London, Ontario is pretty bankrupt too

To the stressed-out former Montrealer who wrote in to say we should all just leave Quebec ["My advice: get out," (e)Mail, July 24]: That you come to this conclusion after coming back here and opening up any paper indicates to me that you're one of those people who believes all this crap the media suggests about anglophones and francophones being at each other's throats. You probably wouldn't go to New York City for fear of being mugged, either.

Most of the people I know who feel any hostility toward the "other language" in this city are those who've read that the "other language" is hostile toward them--for example, any neurotic francophone who might read your letter and think that all anglos think Quebec is a retarded and backward society.

It's also awfully brave of you to wait until you've left town before confirming your belief that Quebec is a "morally and intellectually bankrupt hole in the ground." From your new home, you can now spread this belief to people who can only take your word for it until they finally pressure the government to send in the army to take care of this retarded society. Then maybe we can have a stress-free Quebec just like the paradise that is London, Ontario, where four American networks (available without cable) keep society from being brain-dead, and hospital closings and government privatizations thankfully have nothing to do with any "language problem." We'll silently thank your kind as we commute an hour every day to our jobs in the glorious new industrial parks dotting the once-decrepit wastelands of this city, passing highway billboards advertizing AT&T Canada in English! And anyone who doesn't like it will just have to move somewhere different--if they can find somewhere different.

Louis Rastelli

Queer cover laughs at separatists

I was so pleased when I took a glimpse at the cover page of last week's Mirror ["Vive le Québec queer!", July 31]. Wow! I gather it is not your intention to make fun of the queer community, but from a political point of view in my opinion you are making fun of separatists, and on this I congratulate you! A lot of federalists such as myself are very pleased with it. And by the way, I am a francophone and I say bravo!

Your cover makes up for a dumb statement made on CJAD by Tommy Schnurmacher when he said, "Separatists are smart." Believe me, I wrote a stiff letter to the vice-president of CJAD telling him what I think. Of course, I never got a reply.

Yes, I am pissed off with the attitude of people here and, as I once told Keith Henderson of the Equality Party, I really plan to leave this province where I'm from--I will not die here, for sure!

Madeleine Goossens

God's as bad as Satan

This letter is in response to the sleaze-mongering, Satan-hating Todd Swift, who claims Satan is a bad guy, not at all to be revered or seen as a benevolent force in our life ["Satan not a nice guy," (e)Mail, July 31]. First, let me take this opportunity to strike out my fist for Satan in the form of my own personal experience. I have had the personal privilege of having sex with Satan, and frankly it was the best sex I've ever had, felt, telepathed or tasted. Man! Satan is interchangeable, a pentagram of personalities and appearances, both man and woman.

As for God? Personally, I think God is an egocentric, megalomaniacal rock. Just listen to this example of God's violence and brutality in the Lamentations of Jeremiah (5:10): "Our skin is hot as an oven with the burning heat of famine. Women are ravished in Zion, virgins of the town of Judah. Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders. Young men are compelled to grind at the mill; and boys stagger under loads of wood." What have I to say?

And as the irreparable leader of hell's forces, I would like to point out the craven hypocrisy of Todd Swift for dissing Satan. After all, Swift is featured in a show entitled The Devil's Voice (organized by me) on August 14 at Bistro 4. Satan has feelings too! Hell will be in turmoil after this bad scrap!

Thoth Harris

Surfacing a work of genius

Upon reading your music reviews in the last week's issue [Compact Discs, July 31], I felt compelled to write in response to a review which bothered me, namely Chris Yurkiw's on Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing.

I found the review to be quite insulting, considering that the album is probably one of the most original-sounding releases of this year. The lyrics and musical engineering are rather unique, and the album as a whole is a musical experience not to be missed.

I will admit that it took me a few listens to appreciate it. At first I was a bit disappointed, but after taking the time to absorb and analyze it, I was able to decipher the musical genius behind it. I feel that Yurkiw, in reviewing the album, gives us the impression that he listened to the album once (and maybe not even in its entirety) and immediately judged it without taking the time to dig deeper. His criticism of it is superficial, insignificant, insulting and unintelligent, to say the least.

Mark Supino