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POPEGOESTHEWEEKLY
I just wanted to thank you for putting a context on the overwhelming adulation of John Paul II [Gustavo Arellano's “A Moral, Abject Failure When It Mattered,” April 8]. As a survivor, I can echo the sentiment of the letter from the Jesuit to his fallen colleague. This is no longer my church, the church in which I studied for priesthood, the church in which I dedicated myself to a “lay renewal” through retreats and various ministries. It is now, as it has been, the church that groomed me and sacrificed me on its altars.
Namewithheldbyrequest
viae-mail
Pope John Paul II showed an abiding love for Jesus Christ, and he made a tireless effort to travel and preach the gospel. He was also a strong advocate for defending human life anywhere it was threatened. And he was a Christlike example of forgiveness who met and forgave the man who attempted to assassinate him. You end your diatribe by implying that John Paul II has something to worry about in meeting Christ. Let me tell you something: he has nothing to worry about. Start praying for yourself.
DennisDiMauro
viae-mail
Thank you for having the courage to stand up for truth in a time when everyone is shouting to canonize this pope. Little by little, we will effect change. I hope you don't get martyred over this one.
Anonymous
viae-mail
Gustavo, what a disgraceful take on a marvelous model for people sorely in need of any inspiration we can get today. Enough already, lady.
JerryPlesetz
viae-mail
SIN-CERELY
In the first place, I am a pimply faced septuagenarian male, aging ungracefully, with an unquenchable thirst for comic books about hell on earth. In the second place, I enjoyed every minute of SinCity[Ella Taylor's “Pulp Diction,” April 1]. In the third place, I am joined unanimously by my brethren in denouncing Ella Taylor's vile, discriminatory abuse.
W.ChiggerPustulic
President
PimplyFacedSeptuagenarianComicBookLoversofOrangeCounty
MINUTEMADE
Jim Gilchrist and his Minuteman vigilantes have it all wrong. As a self-professed “former wacko” leftie, Gilchrist is at least enlightened enough to acknowledge the fault for the illegal-immigration problem lies not with those poor saps trying to get across to a better life, but with the employers on the U.S. side of the border who so readily hire them for their cheap labor. The enlightenment stops there. If Gilchrist truly believes what he says, what the fuck is he doing at that border waving a flag and showing off for the cameras, when he should be waging a campaign of awareness right here at home? Does he himself make sure that every piece of produce he buys at the supermarket or farmers market was picked and processed by documented workers? The influx of illegal immigrants over the U.S.-Mexican border will never be stemmed—not by a 20-foot wall or legions of INS agents—until one of two things happens: the Mexican government starts taking care of its own citizens, or American employers and consumers become willing to pay the real price for all the goods and services produced by workers who have been legally given the rights and benefits afforded all American workers.
DonRead
LongBeach
Chris Ziegler's article on the Minuteman border action, “Too Tough to Die” [April 8], was one of the best pieces of impressionistic journalism to cross my eyes in a long time. Ziegler's story had some echoes of the late Hunter S. Thompson's “Strange Rumblings in Aztlan” in content as well as in the tense and comical style. While the Minuteman's patrol thankfully (?) ended in an Araby-esque fashion, I hope the OCWeeklycontinues to print stories that place the reader in the eye of the storm, whether it turns out to be a tornado or a dust devil.
StanMeyerowitz
viae-mail
THEYLOVELA
I understand the commentary about the role switching of the Dodgers and Angels [Steve Lowery's “The Dodgers Are Dead,” April 1]. However, there is something about the Boys in Blue you can never take away: the Dodgers fans. True LA fans know that to “Think Blue” is the only way to live and that a Giants fan is not accepted within 1,000 feet. The Angels may have won a more recent World Series, but that doesn't mean a thing. The Dodgers will always be the Dodgers, the great and original LA team. And if you don't believe so, go back to Frisco.
Rachel
FountainValley
I live in Los Angeles but work in Irvine. I took this job thinking I can move to OC, but the more time I spend here, the more I love LA. You can have your two “great” malls, throw in the Spectrum and the Block if you want [Theo Douglas' “Beverly Center? We've Got Two of Those!” April 1]. I'll take the small, independent stores and designer shops lining Robertson Boulevard, Third Street, Melrose (west of Fairfax), La Brea, etc. At least I won't be afraid to see what I bought worn by 20 other people. Besides, does anyone still shop at the Beverly Center?
MarioRosario
LosAngeles
DEPT.OFCORRECTIONS
Poor drummers: always getting pissed on. And we supplied the urine in our April 8 story on the Hacienda Brothers [“Western Soul“], when we mucked up the name of drummer Dale Daniel. Sorry, Dave, er, Dale.
