HISTORY: BURY IT!
DEAR MERCURY—Portland Art Museum’s current exhibition, The Allure of the Automobile, sponsored by regional Lexus and BMW dealers, is an affront to the artistic integrity of the gallery’s mission, as souped-up automobiles do not and will never constitute fine art, which primarily includes painting and sculpture [“Alluring Automobiles,” Visual Art, June 30, regarding PAM’s exhibition of early 20th century rare luxury and race automobiles]. In addition, the display is a shameless celebration of car-culture, a component of contemporary society the artistic community should strive to depart from in favor of the promotion and celebration of an alternative and sustainable transportation paradigm in which pedestrian and bicycle traffic are given the utmost priority.
-Mark Abell
NO QUESTIONS ASKED
DEAR MR. [WM STEVE HUMPHREY—Pertaining to the letter to the editor you chose to print July 7 titled “Not Down With OPP” [Letters, July 7, in which a letter writer expresses doubt regarding gender reassignment surgery as the best course of treatment for Gender Identity Disorder patients], I have a few questions and concerns. Enough trans identified persons and health care professionals have testified to the validity of the disorder and the proper courses of treatment that neither the disorder itself nor the chosen treatments should be up for questioning in any serious debate conducted by lay persons. I wonder if I were to post a comment that being gay is a mental illness treatable with therapy or sissy camps if you would validate my assumptions by printing them, or are we at the point where such rhetoric is easily recognized as bigoted hate fueled verbal diarrhea? As a transman, what have I done to be viewed as a lesser being unworthy of dignity or your trust, and more importantly how may I correct your view of me?
-Luka
ALL DOLLED UP
I find this article very patronizing, negative, and condescending [“Uncanny Valley of the Dolls,” Feature, July 7, in which the Mercury visits BlytheCon 2011]. I think you will find you are able to purchase items in relation to ANY hobby. I think golf is a waste of time, yet my stepfather spends thousands of dollars a year on it and a whole lot of time. If a group of people who enjoy the same hobby got together, had a few coffees, had a good chat, and enjoyed each other’s company then good on them!
-Posted by eachtotheirown
DO IT YOURSELF
If you have such a big beef with the PDX police, why don’t you join up [“Nothing to Say But Sorry,” News, July 7, regarding a Portland police officer’s accidental firing of live rounds instead of beanbag rounds at a suspect]? Somebody should definitely investigate and report fuck-ups (especially this one), but your tone and almost obsessive need to report on the failings of police seem to indicate other motives. My impression is police departments do the best with what they can recruit.
-Posted by Tits Mcgee
THE BETRAYALS ONE MUST SUFFER
AAAAARG [“Set Phasers for Learn!” Theater, July 7, in which the Mercury provides a Star Trek primer in advance of Trek in the Park performances]! Ships don’t run on dilithium, they run on a matter-antimatter reaction, which the dilithium modulates. It’s like saying a fuel cell runs on platinum! No! It runs on HYDROGEN! Is there no end to the betrayals I must suffer at the hands of this benighted species?!?
-Posted by jamdox
WAY TO PUT a fine point on it, jamdox—Spock would approve of your logic. And so we offer you two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater and lunch for two at The Peoples’ Sandwich of Portland, who shall not betray nor benight you.
It’s not clear from Tits Mcgee’s letter why only the police should police and investigate themselves. That’s a major part of the problem we have in this city, and it’s the reason the City has worked to develop greater oversight. The problem is that they haven’t done nearly enough. This “impression” that the police are doing their best is based on what exactly? How do we know what’s going on when the Independent Police Review Division throws out most complaints of police misconduct?
@Geyser – From your response, I’m not sure you read his letter at all. He says the opposite of what you’re claiming he says: “Somebody should definitely investigate and report fuck-ups.” He does NOT say or imply that ‘only police should investigate police,’ as you claim.
His main point is – if you’re not happy with the job they’re doing, why don’t you go enlist? Do YOU want that job, for that salary? If you think you could do better than these guys, please do so! We always need good cops – go be one! He finishes by saying ‘police departments do the best they can with the people they can recruit.’
It says that if someone is concerned about police misconduct, then they should join the force so that they can report said misconduct. Saying, “join up” because “somebody should definitely investigate” implies that police are the ones who should investigate it. Otherwise, why would someone join the police force in order to do so? It assumes that there is no role in oversight for anyone outside the police. And even if good people joined the force, there would still be bad cops. I’m all for good people joining the force, obviously, but we’ve got to confront these problems in other ways. Responding to people concerned about questionable deaths in police custody, “Well, you go be a cop then!” isn’t constructive.
Mark Abell sounds like an asshole whereas Jamdox is awesome. Get bent Abell – since when do you get to decide what art is to anyone else but your sorry self?
Mark Abell, you sir are a dumbass.
I’m curious as to why The Mercury has decided to entitle Luka’s comment “No Questions Asked,” since he has clearly *invited* questions. Huh.
Furthermore, Luka has a point. ALL people deserve respect and dignity. Anyone who associates being trans with being mentally ill clearly doesn’t understand the issue.
I was disappointed (understatement) to see the July 7th letter, in which a gay man disparaged the trans community… whatever happened to united we stand, divided we fall?? To equal rights for LGBT?
I read an interview with Fassbinder once where he claimed there is no one in our society who isn’t mentally ill. It rang true.
I don’t understand the big deal about about calling tran a mental issue. It certainly isn’t a physical one, at least in the sense that all the plumbling seems to work just fine but just don’t want what’s there.
All dignity and respect to those, of course.
Dear Luka, First off, I don’t hate you or care about how you dress, talk, act or fuck.
Second, first you state very ‘matter of factly’ that transidentity disorder is indeed just that, a real life psychological disorder and that that fact is inarguable. Then you seem to imply that it is not a disorder and it is just like homosexuality, and that anyone who would refer to it as a disorder is a hateful bigot. Are you referring to the doctors or yourself?
Anyway, The real problem here is the sense of entitlement the man (I have no problem calling him that.) in the article had, to the point where he thought his insurance company should pay for his cosmetic surgery. 80% of the population has things they don’t like about their body but insurance companies are not responsible for giving everyone the body they desire. Just because you announce to the world “I’m trans! I have deep-seated psychological issues!” That doesn’t make you special. If you want to remove completely healthy parts of your body, that’s fine, but you have to foot the bill. Also, don’t call yourself mentally ill in order to get free surgery and then start yelling at other people for calling you mentally ill.
Mister Abell, you sir are a turd. First of all to hell with anyone who buys, or sells, or otherwise deals in the world of the BMW. Shame on you for placing sully on that with your tepid prescriptions as to what is and what is not art. You sir stink of the petite bourgeois, the sort of rotten fuckhead who is first to point and shout philistine when someone fails to fawn properly over your precious smears on a worthless canvas. And I’d hate to be the one to tell you this, sir, but an anemic hipster riding a fixed gear bike across town to score coke during the rush hour isn’t going to cure a single of our planet’s ills. Dummy.
Reasonablist,
I don’t see where I said anyone should foot the bill for my or anyone else’ surgeries. My point precisely was that the argument should stay on topic. If you want to argue healthcare and reform, fine. It’s something that affects all of us. But to argue a course of treatments, not their necessity, but whether or not they are valid or the scope and validity of the disorder itself is not up to the general public to decide. It’s for patients and doctors. Also, I never referred to myself or anyone in the GLBTQ community as mentally ill. So stop putting words in my mouth.
-Luka
I think there has been enough written on the subject of Elective Genetal Mutilation to call into question the entire practice itself.
“I think there has been enough written on the subject of Elective Genetal Mutilation to call into question the entire practice itself.”
Seriously! Wait, we’re talking about male circumcision here right?
That too…