Letters: July 19, 2001

No street orgies, please

Although I sincerely believe that many law enforcement officers are harassing the gay community, I think local artist Martial went too far by exposing his very explicit "Orgie de culture" in the window of a gay club ["Cops clamp down on gay art," July 19]. To compare his work to Picasso's erotic works and complain that the police didn't "crack down" on the Museum of Fine Arts is an insult. People see these paintings indoors, away from eyes that might be offended by such explicit material. This was not the case for "Orgie de culture." It was exposed outside for everyone to see, including children, on Ste-Catherine, a very popular street. I think that whether you are hetero or homo, you have a responsibility to your community. This responsibility was breached by the artist who cried censorship, and the people who hung the painting in the first place.

This is not censorship, folks. Everything has it's place and time. There are people who get offended by such material. I believe that "Orgie de culture" is much better off exposed at the LeRoy d'Carreau guesthouse, indoors. Patrons of that place can enjoy it on their terms and LeRoy d'Carreau gets more publicity and more business. The police, in this case, did the right thing. And it worked out well for Martial, whose wallet fattened as a result of the sale of his explicit painting.

--Patrick Knup

Plateau intellectual

It's not just the yuppies in flight from suburban ennui who are suffering from the ubiquitous noise on the Plateau ["Pity the Plateau wealthy," July 12]. I am neither a yuppie nor a druggie. I am, however, a little bit cranky these days. Why? Noise. Shrill noise from the construction of new condos and the renovation of old apartments into yet more condos. Tasteless noise from my neighbours, rich and poor alike, who think nothing of blaring their stereos at 3 p.m., when I'm trying to think, or 3 a.m., when I'm trying to sleep. Yelling and screaming noise under my window at 3 a.m.

Not surprisingly, your blinkered, binary view of the world--yuppies bad, everybody else colourful--obscures the central problem of Plateau life: banal anti-intellectualism. Plateau residents (yuppie and druggie alike) seem to subscribe to the Mirror's implicit understanding of culture--that it should be popular, easy and, above all, loud. After two months on the Plateau, I have concluded that an intellectual life of reading, thinking, and writing is simply not sustainable here.

It's surprising to find the Mirror, with all its anti-bourgeois, anti-establishment leanings, suddenly (conveniently?) in bed with the police. It is comforting to know that the police no longer think enforcing the law is part of their job. So too is the knowledge that I will simply have to find a way to work it out with my colourful, alliterate [sic] neighbours who worship at the shrine of hullabaloo and could care less about anything save their precious, entitled little selves.

--Jason MacLean

Welcome, yuppies

I have lived here for 24 years and have never considered raising my family in the suburbs. I have, however, complained about the increasing problems with trash, noise, drug addicts and the Tam-tam kids. And yes, I am a taxpayer and I definitely take exception to being described as a "yuppie lacking sleep." I cannot go to the grocery store without dealing with hordes of Tam-tam kids (the least of our problems), dope dealers, squeegee kids and syringes. Then there are the idiots who urinate in our backyards, scream out of SUVs and negotiate curves holding cell phones and ignoring baby strollers. All of these characters are new to this neighbourhood and come, for the most part, from the suburbs. Their presence is transient and exploitative. Your readers should understand that most Plateau residents have lived here many years. Our neighbours are an ethnic mixture of hard-working people. I, for one, appreciate the brave souls who have recently bought into new housing with the intention of contributing to the quality of life in Montreal.

--Andres Manniste

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