Letters

Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com">le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/oOC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.

WORST THING EVER

I am an 18-year-old high school senior. I read OC Weekly every week and have been following the events of the Haidl trial. When I read your last story [R. Scott Moxley's “Haidl Your Daughters,” May 14], I literally threw up because of the inhumane acts.

I know that as a newspaper you are not allowed to express your own opinions, but if there is any way you think I can help I would like to. Is there an organization to donate to? A petition to sign? Any way I can make this a larger issue? What I just read tonight is the worst thing I have ever read about, and I hope the worst thing I will ever read about. I hope I can help in some way.

Kristi Eaton
via e-mail

ON BOARD

Your article about the Westminster gender controversy is full of spins and lies [R. Scott Moxley's “Gays 1, Phobes 0,” May 7]. First, my mother, trustee Judy Ahrens, never called the teacher's union “communist.” Second, they do not intend to discriminate against GLBT students or staff and want to fight discrimination against ALL students. Their new definition was a victory because it recognized gender (outside of a discrimination complaint) as an individual's biological sex. Third, you wrote, “He then hailed his mother as Christ-like. He said he might call the documentary The Passion of Judy Ahrens.” This is a flat-out lie. The LA Times article makes it clear this title was suggested by my neighbor, but I have no intention to use it.

Mark Ahrens
via e-mail

R. Scott Moxley responds:Mark Ahrens is right about one thing: I inaccurately attributed to his mother the comment about communists in the teachers union; that was her school board comrade Helena Rutkowski. I apologize for the error, but I've got to ask: Has Mark's mom condemned Rutkowski for the slur, or does she stand by it?

WHERE'S THE LOVE?

As a very proud Mexican-American, I found the illustration you used on your cover offensive [“Mexcellente!” April 30]. In our community, we discuss how we should respect everyone, yet you print a cover of an overweight, gold-toothed, sombrero-wearing man; a stereotypical image. Although perhaps the content within was with good cause, the illustration was disappointing. You know the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, right there, you let others think that is who we are. But we are more than that, and we're proud of who we were, who we are and who we will always be.

Maricela Villa
via e-mail

I thought for sure I'd see this one on your list of best Mexican-bashing songs [Gustavo Arellano's “I Steel Them From You,” April 30]: Peggy Lee's “Maana,” about a Mexican fellow who keeps putting off till tomorrow what he should be doing today (“Ees good enough for me“). See, it's funny 'cause they procrastinate because they're lazy. I hope she didn't write it.

John McNeeley
Fountain Valley

ATROCITY

Your Coachella coverage [“Coachella Hella,” May 7] is, year after year, an uninformed, niggling atrocity.

Matt Keto
Costa Mesa

The piece on Coachella was such a nice piece of writing that I wanted to share. I skipped Hipsterstock this year, so I can't attest to the veracity, but I'm wondering why there aren't more music writers like this—as opposed to the typical swollen, pasty wash-out with a chip on his shoulder?

5000.blogging.la
via e-mail

I missed Coachella; who is the guitarist on the cover?

Brent W.
Laguna Beach

The editor responds:Our bad for failing to ID Kinky bassist Cesar Pliego.

COMMIE MOM

Re: Rebecca Schoenkopf's “The Good Mother” [Commie Girl, May 7]: I'm five-months pregnant and happy that I won't be the only mother in the world who will take her daughter to an absurdist play before letting her watch Friends.

Becca Cucu
via e-mail

Keep up the good work and don't ever let some jackass of a boyfriend tell you that being honest with your kid and exposing them to reality is bad for them.

Dan Barnard
via e-mail

Glad to hear you have imaginary boyfriends rather than real Republican ones.

Howard Beazell
via e-mail

I am not alone—oh, my God! There are more women and mothers like me! Can we form a support group?

Anabel Flores
via e-mail

WELL HUNG

In his essay “Hung Out to Dry” [April 16], David Ng harshly criticized the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) for not stopping the rise to fame of William Hung, the most infamous reject of American Idol. “Call it selective advocacy or falling asleep at the wheel,” Ng writes. “When MANAA sticks its head up its own ass, it effectively gives the public permission to mock away.”

First, response to a February MANAA poll of Asian Pacific Islander Americans was mainly positive, a fact Ng admits in his reporting. Second, Ng's disdain for Hung seemed strangely personal and we question if he is the right person to advocate Hung's abolishment. Ng's essay will soon be dismissed as a useless rant and Hung will still be around.

Jennifer Kuo
President, MANAA

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