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. Genoa Genesis Thanks so much for the kind words on the Genoa restaurant--and not just in the recent issue ["Portland's Best Restaurants 1999-2000," WW, Oct. 13, 1999], but over the years. Needless to say, I'm proud to have been involved--if only in a comparatively minor way. However, I would like to correct one point: I didn't start Genoa Restaurant, as was stated, after having traveled through Italy. I've never been to Italy. (But my daughter assures me that when she strikes it rich in oil [paintings], she'll buy me a trip.) Mike Vidor Eastsound, Wash. Why Protest Having participated in countless peaceful demonstrations and protests, including several over the past couple of weeks, I can almost guarantee hearing the same taunts from onlookers. They always seem to want me to get "something"; "get a job," for example. Since I have a job, I find this particular statement annoying. I might not like my job, but I do in fact have one. What the onlookers can't admit is that getting something is not the point. I am not politically active because I lack something and if I could only get it, then I would shut up and sit down. Perhaps what some of the onlookers can't admit is that standing up for what is right, not allowing for the status quo to have its way and not closing our eyes to the suffering, oppression and injustice that surrounds us is something that they, the onlooker, can't afford to do while they are caught up in the pursuit of getting more stuff. Hence the knee-jerk reaction some have to seeing a protest in action. Their anger--even at times when they don't know the issue involved--might very well come out of feelings of guilt and insecurity. Ultimately, whether someone has "something" or not is a moot point. With or without this "something"--in the face of supportive or antagonistic crowds--I, for one, will never stop using what rights I have at my disposal to draw attention to, and hopefully change, the wrongs of my society. David Bowman Southwest Pine Street Petal Extremities So Portland's finest do actually make arrests ["Strong-Arm Tactics," WW, Oct. 27, 1999]? Are these the same donut-eating, high-school graduate, overtime-stealing, confusing-girth-with-strength morons who will not respond to a burgled residence, a stolen car and any number of other crimes? You've been the victim of a crime, you say? Well, wade through voicemail, request a report, send it in; we'll do something with it, you'll never hear from us, we're too busy running overtime scams to actually provide a benefit to the tax-paying public in exchange for substantially better wages than your average high-school graduate is getting these days. You know for a while there I was getting concerned that the Portland Police were losing touch with we-the-people that fund their overtime scams/schemes and pay for their overgenerous pensions. Apparently I was wrong, as I was relieved to read that this same department was right on top of that vicious bastard Chad Hapshe as he dropped a flower in Terry Schrunk Plaza at the tail end of the Portland Free Mumia Coalition's march on downtown Oct. 15. Dropped a flower! Let's lock this punk up and throw away the key. There is no room in Portland for these punks whining about First Amendment rights and dropping flowers all over the place. I sleep better at night knowing I won't be subjected to the nightmare of having to encounter the odd flower strewn about, and even if I do, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing that the perpetrator is behind bars thanks to our local police department. Hey, Portland Police! Any chance of arresting the dirtbag truckers who toss their piss-filled wine and Gatorade bottles all along our local roads? If there's room for scum like Chad Hapshe the unrepentant flower-dropping free-speech-believing loser in our apparently underfilled jail system, there has got to be room for these assholes! Brett Hay Southwest Thomas Street "No Profit Grows Where There Is No Pleasure Taken" Your drama critic apparently did not see the same Taming of the Shrew that audiences saw. A normal adult should not be so obtuse as to attack from a secure desk a successful theater professional who is out of town and out of reach. Such reviews display a woeful ignorance of theater or an unrelieved frustration for not really being in theater. To be good journalism an honest review is not saccharine, but when writing is mean-spirited it is sophomoric at best and smart-assed at worst. Allen J. Johannesen Southwest Vermont Street - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published November 3, 1999