To the editor:
Hunt Slonem, the new owner of Searles Castle, obviously has a very keen eye for certain things. Otherwise, he would not be such a renowned artist. But when it comes to other things, he is either totally blind or simply cares little about other human beings. As reported in The Edge and elsewhere, Mr. Slonem intends to make Searles, with its seven floors and 43 rooms, his private residence, adding to the five other mansions that he owns.
He loves the Berkshires. In an article in Berkshire Magazine he describes it as “soothing,” “uplifting,” and a “safe haven.” What he doesn’t understand is that for thousands of Berkshire residents, it is a very hard place to live because housing is so expensive, either to rent or buy.
The housing crisis is not new. It existed when I first moved to Great Barrington in 1973 and continues to this day. The only difference is that it has gotten worse. Given the lack of affordable housing, I find it in extremely bad taste that Mr. Slonem has decided to turn Searles into a single-family home. With his wealth, he could easily restore part of it as affordable housing and provide a handful of individuals and families with a soothing and uplifting home. But, unfortunately, there is even more that Mr. Slonem doesn’t see or care about.
We are living at the beginning of a climate crisis that threatens us with unthinkable catastrophes and maybe even extinction. The crisis has been brought about by our economic system, which has plundered our greatest benefactor, nature, for the purpose of private wealth and material progress. One of the worst plunderers is the extractive industries — oil, coal, gas, etc. — which are responsible for so much of the carbon in the atmosphere, which is heating up the earth so perilously.
We have to change the way we live. This means our economic system, but also our individual lives. For the sake of all of us and future generations, we can’t afford to heat and cool large homes where only one or a few people live. For Mr. Slonem to reside in a 43-room house by himself is environmentally terribly irresponsible.
I don’t know Mr. Slonem. He may be a nice person and prove to be a good neighbor. But he needs to wake up to certain realities that his artistic eye doesn’t see.
Mitch Gurfield
Alford
