Dear Ms. Doyle,
That's fine that you think about the problems that make men homeless. I do as well, since I spent time on the streets and have also worked in shelters and soup kitchens. My point, which you completely missed, is not everyone is big and strong as the man I was originally addressing, nor has the luxury of feeling safe when a large male is drunk or stoned and verbally and physically aggressive. Maybe you are big and strong. Good for you. But I deliberately used the word "petite," not "nubile" (and what, pray tell, compelled you to go there?) because I was trying to make a point that people who are small are sometimes afraid of people who are big for very good reasons. You apparently have never had this experience or you would have not written your letter. You basically proved my original point -- Portland is afflicted by "liberals" and "conservatives" who socialize primarily with people who echo their own opinions and who lack empathy and insight and regularly clash over the homeless because neither side is capable of completely formed thoughts. People who think complete thoughts take into account the problems that afflict the homeless, women in our society, business owners trying to cater to customers and police officers charged with doing society's dirty work. People who don't form complete thoughts just indulge in bashing. Your letter appears to indicate you're more interested in being my moral superior than in solving the problems that give rise to the hostility many businesses and workers in downtown Portland feel toward the homeless. So be it. You have a lot of company in this town. That's one of the reasons we can't come up with workable solutions that allow people to live in peace with each other, and why we'll continue to have more of these problems this coming summer.