, befriend a local restaurateur. Don't be the problem you see in the world.”
Joseph South, Curtis
Rivalry to be rivaled
You’d be hard-pressed to find a parent who displays someone else’s kids photos in their wallet. We love what is our own. As locals, we love the art museum, the zoo, Imagination Station, Packo’s, and our beloved Hens/Walleye. And right in our own backyard we have an incredible football rivalry that gets the cold shoulder every fall in favor of two schools that some feel are more important than UT and BGSU. Why does this passion for all things 419 not translate to college sports? Because OSU and UM are the official schools of each respective state? Please. Because they play in bigger stadiums? Hardly. We don’t make those arguments when it comes to the Tigers and Mud Hens; we find ways to appreciate both, and we sure do pack Fifth Third Field regularly. It’s OK to have an interest in that other “big game” involving Ann Arbor and Columbus, but our “Battle of I-75” needs to come first. As Northwest Ohioans, let’s embrace what is our own and take pride in a rivalry that deserves every bit of media attention and fan interest as the other teams —and remember, the Rockets and Falcons each have schedule cards that fit perfectly in our wallets.
Tom Konecny, Toledo
Lights out
“People… we do NOT have a street fairy that will take down your Christmas lights or pick up the brush and sticks that you leave in the street. It's May… time to get your Christmas lights down and read the township news to see when the next brush pickup will be. PS: It's 9/15/15 so get your crap out of the street!”
Patti Gardner, Sylvania
“When people post pictures of ultrasounds or newborn babies, and potholes, and when you tell the cashier you don't need a bag, to which she replies: "are you sure?!’”
Suze Mitchell, Kent
Waiting for better
“As much as I love this city, something about the ‘You Will Do Better in Toledo’ campaign rubs me the wrong way. Toledo hasn't been better for my immediate family —all five of whom have moved away in the last ten years. It hasn't been better for the communities I work in that have been devastated by poverty. It wasn't better for my ex who overdosed, and it wasn't better for my best friend who was shot to death. Sometimes I think that the people promoting this campaign don't have people like my friends and family in mind —and sometimes I think that's the real problem in this town.”
Sean Nestor, Toledo
To be seen
“My rant would be what happened to Toledo's original music scene? All you see or hear about anymore are cover bands with very little creativity. What's influencing talented local musicians to become such hacks?”
Eric Lazarus, Toledo
Bad Neighbor
“I've got a rant about my neighbor who has broken into multiple homes and vehicles, he has multiple warrants for his arrest. TPD is over there almost daily, however, he never answers the door so he is never arrested..”
Paul Wisner, Toledo
Poor treatment of others, there’s no excuse
“While visiting the Scene on the Green, put on by the Toledo’s Uptown Association, the security guards were removing homeless individuals from the public park. When I questioned the guards, they told me that they were ‘just doing their job’ and directed me to talk to the people hosting the event. I talked to a woman in charge (I believe she was affiliated with the Association) and she, repeatedly, rolled her eyes at me and said it was a private event. I said that I disagreed. The event was being held in a public space and the public had been invited! She said she directed for the homeless to be taken out of the park because they are apt to create problems. I said, ‘You know what? I am much more apt to cause a problem. I am like Jesus and have the temper of John the Baptist.’ So, was she going to throw me out, too? Then I was told that the homeless have bigger issues than being thrown out of a park. My reply is ‘yes they do, like being treated as if they are not human, which is exactly what you are doing’.
Later, another woman came up to me, said she worked with the Uptown Association and thanked me for bringing the situation to their attention. She told security to allow everyone into the park and helped to personally invite those that had been told to leave. I thanked her and she gave me a hug. My rant ends somewhat softly, but there you have it. “
Kelli Lee Mistry, Monroe
Road warriors
“What drives me nuts every single time? The jerks who clearly see the “move to one lane” sign and decide to pass everyone and then cut in. Who in the world do these asses think they are? And, WHO lets them in? Not me. First graders know not to cut and so do these idiots. If I could, I would ensure that no one ever lets them cut in and they can just sit for hours… w.a.i.t.i.n.g. They really piss me off.”
Kyle Cubbon, Spingfield