"ZEITGEIST" PROBLEMS
RE: Portland's inability to select seasonally appropriate headwear, which may or may not indicate the defining spirit of this city's current point in history.
DEAR MERCURY—Agh! I'm getting fed up with the lack of, or confusing, zeitgeist of Portland right now. If the zeitgeist of Portland is people wearing beanies in 90-degree weather, I'm confused and slightly revolted. Beanies are meant to keep your head warm, and there's no blocking of the sun. It makes you look like an idiot.
Rebecca
THE BLUE DEMONS
RE: The recent Blue Angels show, and its attendance.
DEAR EDITOR—As a visitor to Portland, I was saddened to see "liberal" area residents spending their hard-earned dollars to celebrate the arrival of those flying demons of death, the Blue Angels. When will people connect the dots between our lack of funds for social services, infrastructure, and education with the $598.5 billion arms budget, which brings terror to our shores while sowing chaos abroad?
Harry S. Pariser
PROTRACTED DISPUTE
RE: "High Rises, Low Standards" [News, July 22] concerning the complaints being lodged by workers striking against the Vancouver-based construction firm Instafab—as well as an extended back and forth between boss Bruce Perkins and worker Laramie Lexow in the story's comments.
There are probably valid points on both sides of the situation, but as typically happens, the pro-union voices are taken at higher face value than the business owner's, and most people take the little guys' side in this. Sounds like there are still areas for improvement, and hopefully this whole situation/article will lead the company to focus more on that and address any legit grievances. Unions often play a good and critical role in our economy, but people need to also realize that union tactics are often geared at sensational claims aimed at rallying new members.
Posted by JTR
I love how business owners interpret the word "freedom" as a right to exploit workers. Take away the checks and balances that are in place and see what happens to freedom. Just ask a Chinese factory worker. A corporation or business owner has no moral obligation to anything other than itself or shareholders.
Posted by Ten Red
Bruce—I have read the article and all of the comments and I am still unsure why you wouldn't meet with the strikers? You are very condescending and argumentative and it seems you have not spent much time with any of the employees outside of your leadership crew. As an outsider looking in, you don't appear to have any respect for the men who work hard to keep your shop going. Respect always starts from the top and trickles down. Your workforce is a product of what you have created. I wish you luck and hope the best for a local business to thrive and prosper. And I wish the strikers luck and fortune to work for a company that treats them with respect.
Posted by Local worker
TRAFFIC STOPPING
RE: "Art of the Pickup" [I, Anonymous, July 22], in which an aghast anonymous author wonders what men are thinking when accosting women walking alone from their cars.
Has this ever worked? I had a guy stop in the middle of Holgate to talk to me at a bus stop. I was like, "I'm married," and he still persisted! Did he expect me to be like, "Oh now that you've refused to move even though people are honking at you, and I'm asking you to leave—I'll get into your car, totally!"
Posted by Austin
TOTALLY! Austin, you win this week's Mercury Letter of the Week! That means you get two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater! If your spouse is unavailable, to join you, just drive around until you find someone you like the looks of and yell at them from the window—no need to park. We hear that works great!
DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
The article "Surplus Stores" [News, July 15] incorrectly stated that the Portland Development Commission (PDC) plans to put affordable housing on a city-owned lot at NE Alberta and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The PDC has no such plans.
