FOR THE RECORDS

HELLO—The story on Craig Moerer’s “record collection” has a little flaw [“The Record Collector,” Feature, Oct 14]. IT IS NOT A RECORD COLLECTION. It is an inventory listed on his web site recordsbymail.com. Next week: The World’s Largest Collection of Clothing from China—at TARGET!

-Collector of Dust, COD

MANCHESTER TEARS ARE THE BEST KIND OF TEARS

DEAR MERCURY—It makes complete sense that you would have a tiny column for James and two adoring one-page reviews for a couple of mediocre Scottish-Indie Rock Bands (Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian) [My, What A Busy Week!; “God Knows it’s True” and “This Is Just a Modern Rock Song,” Music, Oct 14]. The reason is that James and the Manchester Scene have always been vastly superior in passion and poetic edge to any American indie rock. On the other hand, Belle and Sebastian and TF pander to American indie audiences, they even imitate the soulless, insipid, jaded, cutesy style of American indie.

-Duck Duck

LIKE SO MUCH UNDERWEAR LINT

People will never tire of bitching, nor will the Mercury tire of clinging lovingly to the Mayor’s taint like so much underwear lint [“Take Your City and Shove It!” Feature, Oct 14].

-Posted by orgengine on portlandmercury.com

NO TO YES

If TriMet stopped pouring money into streetcars and the little-used MAX (relative to usable capacity) and focused on the buses that actually serve the people of Portland they wouldn’t be asking for more money [“Tax Attack!” News, Oct 14]. With the highest income tax in the nation, these measures are becoming incredibly burdensome to the average homeowner in this town. I’d like to see responsible use of the money I am already paying before I give more.

-Posted by BokChoy on portlandmercury.com

SOMEONE WHO’S NEVER SEEN HUMP!

DEAR MERCURY—I find it upsetting to see that a liberal news publication is encouraging the production of pornography [The HUMP! Amateur Porn Festival, Nov 12 & 13, Cinema 21]. I believe the publishers of the Mercury must fail to see how dangerous the production of pornography is. Encouraging folks to make pornography encourages the objectifying of individuals, namely females, and also encourages the spread of disease. These are things that liberal folks fight against, and I believe that this cause trumps the pleasure derived from irritating our conservative religious neighbors. 

-Lu

The Mercury responds: We were too busy watching Portland’s hot video submissions for HUMP! to respond to Lu’s email—so we opened it up to the commenters from Blogtown to set Lu straight (or in this case, “gay”). Here’s the best response from commenter “Lizbo.”

Lizbo responds: “I had a ball making porn for HUMP with my lady friends. Maybe Lu hasn’t thought of queer ladies making queer lady porn? Or heard of safer sex… or just thinks that porn (and sex in general) means two people and penetration? Get thee to SheBop and learn a thing or two about our own sexuality empowering the fairer sex. Porn is not necessarily a bummer for women (or men or everyone else in between)—it is actually pretty darn fun to make and watch.”

THANKS LIZBO, and as for you, Lu? We think you might change your tune if you actually came to a HUMP! screening and saw what it’s all about—but in case you don’t get tickets (on sale right now at portlandmercury.com), you can watch something else with two passes to the Laurelhurst Theater and lunch at No Fish! Go Fish!, where even blasphemers are served their loaves and fishes.

6 replies on “Letters to the Editor”

  3. Hello Portland Mercury (and “Lu”),

    I was a teenaged porn star. You can read how my career in porn ended when a Portland pornographer twice my age beat me to death on the eve of my retirement.

    “Mom says murdered daughter was lured into porn”
    http://www.komonews.com/news/local/9469032…

    Please bear with me, this is difficult to do from over here.

    Large companies have more stringent vetting than small ones because the more money involved means more to lose if t’s aren’t crossed and i’s aren’t dotted. But somehow people expect the opposite when it comes to porn because the fewer people involved, the more “organic” it supposedly is, even if it’s gang rape in a bathroom.
    Queer women (whither “lesbians”?) filming themselves for a contest is to mainstream porn as a free lemonade stand is to Wal-Mart. Neither stop the well-documented harms to the women inside, and at least Wal-Mart lemonade has to list the ingredients by legal decree.

    The Ghost of Emily Egan

  4. That’s a great point you’re implying, ghost. Bad things never happen to people unless they do porn! Emily Egan is the only person who’s ever been murdered, and it was totally because she did porn. Everyone who does porn gets beaten to death in a bathroom, sooner or later.

  5. I used to shoot porn. I wasn’t IN porn, I just shot it… and directed it… and got paid for it! Are men not also objectified? I think it takes more balls (no pun! no pun! ok, pun…) for men to do it, what with the flappy junk, odd tan lines, bright and shining brown star, horrible O-face, and of course ‘performance issues’. The girls just have to look like they’re having fun, and be reasonably attractive. That’s all. Hell, I’d rather be the objectified woman than the man, any day!

    If you want really bad porn, have people in it that are uncomfortable and don’t want to be there. No amount of acting can make it more attractive, it’s just trash if they aren’t enjoying it and having a ton of fun. Sex is fun, therefore porn should be fun, therefore people in porn should be having fun.

    I worked for a really small ‘company’ (it was a rich guy who wanted to be in porn- ok!), but we were very thorough, and paid well. There’s no reason for anyone on either side of the spectrum to put up with bullshit, or being ‘lured’, or abused, or any of that crap. If you’re a girl, be hot and have a good, safe, professional attitude, and you’ll get good, professional, safe jobs. Being a professional means doing your homework, and getting TESTED LIKE THE DEVIL. If someone doesn’t ask you for your AIM test, regardless of condoms, DO NOT work for them, because the others won’t be tested either. Also, don’t put up with anyone who tries to intimidate you for any reason. Porn is everywhere, there’s no need to put up with assholes.

    Enjoy yourselves!

  6. Molly, are you suggesting that Emily Egan wouldn’t have been beaten to death by a pornographer if she were hotter and/or had a better attitude? I’m not sure how else to interpret your advice that being a hot girl with a good attitude ensures safety.

    Raymond, I can’t think of any managers other than pimps who frequently attempt to murder or succeed in murdering employees who say “I quit.” However, everyday in the USA four women are murdered by their male sex partners, and 75% of those women are murdered in the act of trying to get away from their abusers.

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