Mailbox

[July 18th, 2007]

GET A TAT, GO TO HELL

The Bible states in Leviticus 19:28, "Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD." This verse clearly states that God has forbidden tattoos ["The Word Made Flesh," WW, July 11, 2007]. Any Christian who gets a tattoo is purposely disobeying God and is going to Hell. Simple as that.

These hypocrites run around trying to inflict their backward, bigoted and outdated morals on the world (abortion, gay marriage, etc.) but they don't follow their own rules. How can we take them seriously when they pick and choose what parts of the Bible they will follow only if it benefits their personal agenda? It also states in the Bible, "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable," but the Archdiocese of Portland had to declare bankruptcy because so many of their leaders couldn't keep their hands off of little boys.

Blackie Partridge
Via wweek.com

WHERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

Nancy Rommelmann's article on gentrification ["There Goes the Neighborhood," WW, July 4, 2007] contained some tasty morsels of personal narrative but in the end left the critical reader deeply unsatisfied.

What are the social, political and economic forces that cause gentrification? How can government make public policy that helps repair battered communities without expelling its inhabitants?

What plans do Mayor [Tom] Potter and the City Commissioners have to deal with gentrification and preserve working class communities of color in inner North and Northeast Portland?

There must be ways for poor people to better their neighborhoods without losing them.

I write this not to recklessly criticize, but out of the hope that the WW will critically engage gentrification and propose policy solutions that serve working-class Portlanders and communities of color.

Dan Denvir
North Chatham Avenue

LEGALIZE IT, EH

Starting in the 1930s, our nation's first drug czar, Harry Anslinger, used yellow journalism to play upon citizens' racism to escalate the war on cannabis. Anslinger claimed that most users were "Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers" and that "marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others."

It is sad to see Willamette Week also used to push this war. On June 1, 2006, WW reported ["The Mexican Connection"] that "Mexican cartels are moving into Oregon" and that a police sergeant "has spotted suspected drug bosses in snakeskin boots and white cowboy hats lined up outside clubs blaring mariachi music." Now, Portland has been invaded by "Asian crime rings from north of the border" who set up "high-tech marijuana grows" that have "a detrimental effect on the other houses in the neighborhood. [And] we're talking about some decent neighborhoods" ["Canadian Bakin'," June 27].

WW should be illustrating the idiocy of this war, instead of perpetuating it. Over 400,000 Americans die each year from tobacco, but not a single death can be attributed to cannabis. We tax and regulate tobacco, but spend millions arresting and imprisoning people for possessing and growing cannabis. WW should point out these facts and report that it is time to stop wasting millions of dollars and that Oregon should instead be raking in millions by taxing and regulating the use of cannabis by adults. Then WW can quit being used to continue this foolish war and truly live up to its mission statement.

Anthony Johnson
Political Director, Voter Power
Southeast 50th Avenue

CLARIFICATION: WW's March 7, 2007, Rogue concerned 5th Element Artists Inc., whose work was the subject of a dispute with client Laura Jones. A representative of 5th Element Artists points out that the agency offered Jones a reshoot with her original photographer in Portland. Jones says that offer wasn't acceptable to her. The representative for 5th Element Artists also says Jones reviewed her photos. Jones says she was not shown the photo that was printed, which she says is also objectionable.