IT’S THE LAW

DEAR MERCURY—Portland’s Municipal Code has an existing
law that governs the renaming of streets [“Overlooking Overlook,” News,
Oct 18]. When the City Council changed the street names to Naito
Parkway and Rosa Parks Way they waived the provisions of 17.93, except
for the last provision, “17.93.060, Implementation.” If the City
Council does not follow the intent of a law, who should?

Anonymous

RACISM ALERT!

DEAR EDITOR—Gosh, I must be one of those “Hebrewean
boy-babies” Lindy West referred to in her offensive, poorly-written,
and demeaning piece, “Your Children Are Racists” [Film, Oct 18]. All I
can do is hope that advertisers will see it and realize that your
publication is probably not the right venue to promote their
products.

Paul A. Greenberg

I HATE ME

DEAR MERCURY—I normally quite enjoy your
rag—especially since it routinely lampoons WW and its
annoyingly smug tone… but DUDES [“Our Town,” Feature, Oct 18]!!!!
Let’s face it, our fashion community is a lot like our “happening”
restaurant scene: mediocre at best, uninspired, and based largely on
hype. And here I thought you left self-congratulatory pretentiousness
to the OTHER rags in town—and accepted us for the backwater of
frumpy dressing and dull dining that we are.

Melinda Piette

MADDENING MAO

DEAR MERCURY—So I was in China, right? I bought a crap
load of these great canvas bags… with Chairman Mao on them
[“Accessorize with Bad Guys,” I, Anonymous, Oct 4]. Now, I’ve read a
book on Chinese history directly regarding Mao. And, yes, I can’t
escape the fact that Chairman Mao was “the Hitler of China.” I’m saying
I KNOW THIS. I thought the bag represented the irony at play. The
Chinese don’t dwell on starvation or “rehabilitation” in the fields.
They erect statues of him! Why dwell on the past? I mean, they put him on bags, people. Yet I will be accused of being an ignorant
sod. But Mao’s skin would probably CRAWL, knowing we foreigners had
reduced him to a label—a fashionable tidbit whose history teenage
girls know nothing about.

Molly Johnson

NO ACCIDENT

DEAR MERCURY—One of the things we do know is that there
are very few true traffic “accidents” [“Start Seeing Bikes,” News, Oct
18]. Most of the “crashes” that result in injuries or fatalities to
cyclists are the result of an unsafe decision/action by the driver of
the vehicle or the operator of the bicycle. Please stop using the word
“accidents” in your reports. I am in awe of the work that has been done
in Portland over the years and was privileged to ride your streets in
2003. Keep up the good work and maybe we can avoid more crashes of all
types.

Preston Tyree, Director, Education, League of American
Bicyclists

LAW-BREAKING BIKES

DEAR MERCURY—I do see bikes [“Start Seeing Bikes,”
News, Oct 18]. My issue, though, is that they don’t see cars. I see
cyclists on the street until it is more convenient to be on the
sidewalk. Then I hear them complain that I, as a driver, do not share
the road. I have never seen a cop ticket a bicyclist for running
a red light or a stop sign, for going the wrong way down a one way
street, for swerving around cars in traffic. I want to see more
accountability laid on the riders and less vilification of people
driving cars in this circumstance.

Scott Jones

THIS IS SERIOUS

DEAR MERCURY—As a cyclist and a driver, I get angry
when I see bikers riding at night wearing dark clothing and, sometimes,
not even a red blinking taillight. Though I know the recent
accident at 14th and W Burnside happened in daylight, it seems as
though if we want drivers to take us seriously, we need to start taking
ourselves seriously [“Start Seeing Bikes,” News, Oct 18]. If a car was
driving around at night without headlights, it would be creating a
hazard. The same goes for bikes.

Brian

CONGRATULATIONS TO BRIAN for reminding bicyclists to ride with
lights. Let’s be safe out there, people! Brian wins the Mercury
letter of the week along with tickets to the Laurelhurst and lunch
at No Fish! Go Fish!, where you will see and be seen.