USED AND ABUSED
DEAR MERCURY—I am both disabled AND homeless [“Holding Up the Mirror,” Hall Monitor, May 13]. In regard to the new sit-lie law, this is just one more affront to both the disabled community and the homeless community. Sam Adams the pseudo-liberal is vilely using the disabled to abuse the homeless. Stumptowners need to stop voting for these “liberal” sellouts and vote in some real true-blue leftists.
-Big TurQ
DIDN’T EVEN FINISH READING THE HEADLINE
DEAR MERCURY—The New Column! on May 6, “All Right Bitches, Who Wants a Beatin’? [by Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Wil Wheaton]” perpetuates the culture of violence against women that is prevalent in our community and throughout the US. It is yet another voice in the media that tells husbands to beat their wives, men to control their girlfriends, and guys to rape their classmates. It plays a role in the 21 murder-suicides in Portland since November that took the lives of women and children. Columns like these contribute to violence against women and promote the oppression that has resulted in the recent deaths.
-Karen K. Janes
LOVING US DESPITE OUR ACHIEVEMENTS
A LETTER TO HM. BEVIN STUMPHREY—Please stop reminding us own-horn-tootily that you were the first to break a story, or that someone was “exclusive” to you, or whatever. No one reads your paper because you post a blog entry 10 minutes before the Willamette Week or the Asian Reporter (or the Blasian Reporter, for that matter). To recap: As long as it’s reasonably close in time to the event, none of us give a shit precisely who “broke” what when, and it makes you sound weirdly competitive when you remind us. Just keep ladling out your delicious, rib-sticking snark, so we can get back to work calling each other Hitler in the comments.
-Commenty Colin
STEP UP! STRIP-OFF!
DEAR MERCURY—While I must grudgingly admit to agreeing with most of Taryn Johnson’s bad dance flick picks, I take all kinds of exception to her bald-faced hatred of exotic DANCERS [Employee Picks, May 13]. What we do IS dancing, much as you’d like to think otherwise. I hereby challenge Ms. Johnson to a strip-off. They say never judge someone ’til you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. I doubt she could so much as stand in mine.
-Sarah Hopper
BLAZERS FANS OF YESTERYEAR
The true Blazers fans of yesteryear are gone [“Ablaze,” I, Anonymous, May 13]. Gone and replaced by weak, fair-weather, pretentious fucks mostly interested in the potential for a free Chalupa (and the 30 grams of fat it guarantees) than anything else when attending a game. The Rose Garden (and/or any establishment/household televising games) more closely resembles a nursery than an arena these days. All Blazers fans do is constantly whine and complain: whine about injuries, complain about the refs, complain about the coaching, complain about the trainers. Did I mention complain about the refs? Oh, and the refs—they have it out for the Blazers, right? Jesus-fuck it’s annoying. I’m so sick of hearing from implants how great the Blazers fans are. I’ve been here long enough to know what they WERE like, but those days have long since passed. Cheers to I, Anon for the rant, but that’s just what I expect from the Blazers “fans” of today….
-posted by pdx4shame
CONGRATULATIONS TO PDX4SHAME for keeping the Blazers alive in our hearts and mind until their next return to the court, and for living long enough to tell the tales of the olden days. Until the games start again, you can entertain yourself with two tickets to the Laurelhurst and lunch at No Fish! Go Fish!
Karen K. Janes, if we are to the point in society that some harmless satire is influencing men to beat their wives, control their girlfriends, and rape their classmates, then we all need to fucking kill ourselves, because that sounds like a shittier world than the one I know. You may have had some men treat you badly, and that fucking sucks, but they aren’t all bad, regardless of what your man hating friends might tell you. So stop being so god damned uptight and learn to laugh a little. Otherwise you’ll live out the rest of your miserable life a bitter, unhappy bitch.
Maybe if the seats at the Rose Quarter were more affordable you’d see these fabled fans of yesteryear. I couldn’t afford a seat at the playoffs, but I was able to afford beers at the killer, packed house, Blazer bars of SE Portland. We’re still here, we just can’t afford playoff seats.
I like how the dancer in the “Step Up, Strip Off” letter pointedly did NOT challenge Taryn Johnson to a “dance off,” but rather to a “strip off.” I trust that even if, given the tone of the letter, the irony is lost on the letter writer herself, it’s not lost to the rest of us.
Mr. Wheaton was using the term ‘Bitches’ as a gender neutral term. If you’re going to be so literal, Miz K. Janes, then address the issue of female canines of puppy bearing age as victims of abuse. Or just stop reading altogether because you’re not doing it right. How about a picture book? Hm?
I can’t seem to find where I should post this….so it is going here.
Hall Monitor….
Mr Davis,
You will be missed! Yr off so quickly, it feels like maybe….in a huff? I can’t blame you if it was frustration over our nutty politics. Most of us can only imagine being knee deep in town hall so thank you for writing about it in a way that made me want to pay attention. You wrote many other articles, but I didn’t read Hall Monitor until you wrote it. I am sad to not see very many good-byes to you. I enjoyed your point of view.
I wish the best for you in your new adventures! You may not miss Portland, but hopefully the Mercury will miss you.