Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
LIFE LESSONS
Every time I think gays have made significant progress in America I'm confronted with some horrific story like R. Scott Moxley's “Fags Die” [Nov. 18] that reminds me how far we have to go.
R. Stafley
Via e-mail
Forget marriage; living is the ultimate civil right still denied to gays.
Esteban Lara
Via e-mail
SUPER DUPE
I'm amused: in his race to win the 48th Congressional District seat, Republican state Senator John Campbell's campaign staff has been working overtime to portray Minuteman founder Jim Gilchrist as being somewhere to the “left of Stalin” (Gustavo Arellano's “Campbell's Dupe,” Nov. 25). The truth is that Gilchrist is the best friend the “capitalist pigs” running this country could ever hope to have in public office. During his campaign, Gilchrist has said nothing critical of President George W. Bush's illegal war in Iraq that has led to thousands of needless deaths and has cost American taxpayers more than $250 billion—money that could have built schools, hospitals and affordable housing. He's remained silent about the misdeeds of white-collar criminals who have stolen billions of dollars from the pension funds of millions of workers. And he has said nary a word about pharmaceutical companies that make obscene profits gouging seniors for life-saving medications. Instead, Gilchrist has spent his time promoting the Minuteman Project as a way of “defending America” from all those darker-skinned folks from Mexico who seek work as janitors, dishwashers and maids—people he claims are destroying our economy. What Gilchrist is doing is good for the rich: if he can convince Americans that poor immigrants are responsible for all of the economic ills they suffer, their attention is diverted from the fact that the “capitalist pigs” on top are robbing them blind.
Duane Roberts
Anaheim
Editor's note:The following letters are in response to a Gustavo Arellano story chronicling his aborted attempt to smuggle his friend Ezequiel Ureno, an illegal alien, into the country.
CROSSING THE LINE
First of all, Ezequiel Ureno is not, as Mr. Arellano claims, an American [“Border Story,” Nov. 11]. He is, in fact, a citizen of Mexico, an illegal alien residing in the U.S. Since he owns a car and is not an American citizen, then there is no way he could have a valid driver's license and insurance, so he is breaking the law yet again, just like his father Lorenzo and brother Gabriel. And to top it off, Mr. Arellano is more than ready to commit a felony in order to bring this boob back! If this story was meant to garner my sympathy for this gang of lawbreakers, it didn't work. Anyone who is here illegally should be deported, not rewarded.
Randle C. Sink
Encinitas
You have a very kind heart, and when the wisdom of your brain catches up we will make you pope. It is not loving to wish for anyone to live underground in the illegal population. As you said, the abuse and insecurity are horrendous. It is also abusive to U.S. citizens who have to suffer the crime and Third World poverty illegals bring into their communities. A long time ago liberals used to push for low-income housing projects in all the cities. The concentrated poverty and ignorance ensured the population would suffer forevermore. They had their hearts in the right place—get the poor housing. They had their heads disengaged because they could not see that their good intentions were producing a hell for the poor. Illegal immigration is a dead-end choice and has to be known for what it is and discouraged out of love because you don't want to see people suffer in a segregated underground of poverty and hopelessness.
Jo Thompson
Boston
ONLY ROCK N ROLL
Regarding Cornel Bonca's review of the Rolling Stones: Hey, asshole, did you miss the opening band that night [“A Story as Old as Capitalism,” Nov. 11]? Toots and the Maytals is one of the best reggae bands in the world. Toots is older than Mick but smokes twice as much herb as Keith Richards. Maybe if you didn't spend so much time getting wasted in the parking lot on white label beer and crank, you could have enjoyed yourself.
Gregory Spevak
Via e-mail
It wasn't the Rolling Stones who killed rock N roll, but the media and the record industry, who continue to jump on the latest trend in music and abandon the music that built the industry. Finger-pointing at Keith Richards like this will probably get you a finger in return.
Sam Giamendi
Via e-mail
BUT I LIKE IT
I am very happy with and even proud of your magazine for spotlighting both Madman Moon and Dusty Rhodes and the Riverband [“The Real, Real, Real OC Mix,” Nov. 18]. At the same time, I'm filled with contempt for Riverside, where I live, for having no worthwhile coverage of anything at all. My only hope is that one day you will expand your office and create a new publication called IE Weekly—until that day I'll spend all my time cursing the fates that caused us to be birthed in Riverside instead of Orange County, the land where bands are good—well, most of them are crap, but at least you have greats like Madman Moon and Dusty Rhodes.
David Tetz
Winston and the Telescreen
