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The best parenting advice was given by the poet Philip Larkin nearly 55 years ago. (“Man hands on misery to man./It deepens like a coastal shelf./Get out as early as you can,/And don’t have any kids yourself.”) Unfortunately, it was largely ignored, which means we must listen to each generation lecture the next on how to mess up their children. The latest suggestions were spurred by last week’s cover story (“Little Monsters,” WW, June 10), which explored the backlash to the gentle parenting movement. Via the magic of the internet, we now have a vivid image of how a dozen or so of you were raised. Here’s what our readers had to say:
Paulette Revere2, via wweek.com: “Ha ha ha…the old come back to bite the parents in the butt! routine. My folks were not abusive, but they told us to do something on the farm or to help with something in the house, you better hustle your buns and git r done! They both knew the challenges of trying to feed, clothe, house, pay the bills, and run their fruit orchard day by day without crashing. We three girls were a part of that process. Stood us all in good stead, too!”
Blazerlove7, via wweek.com: “Haha, here come the Gen X and Boomer scolds. ‘When I was a kid I drove the tractor to school at age 6 and was buying cartons of cigarettes by age 9!’ And look at us now, all over the map in terms of drug and alcohol use and who knows what else. I’m Gen X and I loved a lot of the freedom I had growing up, and I also wish the vast number of friends who were sexually abused by people they KNEW didn’t happen. Seventies parenting was cool in some ways, and also let kids get pretty damaged in others that could have been avoided. I am not a ‘gentle parent,’ but I’m also not a tyrant. We did go for ‘attachment parenting’ when the kids were babies/toddlers. We do try to offer choices and natural consequences, but we also make firm demands or expectations about things that matter. One of those things is how a person behaves in public spaces and just awareness that we share the world with others.”
Leslie, via Bluesky: “Wow, a couple of years late on the ‘willfully misrepresenting what gentle parenting is and then talking about why it’s bad’ opinion piece trend. Yikes!”
Samson, via wweek.com: “I think some of these gentle parents took their kids to see the sci-fi movies at the OMSI film festival...They just talked and talked and talked throughout the whole damn film.”
So_tired, in response: “Afterward, they went to a brewery (looking at you, Baerlic), and got a little drunk while their kids ran around screaming like terrors.”
PORTLAND’S VALUES AREN’T SOFT
Two letters in WW’s June 10 issue take our city, and Willamette Week in particular, to task on similar grounds. Stephen F. Peifer argues that Earth Liberation Front (ELF) activists should be labeled terrorists and not afforded the softer term, “saboteurs.” He accuses them of violent crimes, ignoring the very definition of that term: A violent crime must have a victim. Crimes against property can certainly be counterproductive and costly, as theirs were, but not violent. And in lambasting the recent decision of Portland City Council to ban the sale of foie gras, writer Ian Scrymgeour decries Portland politics as “symbolic, anti-business, and disconnected from the challenges that matter most” on an issue where there actually are victims: the ducks and geese that are tortured several times a day over weeks of force-feeding before being slaughtered, all for the “unforgettable” taste of this luxury food that once sent him into a state of bliss. Ironically, he refers to the dozens of animal advocates who filled the council chambers more than once to witness and testify on the issue as a “niche special interest campaign,” whereas the truly tiny opposition was a handful of high-end restaurants who continue to place profit over compassion. I’m proud of WW’s measured coverage of ELF’s history, and of the council’s principled stand on foie gras.
Sandy Miller
Southeast Portland
CATS CAN HAVE A LITTLE AI, AS A TREAT
I fully sympathize with readers who are duped by AI slop [“To Stop the Slop,” WW, June 3], and agree that they deserve a refund.
As an author who uses AI to generate the artwork for my book (Midjourney Cats), I identify every AI-generated image in the book, and to help the readers understand how each image is generated, I fully document each and every prompt that I use. I devote substantial effort to providing introductory text, organizing the content, and generating a complete table of contents, index, and glossary. Furthermore, I do not expect to be paid—the entire book is available as a free PDF download. I do not believe that my book is AI Slop, but welcome any reader feedback. I provide a contact email address for any readers who have comments or questions, and I attempt to respond to all emails I receive.
Herb Weiner
Southeast Portland
Letters to the editor must include the author’s street address and phone number for verification. Letters must be 250 or fewer words. Submit to:
P.O. Box 10770
Portland, OR 97296
Email: amesh@wweek.com
