WW welcomes letters to the editor via mail, e-mail or fax. Letters must be signed by the author and include the author's street address and phone number for verification. Preference will be given to letters of 250 words or less. YOU SAY WE WANT A REVOLUTION Despite what Michael Robbins says about anarchist literary underpinnings [Letters, WW, Jan. 5, 2000], what I see are people who, when not sitting and discussing Chomsky, are running around breaking things and claiming to score points in some sort of populist uprising for social justice. The American people have never been revolutionaries. Even back when we chased out the British, we as a people weren't revolutionaries any more than the Russian peasants were when the Bolsheviks took over the Kremlin. We have never accepted violence as a tool for social change, and tilting at coffeeshops isn't going to change that--especially if you insist on calling a socialist-derivative movement "anarchist!" I am only saying that I believe your instrument is too blunt, and inappropriate for your intended audience. What is more disturbing is Robbins' insinuation that an opposing argument (which clearly wasn't even fully read) shouldn't even be published. Perhaps the anarchists feel freedom of expression is a luxury incompatible with "freedom, equality and democracy." We've seen that somewhere before. Dave Coulter Southeast Alder Street ON CRUELLA'S SIDE I want to say how much I enjoyed reading Kim Morgan's very balanced article "Of Mink and Women" [Jan. 12, 1999]. I know you'll get a lot of crap from the PETA folks, so I thought I would offer my kudos. Quite sensible. Russ Finley Northeast 76th Avenue PELTED WITH CONTEMPT I have heard enough ignorant rationalizations in my lifetime to know it's impossible to force the respect of animals. There will always be individuals who value animals only for how good they taste or how warm their dead bodies can keep them (Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and, apparently, Kim Morgan, who likes to rank herself with the aforementioned ["Of Mink and Women," Jan. 12, 2000]. How glamorous). Morgan's mantra is, "I only wear animals that can't kill me." Interesting. I promise I will not throw red paint at Kim Morgan if I see her wearing animal skins on the streets of Portland. I hope she will do me a courtesy as well: Don't insult my intelligence by purporting to be an animal lover, OK? It would be easier to tolerate those who wear fur if they would stop trying to justify it with bent logic. Just admit that you don't give a damn about animals, and you don't care if someone kills a dog, rabbit or mink to make you look like Naomi Campbell, who, apparently, has a great influence over Ms. Morgan's fashion morals. For God's sake, don't claim to be wearing fur in the interest of recycling or honoring the dead creatures. They can do without your warped memorialization. Ms. Morgan's plans to someday warm her hands in the pelts of her sister's cats makes for an interesting demonstration of remembrance. Imagine, then, what a posthumous honor it will be for her when Ms. Morgan's remains adorn a loved one's ensemble. If it makes her happy, it makes us all happy. And, hey, it's good for the environment. Todd Pozycki Northeast Schuyler Street COME ON-A MY CAVE Kim Morgan makes a lot of sense ["Of Mink and Women," Jan. 12, 2000]. What really, is the difference between wearing fur or wearing leather? She points out very well the inherent idiocy and hypocrisy of this entire issue. To my knowledge, no one has ever thrown red paint on a person wearing a leather coat. I'll go even further than her and say that even big-game fur is OK to use. Whether we like it or not, human beings are the supreme predator on this planet. But being predatory doesn't mean we have to engage in indiscriminate killing. One more thing: If you're single, Kim, I own a plush bear-skin rug.... Steve Sanders Southwest 5th Avenue HYPOCRISY IS THE GREATEST LUXURY Although it claimed otherwise, Kim Morgan's Jan. 12 article "Of Mink and Women" appeared based on her own superficial sense of entitlement rather than on a logical, fair set of principles on the fur issue. Raising animals in small cages to be killed for their fur is cruel, and such domestication is irrelevant to some animals' lack of endangerment in the wild. The overkilling of many wild animals for fur industry profits (and for equally superficial things like ivory) has dwindled species that should be protected in the wild for their survival as species. Morgan's contention is that we can discount any logical argument about animal feelings and compassion towards animals because some people in the animal-rights movement are hypocrites. Obviously every movement has some hypocrites; can this be an excuse to discount the basic tenets of the movement and to be a hypocrite as well? She is one when she says, "I don't give a rat's ass about minks.... I do love animals." Like most people looking for excuses to unnecessarily exploit animals, Morgan tries unsuccessfully to paint all those who advocate otherwise as hypocrites. Countless people who are aware of animal sentience and worth don't use animals for clothes, shoes, food or anything else (and yes, we're good to people as well!) and are therefore less hypocritical than someone with her Oh-my-God-like-I-love-animals-but-like-fur-is-just-so-kewl attitude. Tom Soppe Northeast Fremont Street SINGING PRIMA'S PRAISES Roll over in your grave, Louis Prima! You have been labeled a crooner by Willamette Week ("Roll 'Em," WW, Jan. 5, 2000). I can hear Rudy Vallee, Russ Columbo and Bing Crosby groan in unison. My dictionary defines a crooner as one who sings popular songs in a soft, sentimental manner. Louis did anything but that. His voice was coarse, his manner raucous. Discovered in a small nightclub in New Orleans in the early '30s by Guy Lombardo, who convinced him that there was a place for his type of music in the big city of New York, Prima journeyed north. He stayed with Guy's parents until he eventually got to play at the Famous Door on 52nd Street in the heart of the jazz scene. From there it was on to fame. In later years he and his wife/vocalist Keely Smith were standouts on the Las Vegas strip. Louis Prima--always an excellent musician and a colorful showman but never a crooner. Lloyd Phillips Southeast Ash Street VOICES LOWERED I would like to respond to the Jan. 5 article on Voices of Portland. Unless the writer and the staff are totally unaware of the links between sexism, racism and classism, it is abhorrent to juxtapose the profile of a pornographer with the founder and director of the Northwest Afrikan American Ballet. Blakeslee claims that his business represents a collection of "marital aids." As a psychologist-in-training with a background in researching sexual violence against women, I can assert that from my knowledge of the empirical literature the use of pornography in heterosexual relationships negatively impacts women's body image, self-esteem, experience of sexual intimacy with their partners and sense of worth as human beings. Although Blakeslee states that he supports his critics in their right to criticize him, he finds them "intellectually dishonest." He goes on to display some of the poorest, most fascist logic by stating that pornography is not responsible for rape because, simply, "All I can say is that we've had rape for thousands of years." The relationship of pornography to rape is complex, but again, a wealth of empirical research supports that many rapists consume pornography. At the very least, consumption of pornography leads to a non-reality based representation of sexuality and relationships. At the extreme, all behavioral scientists would recognize it as a tool to pair sexual arousal with violence. Lastly, I take issue with Blakeslee's dismissal of prostituted women when he states, "We don't like them around the stores." If Blakeslee could entertain the radical feminist definition of pornography as prostitution, as necessarily constituting prostitution in its commodification of sex, then he would realize that he employs prostitutes. In response to Blakeslee's assertion that prostitution is the world's oldest profession, I would like to respond that actually, pimping is. Megan Schmidt Northwest Quimby Street - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published January 26, 2000