Old Complaints Get New Exposure

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

16 Jul 2006 02:07 PM

Have you ever written a letter of complaint to a company, newspaper, magazine, or politician? Did you get a response? If your letter had anything to do with a problem you experienced in New York decades ago, you may now find it displayed in an unusual museum (of sorts).

Several Big Apple newspapers are reporting that a local artist recently discovered letters from citizens documenting their concerns to New York's mayor. Or, I should say mayors, since the letters span several centuries-from 1751 to 1973. Matthew Bakkom combed the city's archives to unearth the letters and is now displaying them in what is being called, "The New York Museum of Complaint."

The "museum" is actually a newspaper being distributed in city parks. In it Bakkom reproduced dozens of the letters; some that date back to the 1700s. He says while the style of writing varies, all of them have one thing in common-a complaint.

"Some of them are on the verge of paranoia, others are on the verge of genius," Bakkom, told local reporters. "I tried to find letters that had a genuine voice of their own somehow. It's a bit like being a DJ, I suppose."

Bakkom gives much of the credit for his project to New York City, which he says, has meticulously preserved complaints from when the American colonies were under British rule. Bakkom discovered the archive while doing research on the city's history. When he stumbled upon the letters he felt "these disaffected voices from the past needed to be heard."

Here's a sample from Bakkom's first collection:

A letter written in 1900 by a disgruntled leader of the Citizens' Progressive League: "The only thing purely 'American' that I can find in New York City, after many years' search, is the abnormally developed spirit of money getting."

Another letter from 1935 seeks a change in the law so "that girls in the burlesque shows in New York would be allowed to display their charms without more interference of the police."

Which just goes to show-you never know where your letter of complaint may wind up. If it didn't garner an immediate response, wait a few years; it may end up in a museum.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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