X-tian Gunther

Man comes to Portland, man fails in Portland, man blames Portland for personal failures, man moves to city where he can change part of his name to a Roman numeral. Sounds like sour grapes to me.

Yep... You just proved his point: You're PRECISELY the kind of lazy, adolescent, malignant Portlander he's talking about. Always looking for an easy target to scapegoat, instead of admitting the truth about yourself and the mindset of your city, and doing what needs to be done.

Goodness me... Seattle can have him. As an artist who spent 15 of the last 17 years living in Seattle - I heard the same drum-beat Mr. Gunther pounded over and over during his city council run: we need to be a "world class city". These days that expression fills me with dread. In Seattle being world class meant knocking down any historical building that stood in the way of progress; or handing out sweetheart deals (at the expense of the community) to any multi-national that promised to install a few hundred toilets in town. Now Seattle's filled with an army of self-serving yuppies sipping $30 martinis and texting into their iPhones about how "relevant" and "world class" they are. (These same yuppies can be counted on to vote down any education or public transit measure that comes to ballot). News-flash to Mr. Gunther: the 18-year-olds steer the conversation in Seattle too - because they're rich doesn't mean that they've grown up. They've just figured out what part of their city's soul to cash in to become world-class.

Forgive my naivety... but Portland, on first blush, looks like one of the few cities in the country that forces corporations to do right by the community in which they hope to do business. If that drives away the Boeings, big pharmas and Microsofts of the world I would sooner attribute that to the character of those corporations than to the immaturity of the city.

So Mr. Gunther, try this: tell your new Seattle friends that you sold your car, got rid of your television, get around only by bike and mass transit, and only eat food you grow yourself. They'll look at you like you're a Martian. That's the real flavor of that world class city; unable to tolerate the thought of giving up their Escalades and American Idol. I'll take Portland, I fit in. Sounds like you'll fit in up in Seattle just fine too.

While some of X-tian's points may seem trivial, the final point in all of this is that a PROGRESSIVE city that has no interest in changing, is nothing more than an oxymoron. I loved P-town when I lived there... until I too moved to Seattle. Living in portland is, if anything, a place to move from living in a small town and transitioning to the city... a "growing stage".

Portland is not a city to THRIVE in, however. It's simply a city to exist in, and not hope for too much to happen in the way of "moving up."

This is enough for most people, and I can understand why people love their town. But your rose city is beginning to wither before it has truly been given a chance to blossom.

Gunther, I don't like Portland either. The main reason for this is that it has, in the space of less than a decade, been transformed from a solid if unexceptional working-class community into a pretentious, overpriced yuppie amusement park due to the massive influx of sanctimonious self-absorbed "artistic" twerps like yourself. (And I must add that WW has mostly aided and abetted this process, for rather obvious reasons.) I'd say the tipping point came in the late 1990s, right around the time you arrived here. Your main complaint about Portland seems to be that it isn't becoming Seattle fast enough for your taste (much the same thing happened there about ten years earlier). In short, you and Seattle deserve each other. Good riddance, and I hope your departure signals a trend.

I bet you tape off your spot at the Rose Parade.

No, DV, I'm convinced it's mostly newcomers who do that, since the taping thing didn't start until about '95. The real Portlanders show up early on parade day with a book and a thermos of coffee!

X-cellent! X-citing! X-traordinary!

It... is leaving.

And, don't let the door hit you in that bony @ss.

I know this man. I followed his campaign and met him while he was managing DAHLIA. You people are so cruel! He's a beautiful, caring person who's worked hard to better this community. It's a shame Portland lost him because he brings up many good points that my fellow Portlanders, shamefully, seem too proud or ignorant to face up to. X doesn't hate Portland. Not at all. He didn't fail at anything. The man that I know just happens to have a higher bar, apparently, than any of you. Sadly, I think his whole point is lost on you. Go drink your PBR and think your saving the world, one poor, naive Portlander at a time.

He certainly doesn't sound like a beautiful, caring person in this interview. He sounds like an bitter jerk. What are his points, anyway? The streetcar is too slow? Kulongoski "rolls" in a Taurus? Portland isn't big-league enough? Wow. I guess you're right, "his whole point is lost" on me. Don't really see anything to "face up to" there. He and Seattle deserve each other.

I left Portland, too and I'm glad I did. Pederson, you could say I "failed" in your city, too: failed to find objective critics in the arts media; failed to find creative types who weren't part of a huge,self-loving hipster click; failed to find creative work that payed well was interesting and well-meaning; failed to find polite, efficient customer service; failed to understand why Portland thought it was the only city with cool farmer's markets and coffee joints. I moved to L.A. Do I like it more than Portland? In some obvious ways, no way. However, the point becomes moot if the work you love to do isn't available, pays a crap wage or supports Portland's anemic clientele of paying clients who are mostly insurance companies, multinational footwear corpoations and high-tech megacorp stalwarts.

I say, don't believe the Portland hype. I think Gunther has some good points but it seems from these posts (that only seem to confirm what he says about Portland's childishness), Portland refuses to admit it's not the Utopia it's slackers seem to think it is.

Seattle is shallow no L.A., either. That's a joke, right? What's not a laugh is "enlightened" Portland's reaction to someone's opinion: Just as "patriots" told critical rebelling soldiers who balked at the Vietnam war "if you don't like it, leave [the USA]", these posting Portlanders show their true, intolerant colors.

Neither you nor Gunther cared for Portland. You both left and found some place you like better. Why the need to bash a city the rest of us love? Why don't you just live you life in your new city and leave the rest of us alone in our naive utopia?

Yah, I left Poortland, too. Seattle's so much more...everything, in my humble opinion. It's the most beautiful big city in the USA- hands down. Portlanders, can you say, Whiteyville? Almost everyone in Portland's either the same color or relegated to living in far-flung neighborhoods or the 'burbs. What a laugh of a homogenous playground for slacker-Brats! Portland has nothing on Seattle. And, we're getting our lego streetcar and a subway, too...so there.

And, it's funny how making a living is seen as "selling out" or "failing" to the locals down there. Whatever! Grow up. Sorry, but you kids have to get real and be less provincial and petty whenever someone doesn't gush about your fairly fair city. Go X-tian! Go Seattle!

What I don't understand is why all of you who have moved to Seattle or LA or whatever are wasting your time posting on the Portland Mercury. I mean, I don't like the place I moved from, but it's not like I'm spending any time telling anybody back there how much I think it sucks. I'm happy in Portland. I haven't given a second thought to the city I moved from, much less do I feel the need to hurt the feelings of the people who still live there and like it. I really don't understand what's behind all of this Portland bashing. You didn't like it. You left. If you're happy in Seattle or LA, why do you feel the need to put Portland down? Why not just say it wasn't for you? You don't have to be mean.

Portland could never live up to the hype that gets heaped upon it. As a native portlander-I do agree the X guy's got a point-Portland and Oregon have work to do to create a more equitable economy and repair infrastructure, etc. It has its mid-sized city problems -just like every other city-trying to 'grow up'(whatever that means). I don;t know if people really want PDX to grow up. I also enjoyed Marcia S comments too-that is how I feel as well. Portland used to be pretty blue collar, but I keep asking myself what happen to all the regular people? Whoops-I guess we cant have regular people if we want to 'keep Portland weird'-also copied from Austin, Tx.

I'm not sure X-tian will find what he's looking for in Seattle either...I wonder if he suffers from the 5-year let down from a city/relationship i.e the newness wears off and you find out its just as disfunctional as the city you left and then youre off to the next latest and greatest city... and thus the cycle continues. Good Luck to you-

just my two cents...

Reality Chick:

What's wrong with having a city that's predominately white? That's a negative? More whites means less crime. Try living in Brownie-ville California where you walk into a store and never hear the English language being spoken. Or dealing with attitudes from foreigners acting like they own the place and you(whitey) should take a hike.

No thanks, I'll take Portland anyday of the week with a sprinkling of non-whites here and there. Look at what our wonderful brown bretheren have given us on the MAX lines and what they've done to Gresham.

"X" is right that Oregon is a politically backward state, perhaps even more so than Washington (a friend of mine likes to say the biggest thing wrong with Portland is that it's located in Oregon). But the idea of leaving a city because there was local opposition to a trans-fat ban strikes me as ludicrous. I also had to laugh at his complaint about Portland housing prices - yes, they're getting too high but it's still much cheaper to live here than in Seattle. I have a feeling he'll be back, like a lot of people who leave Portland for what they think are greener pastures.

X-tian Gunther -- even if he is playing sour grapes to a degree -- makes some very good points, as do some of the posters here. Portland seems a bit schizo in that it's trying to change while trying to remain the same. Perhaps that's what really makes Portland "weird." It is, after all, a rather homogeneous city, as some of the posters have noted.

Like BenSteinStein, I left Portland for a city that can truly be called "weird": Los Angeles. For one thing, I just never fell in love with PDX the way some do. Furthermore, I knew that a bona fide career in show business could only happen in a big city. I think many artists stay in Portland because they enjoy being the big fish in a small pond -- even if it means settling for limited opportunities and little or no pay in their chosen field.

As with Ry, I see my years in Portland as a transitional period. I'd just spent four years in NYC, where I experienced 9/11 and the anxieties that followed. Portland probably felt safe to me, even though I disliked certain things about it. But after a few years of "safe," I was ready to move on.

OK, so "Jack" only seems to prove one point clear: Portland has a fair share of blatant ignorant racists. Jack's words don't speak too well for your "fair" city.

I'm in town for a meeting from Seattle today and I picked up a copy of Willamette Week. Now, here I am to add my two cents. I've lived in Portland, Chicago, London and, for the last 5 years, Seattle. Portland 's nice but doesn't live up to it's self-loving. I find plenty of rude people and lots of experts who don't actually seem to be all that in touch with reality.

Not trying to bash, but, think about it: housing costs more in Seattle but wages are much better and if you have a skill or applicable education, wages are much, much higher.And, generally, the works more interesting. Housing costs are crazy everywhere now. At least in Seattle there's even a shred of justification.

Also, X said trans-fat banning mockery was "the last straw". I think he meant that it was the tipping point, not the reason he left. I don't know. Does everyone who reads this site over-simplify?

To me, X seems smart and honest, not whiny or bashing. And, pointing out shortcomings doesn't make anyone a failure. That's silly. Enjoy PDX and we'll enjoy our Seattle, ok? :-)

I don't buy all the x-portlander comments. If you're so glad to be out of Portland and off to LA, SEA, etc, why is your nose still in the WW.

Other than the last line about new money, this is the biggest load of crap I've ever seen.

I dunno Simms. I had to steer clear of your crap-writing about over-rateds for a long time. Could you be one of the 18 year olds X refers to? I have to agree with him on Portland's immaturity and denial factors.

As for why I bother to check in on Willy Week every so often, Billy, I actually pride myself on staying connected and worldly. I have friends who still live in Portland, though their numbers are dwindling. I keep up with the Joneses. Not just in Portland but in NY, London, Paris, Toronto, Austin, etc. The internet's loaded with news sites that provide info and perspective from around the world. Try using it and you might be able to help Portland expand it's not-so-broad horizons.

The guy changed his name to "X-tian", which pretty much invalidates whatever crap he says. At any rate, I love Portland, despite the existence of racist a-holes like Jack. It's not perfect, but its flaws are not improving by transplants trying to change it into whatever "world-class" city they just moved here from. It's not NY, LA, or Seattle, but that's exactly why many of us like it.

A city is what you make it. I think Portland "works" because they don't act "like a city" (whatever that means) and they still have a small town mentality. x-tian has a weak argument that sounds somewhat bitter.

I am one of those despised creatives that so many here see with contempt. Seems pretty provincial and navel-gazey to me. I didn't come to Portland to change it's way. Rather, I'd hoped to contribute to its growth. I moved here from Minneapolis because I liked it and what I thopught was it's vision. Sadly, what Xtian seems to be saying comes across as true to me: Portland refuses to grow in ways that might help solve it's housing and homelessness issues and it's see-saw economy. Progressives believe in progress. Nothing X said seems to go against that to me.

It's funny how narcissistic people here really are though. Several of the posters suggest Xtian couldn't possibly stay away from Portland and that he'll return. Really? Maybe, but I think you might just need to see the world more so you can understand their are other options, other solutions.

Me, I'm not bitter. however, I'm getting tired of working one lame contract gig to the next, paycheck to paycheck. I'm plenty qualified to do more but the interesting work simply isn't here and I have no interest in starting a mom and pop of my own. Many of my friends here are content with that or with working for the man. Not me.

Portlanders who love this city, good for you. For those of us who see more possibility and better opportunities if we relocate elsewhere, that's not bitterness; not in my case. For me, at least, it's logic. If something doesn't give here soon, for all it's niceties, I'll be bailing soon as well. I have good and interesting job offers from other places, just not here. Open-minded Portland posters (and racists alike), let the Anthony-bashing begin. Sorry, I had to put in my two cents.

I don't see any reason to bash you, Anthony (although, admittedly, I'm one of those who left). I, too, tried to help Portland grow -- specifically, in the performing arts. I got lots of people to attend the plays I did and also rounded up a bunch of extras for a local filmmaker. Natives and transplants alike marveled at my event-promotion skills. I thought I was doing a good thing -- and perhaps I was.

Alas, after a while I realized that Portland's arts scene wasn't growing or getting better -- at least that I could see. Furthermore, I was making little or no money as an actor there. It was time to move on.

The last play I did in Portland, for the record, was "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" -- an Oregon story by a much-loved Oregon author. So you'd think we'd pack the houses every night, right? Sad to say, we never did. A common lament among Portland actors is how small the audiences tend to be there -- a bit odd, you'd think, for such an "artsy" town.

And regarding my day job, I was floored when I realized how much better the job market is in LA. (I, too, am a "creative.") The difference is really night and day.

I'm probably beating a dead horse here but wanted to back up Anthony. Like he did, I really gave it my best shot.

And as far as returning to Portland goes, I'm sure I will -- as a visitor. The opportunities are simply much better elsewhere.

Wow, and to think i stood in front of city hall back in 2002 and publicly endorsed this guy for city council as a potential man of the people labor type of candidate . . .at the time i had a gut kinda feelin that i was behavin kinda naively , but it was kinda fun just the same ! ! !

sooo, the last time i met mr.gunther he was handing out sample energy bars at the same 2006 Labor Day picnic the governor was attending . I did bump into Ted, however i did not see what type of car he was driving. A Ford Taurus you say ? Wow, sounds kinda cool to me ! ! !

One thing I'd like to say is that the "Livability" clause in Portland always cracks me up. It's so "livable", everyone says.

To my mind that includes the ability to make a living, which is very difficult in Portland. People are wide-eyed when they meet a 30-something who makes more than $48K a year. Most have degrees from Rice and Kenyon and earn $10 an hour if they're lucky. When I quit my job at a local nonprofit to move into the private sector because they refused to pay benefits and kept playing the "keeping you just under a 40-hour week" game, I sensed genuine resentment from my employer, a dyed-in-the-wool Portlander...the feeling was, either you "get on board" and submit to shitty pay, shitty hours, and the defeatist hipster doofus 3-jobs to pay the rent Portland existence, or you're some sort of Gordon Gekko who should just move to L.A. already. Portland will never be a city, because Portland doesn't want to be. What it wants is to champion mediocrity and shit itself when the real deal people show up and actually try to take things forward, create jobs, and run aggressive professional operations. The reason? People who are mediocre want to be around others who are mediocre so as to avoid notice.

Jeffrey, my thoughts exactly. I was eventually able to support myself in Portland by taking a job with a national company that, incidentally, is based in Seattle. But before that, I struggled to make ends meet by working a few lousy service jobs. One thing that befuddled me about Portland was how so many adults there are willing to work jobs below their skill/education levels because of the so-called livability factor you mentioned. I'm just one of those luddites who, like you, believe that fair compensation should be included when one considers "livability."

I love the bit about Gordon Gekko, too. Whereas I'd felt kinda laid back by New York standards, I felt super-aggressive compared to those around me in Portland. As you noted, true ambition tends to be frowned upon there.

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm beating a dead horse here. That said, it feels good to vent about this, after having to endure several years of hearing about "livability," "sustainability," and how dreadful cities like LA are. (I happen to love LA -- so phooey!)

I know this guy -- Portland is definitely better off without him. Now I just feel bad for anyone that has to put up with him in Seattle.

I worked with "Xtian" and have to say he was one of the most horrible people to collaborate with ever. I laughed out loud when I read that he said people here are narcissistic. I walked away from him thinking that exact thing. Bah. Good riddance.

Loved or hated, X definitely stirs debate amongst the PDX slackers. Me, I stick up for the guy, with zero reservations. I never post on these crazy-assed forums, but tonight, I'm here to vouch for my homey.

I'm pretty sure the slackers and bashers commenting here don't know the X I do.

When I was in Portland (yes, I left like so many others, though I return for work every now and again), he stood up for the little guy constantly and consistently, putting his job(s) and reputation on the line. For what? This disrespect? No wonder he left.

So much of what's become normal political conversation around Portland is recycled babble from his council campaign in 2002, or did you even have a clue? Duh. Check the newspaper archives. It's all there.

I worked on his campaign and he poured his guts into it even though it was clear to me that he hated the hole venture. He gave up an entire summer, alongside his dedicated, small campaign staff.

I'd love to know, how many of the whiners on these posts ever attended even one council meeting, lobbied the media, worked on behalf of the homeless and voiceless or spent night after night working to change things in your city for the better?

I somehow doubt many of you who rip Xtian another one ever have.

As much as I like certain aspects of funky, contradictory Portland, whenever I come to Portland nowadays, I chuckle at the hipster commune/ empty-nester retirement community it's becoming.

I stick up for X, just as he stood up for me. Be nicer, Portland. K? Peace. Out.

I have worked with the loser. All I have to say is... good riddance.

Xtian's got it right. Portland has good intentions and lots of goofy know-it-alls who don't know half what they think they do. And the hipsters who waste their time here bashing him because he's not in love with their city are the 18 year olds he refers to.

Wendy E, I just left. I already have a good job in a very nice city that actually has opportunities and real excitement... Seattle. To you (and the other Portland lovers who hate anyone who disagrees with them), good riddance!