Taschereau
tops the Main

In reference to last week's Angel and Insect feature [June 26], I take exception to your remark about a garish Pharmaprix store front on St-Laurent as "creeping Taschereauization."

Have you ever been on the Main at 7 or 8 in the morning and seen the dog droppings, garbage, mysterious-looking puddles, graffiti and general grime?

I'll take Taschereau Boulevard's asphalt and strip malls anytime.

» David Stenhouse

Sad kids, bad advice

In regards to Kristian Gravenor's column "Army of Sad Kids," [Kristian Perspective, June 19 ], I applaud the author's emphasis on a too-often forgotten subject in what is never a simple situation.

The break-up of a family is always difficult for children, though whether it's ultimately "for better or worse" can't be said with certainty by even the family members themselves. This is a unique question for each family. Our courts give the best interests of each child priority in matters of family law, as they should, and the part of Gravenor's article that highlights that issue is well done.

However, I choked on my breakfast cereal at the facile, almost comical self-indulgent tripe in the second half of the piece. Waving his obviously impotent philosophic wand, Gravenor attempts to somehow solve the problem of families and relationships that do not fulfil his own personal view of what an ideal family is or should be. An entire article could be written about the hubristic single-minded lack of understanding of family dynamics, relationships, love and human actualization displayed in his "advice" for women and men. I'm frankly astonished that you allowed it to be printed.

There is no canned solution for the inability of families to stay together when problems occur. As people grow and develop, sometimes their paths lead them apart. Gravenor is right to emphasize how difficult this can be for the children of affected families and the need for sensitivity to their well-being when such occurs. But his perspective is offensive in its display of prejudice, ignorance, insensitivity and misunderstanding of the most basic human dynamics.

» Jonathan Levinson

Immigrant deserves deportation

Either French Canadians are incredibly naïve or they are plain stupid. Did you know that in Latin America every second a banker, politician, taxi driver and peasant wakes up with the sole purpose to do bad?

When I read stories like the one you recently ran on an immigrant afraid of deportation to Peru ["Feds order family break up," June 21], I just have to laugh. The woman lies her way into this country, into the system and she even lies to her own lawyer and you expect me to believe that if she goes back to Peru (a perfectly normal democracy, by the way) she's going to get her ass kicked? By who, the goons she stiffed back home?

I lived in Latin America for many years, and no country, except maybe Cuba, prosecutes citizens who get deported from other countries, unless there are criminal reasons in their countries of origin.

I'm an American who comes to Montreal often. I love this place as my own, and I can't reason why decent individuals who may end up bringing wealth and jobs to their community are having a hard time getting a simple work permit. Instead, these nitwits let these larvae in and waste all the taxpayers' money listening to the bullshit these people, and their "awareness-raising counsellors" come up with.

What makes you think that people who lie their way into Canada or the U.S. will not continue to lie in other ways while living here? Walk down St-Denis and stop by one of the hundreds of great cafés and smell the coffee. The world wasn't created yesterday.

» Vladimir Rojas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Praising Taboo's
slim dancers

As a bisexual male in my 20s, I have worked in the male flesh trade and have a number of friends who work or have worked as strippers in gay clubs. I was appalled and disgusted to read the letter entitled "Taboo raid praised" [Letters, June 19]. The writer has the honesty to reveal he's gay and that he goes to strip clubs, but he has the gall to hail the police raid on Taboo because its dancers do not appeal to him.

What a shame! For his own sweet information, all the dancers at Taboo and other strip joints are stripping by choice and all are over legal age. Taboo or the other bars do not coerce anyone into dancing. Also, most of the dancers at Taboo or elsewhere enjoy what they are doing. They are not being exploited by anyone. The writer loves beefy, muscular men and hates Taboo because the dancers are mostly slim and young. You do not have to be muscular to be beautiful, and half of the gay men prefer looks and slimness to muscular guys. What's wrong with serving that market?

Yes, Taboo could use more older dancers too, but the clients, as well as the gay community, must demand that aggressively. As it now stands, they only hire dancers who look or are under 20, which is not such a good idea. But please don't criticize the bar because the dancers aren't muscular, gay-for-pay dancers like the ones at Campus.

» Mack Forester

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