Much ado about Hechtman
I certainly do have a few comments regarding Mr. Hechtman. First of all, just who at your newspaper ever decided it was a good idea to send this totally inexperienced person over to Afghanistan? This has to be just about the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Being a war correspondent is not some kind of joy ride. It requires years of experience--working your way into learning how to deal with a hostile environment through time spent in disaster areas, political reporting and many other types of journalism where one gains experience from unforeseen events and surprises. Oh yes: let me add that I am a real journalist with 27 years experience. While I don't do war corresponding (maybe I will take it up as a "hobby" one day), I have seen the insides of five jails in the Middle East, been bitten by poisonous snakes, got malaria twice and been shot at by pirates on the Nun River in Nigeria. Just let me say in closing that being a war correspondent is not a hobby for anyone.
--Robert Burch, photo-journalist
I've been following Mr. Hechtman's excellent adventure from the Pacific Coast. You certainly mete out a hefty probation test. I was wondering during the whole affair if Ken Hechtman would still want to be a journalist when he got out of there. If he does, you should give him a contract before Radio-Canada hires him to replace Normand Lester. If he needs a letter of reference, I'll give him one. I'd never heard of your paper before he came along, that should be the killer argument. If your paper was on sale in Vancouver, I'd have bought it--or are you one of those irritating indies who don't care about advertising? Buy Hechtman. He's got future.
--Francine Johnson, Vancouver
It was with a great deal of interest that I watched the plight of poor Ken Hechtman, your "hobby" correspondent. I recently read an interview with Mr. Hechtman that puts a lot of things in perspective. In the report he states that he started his journalistic career just days after the Sept. 11 tragedy. He also indicates his time in jail was not as bad as some other jail stints he has completed during his time as a political demonstrator.
Hechtman put himself in harm's way because of some passing interest in Afghanistan. I have seen his likes at protests in Ottawa, Quebec City and Seattle. This guy is no journalist; he's no war correspondent. He's simply a professional rabble-rouser who has nothing better to do with his time.
--Brian Welsh, Guelph, Ontario
Regarding Mr. Hechtman, frankly, those nabobs of negativity strike me as just a tad jealous. Hechtman's dispatches were more gonzo than journalism, but I like them in the way that I like PJ O'Rourke: opinionated as hell, I might not agree with him, but it was a way fun read.
Add my voice to those supporting running the stories--it would have been dumb to nix them because Ken hadn't gone to Con U. Journalism, and worked his way up from writing obits. I'm glad it worked out for all of you.
--Neil Schwartzman
I read that Ken Hechtman was missing in Afghanistan the day after attending the funeral of my friend Harry Burton, the Reuters cameraman killed along with three colleagues when their convoy was ambushed Nov. 19 on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul.
Needless to say, as a Montrealer and a journalist my thoughts and those of my grieving colleagues were with Mr. Hechtman and his family at that time. Now I find out that Mr. Hechtman is not a journalist but someone looking to fulfill some sort of pubescent fantasy by slipping into Afghanistan to cover the war.
Mr. Hechtman's cavalier attitude disrespects the memory of the more than 750 professional journalists killed in the past five years, and the hundreds of others who daily overcome extremely difficult and at times dangerous circumstances in order to deliver the events of the world to your doorstep, kitchen radio, TV room or Web site.
I find it utterly galling that some cowboy from Montreal who ignored all the clear warnings and advice gets to walk out of Afghanistan without a scratch while my old roommate won't be joining his family for Christmas dinner. This clown seems to think we're playing some sort of game of hide-and-seek and when it ends everyone gets to go home for cocoa and cookies.
--Paul Dillon, Jakarta, Indonesia
On blackness
Life must be tough for Kristian Gravenor. He's a self-proclaimed black man trapped in a white man's body, but other people don't see him for this, "as proven whenever the Nation of Islam guys routinely ignore [him]." ["Black unlike me," Dec. 6]
This is also proven, however, whenever he gets that promotion/pay increase/job offer from an employer. Or whenever that landlord rents him that apartment. Or whenever the clerk in that store doesn't tail him when he's just browsing. Or whenever the police don't arrest him/search his car/beat him up/shoot at him 41 times when he pulls out his wallet to show his ID. Oh, if only they knew he was black on the inside...
I'd humbly suggest that maybe--just maybe--there's a little more to being black than appreciating soul food and being jealous of "their" women. But certainly a better understanding of black history couldn't hurt. Mr. Gravenor, that's great that you hire black people to do work around the house. But I'm not sure I'd agree that it's ever been the case that white people are unwilling to get black people to do "underpaid" domestic manual labour for them. If you really believe you're being that progressive, maybe you should do a little thinking about how black people came to North America in the first place.
--James Yap, QPIRG-McGill
Ban nudity!
Kudos to Bernard Boulad for his letter denouncing your cover showing Istvan Kantor, aka Monty Cantsin's, Machine Sex Action Group ["But it's art!" Nov. 15]. I was appalled to walk into my suburban mall and be assaulted by your cover. My first reaction was to ignore it, but my 10-year-old daughter was immediately attracted. I did not know how to respond when she asked me why those people were on the cover and why did they look like they were being tortured? Well, maybe the editors of your paper can field that question. I couldn't explain to her the intricacies of what is considered art and what is pornography masquerading to be art.
As Mr. Boulad has pointed out, your newspaper is available to anybody. My innocent kid saw it when she didn't ask to see it. Unlike the TV or radio, I cannot turn you off. What I can do, is go to the management of the mall and demand that your paper be removed from the stands. I can also go to other parents, artists, cool, alternative and open-minded people who read your paper and together we can call up your advertisers and threaten to ban them too.
I thought the cover with the teenage girls in private school girl uniforms in suggestive poses was more than enough to turn me off to the alternative press, but I guess all's fair in war and art. Except I want this excuse for art out of my neighborhood.
--Susan Fuda
Foggy notions
Don't know where your reporter got his information, perhaps his brain was fogged up due to his low tolerance level, but it was not the first Cannabis Cup held in Montreal ["Best hemp or bust," Nov. 22]. What's the point in reporting an event when the reporter does nothing but speak of himself, makes little sense, and makes light of such an important and controversial issue? Send a better reporter next year, this one did the Mirror no justice--Chris Barry isn't helping the cause with his shenanigans.
Peace and smile on!
--Suju
Why did you guys send a complete moron to the Cannabis Cup? First of all, it's the third fucking year that the event takes place. Second of all, this idiot admits that he can't smoke a joint without getting completely stoned then proceeds to recount how stupid he becomes after smoking, as if weed will make you hallucinate. He never got around to telling us anything about the outcome of the event, or even if Ed thought we had good shit or not. He was insulting to the other people there and didn't seem to care about anything. Why bother covering an event if you are just going to send incompetent losers to cover it?
--Greg Faber
Correction
Regarding last week's Artsweek piece "Sex appeal," the location of the Echophilia collective exhibit Compositions 1 is the Lotus Eaters Gallery (372 Ste-Catherine W., #328).
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