RE: "I, Rapist?" [I, Anonymous, Nov 14], in which a "kinky" encounter turns bad when a man doesn't ask for consent prior to having sex with his sleeping date.
DEAR RAPIST—What the hell were you thinking? While many Portland hotties love on the kink, consent + kink = the WIN. Kink has two major requirements: (1) establish a safe word, and (2) establish boundaries. No good kinkster can get their whip/cuffs/gagging/spanking/etc. on without these. You can't enter a sleeping woman's hot pootang on a third date or even 15 years into a relationship without first getting conscious consent, such as, "Hey baby I'd love to stir you from your dreams by slowly fucking your brains out... maybe I could do that tomorrow morning?" To which the response might be, "Baby, what a great idea! I'd love to wake up to some hot cock. Can I peg you afterward?" Shit fool, WTF were you thinking?! It's good you're apologizing because you messed up big time. You should consider yourself lucky you've only lost a friend.
-Mistress Belladonna
Does this guy really believe that sharing kinks with someone means it's okay to fuck her WHILE SHE'S ASLEEP? And then he hold her down and keeps fucking her after she wakes up and TELLS HIM TO STOP? Sorry—Republican congressmen notwithstanding—no means no and rape is rape.
-Sue
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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN—The bus stop at SE 12th and Hawthorne is the BEST in the city. Not only is it sheltered and labeled with its stop ID, Burgerville plays music just for the bus stop (Smokin' Oldies: Thank you, Burgerville!) and it smells like hash browns in the morning. It's also catty-corner to all the food carts in case you get hungry during your bus wait. Thank you, bus stop at 12th and Hawthorne! You make my commute that much sweeter.
-Anonymous
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RE: "Barnyard Butchery" [Food Issue, Nov 14], in which Food Editor Chris Onstad describes taking a pig-head butchery class taught by Camas Davis of the Portland Meat Collective.
Let me start off by saying that I eat meat. Let me add that I don't think that working in the meat department at a grocery store makes you a bad person by any stretch of the imagination. If my neighbor prides himself on BBQ ribs, more power to him (and pass the coleslaw). I have known many fishermen, but none made a fetish of the entrails.
At the same time, making a fetish of stripping the meat from a pig's head as art, entertainment, and as a public act is just plain creepy. Not dissimilar from [Camas Davis'] public butchering of animals widely considered as pets.
There is something a bit off about this story, perhaps a whiff of sadism. Good luck with that.
-posted by Oregon Mamacita
[EDITOR'S NOTE: The teacher of this class, Camas Davis, had a great, thoughtful response to this comment. Check it out in the comment section of this story.]
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RE: "Parking the Problem" [News, Nov 14], in which the city okays big residential buildings to be developed without parking—and neighbors get MAD.
Forcing developers to provide parking adds to the cost of development. That may mean "excess profits" for developers in the short term, but once the rental market drops, landlords who don't have to cover the debt service on parking spaces will be able to lower their rents and stay competitive, whereas developers forced to pay for mandated parking will lose out.
Also, where in a homeowner's title deed does it say that their house comes with a free space to park their personal car in the public right of way?!? If demand for on-street parking starts to exceed supply in our neighborhoods, the city should manage the situation with permits and meters. HOWEVER, at least part of the resulting revenue should be returned to all residents of the neighborhood—even those who choose not to own cars—in the form of neighborhood enhancements.
-posted by Steve G
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RE: Portland as Fuck [Nov 14], in which column author Ian Karmel advises both motorists and cyclists to employ empathy while on the road.
You're missing the most important point: one cyclist isn't every cyclist and one motorist isn't every motorist. Don't drift uncomfortably close to every cyclist just because you saw one run a red light three months ago. Don't ride down the middle of single-lane streets knowing that there are cars behind you in retaliation for the friend of a friend that got hit last year. Remember that there are dumbasses using every mode of transportation, and more importantly, that not everyone using a particular mode of transportation is a self-entitled asshole. Or maybe we all are.
-posted by Aestro
CONGRATS AESTRO! For being even more empathetic than the hilarious Ian Karmel—check out Karmel's new column Portland as Fuck on the comics page, BTW—you win two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater... where they care about how you care about movies. They really care!
