Seripop props

I just wanted to say that Seripop are probably the most fascinating and talented artists in Montreal right now [Cover, "Prints and principles," April 22]. I think the whole city could learn a thing or two from Chloe and Yannick, especially those of us who spend more time talking about our po-mo boho artistic endeavours than actually doing them. It seems Seripop has found a productive use for that latté buzz we're all so familiar with. Excellent article. I look forward to the follow-up.

» Dan Buller

Get a job

After reading Kristian Gravenor's "Here's to the Little Guy" [Kristian Perspective, April 8], I can now see why he receives so much negative feedback from readers.

Gravenor's self-invented "political lifeboat" of "petty bourgeois egalitarian" is beyond infantile! The fact that he can suggest that we, as Canadians, are born in and therefore eternally defined by our social class is ludicrous.

Yes, sadly, in our country a poor child might have to work harder than a rich one to succeed, but this does not negate the fact that success is possible. I am living proof of this. Born to an absent, alcoholic father and a dyslexic, welfare mother, I was not statistically supposed to break out of poverty. But many years of hard work and dedication later, I am educated (thanks to government loans, bursaries and scholarships by the way - not lotto tickets) and employed.

I never whined that "the system" was keeping me down. If I failed, the only person I could blame was myself. Our Canadian system does have areas in need of improvement, this I am not questioning, but the fact that Gravenor can imply that it's the system's fault for your failure, is an excuse for laziness and lack of ambition. You want to complain about Canada, try living in some dictatorship and tell me about access to basic rights, let alone rights to education and employment.

So what is a girl to do, Gravenor asks? Stop whining about how the system is keeping you down, spend more time studying and less time protesting in front of Concordia for issues you know nothing about, and get a job! No luck required, just hard work and dedication.

» Jennifer Beaudoin, MA

Intolerance abounds

Montreal is not immune to racism, as Ala Morales suggests in her "Invasive Immigrants" letter [April 8]. The firebombing of United Talmud Torah in St-Laurent is the most recent example of a targeted attack towards a minority - in this case, Jews.

Montreal is now a member to the infamous club of cities in the Western world that has seen a rise in anti-Semitic events. Montreal is not the place to live peacefully without prejudice. Unfortunately, I can't name one city in the world where we are immune to prejudice. Acts of racism, homophobia, xenophobia or just plain discrimination happen all the time. Graffiti on walls with the words "die fags" can be seen in the Gay Village, swastikas are on synagogues and Jewish schools, red paint on the doorstep of Hillel, and police brutality against blacks in various parts of the city. You suggest that the ghettoizing of the various immigrant groups is to blame? Let me remind you that all Canadians are immigrants, as far back as the Nouvelle France and the British colony. Maybe we should all leave and give this country back to its rightful owners, the aboriginals.

No, you suggest that only the unhappy immigrants should leave. You seem to be the unhappy one, complaining that immigrants have dirtied your streets and have no respect for property. Perhaps you should pack up your bags, find your ancestors and go back home! Funny, I walk by certain neighbourhoods that are very "non-immigrant" areas and I see garbage on the street, graffiti on walls and high crime rates. Yet, I walk in highly multicultural neighbourhoods, such as Côte-St-Luc, Montreal-Nord, St-Leonard and the West Island, where Italians, Jews, Chinese, Arabs and other ethnic groups co-habit, and I don't see the level of crime, demonstrations and garbage you write about. Multiculturalism is one of Canada's greatest assets; this is still one of the few countries in the world where we welcome other cultures and create a mosaic, not a melting pot like our neighbours to the south. We must work hard to keep that identity and work hand in hand to prevent acts of racism or discrimination towards any minority.

Bigotry, like the kind expressed so eloquently in Ala Morales's letter, has no place in Montreal.

» Marc M. Abergel

Shunning chi-chi

Good day Mirror readers, I just wanted to bring to people's attention how pubs in this city are being neglected! What is up with people going to these chi-chi clubs? We need to preserve our pubs and encourage them so that they'll eventually bring to the demise those shit clubs. I hate those chi-chi clubs and those preppy, trendy fucks who think so highly of themselves! Support out pubs! Cock 'n' Bull Rules!

» Alex R.

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