Street hassles

Last night around 12:30 a.m., after meeting some friends at Laika and missing some friends at Casa del Popolo, my boyfriend and I (a man of 27) walked home down St-Laurent to Prince Arthur, then down Aylmer to Milton, across the McGill campus and along Sherbrooke to our apartment near Atwater and Ste-Catherine.

During our walk we were heckled three times. We were not holding hands or touching. We were chatting. I was wearing khakis, a white shirt and a denim jacket. He, brown cords, a beige shirt and a copper leather jacket.

The first heckle was from a group of guys coming out of the pizza place on the corner of Rachel and St-Laurent, saying, "Hey sexy. Oo, oo." Maybe it wasn't toward us.

Then, as we walked down Aylmer, two guys drinking beer passed us. From a few feet behind we heard, "Hey sexy, nice ass. Oo, oo." Can I get a copy of the handbook?

The third - and this floored me - was from a white car passing us on Sherbrooke, just by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. "Hey, nannas," came the heckle, mixed with the driver's punctual engine rev and hip hop. I thought nannas were lesbians, but hey, what do I know?

Neither of us replied in any of these instances. After the drive-by though, I flew into a mini tirade. My boyfriend simply said, "Hey, people are stupid." Apparently. But I'm angry. I am angry that these men felt justified. I am angry that these events took place at these locations in this city and I am angry that most people would seek to vindicate these actions or dismiss them as trivial.

Don't tell me we were in the wrong part of town and that such things come with the territory. Toward Crescent Street and the west end of downtown (at the end of our walk) I could understand, but for two of the events we were on the Plateau: the home of the well-educated nouveau-hippie. And don't tell me that maybe one of us has a very effeminate walk because, aside from perpetuating stereotypes and the horrible myth of "gaydar," that reeks of blaming the victim - as if we brought it upon ourselves in some way.

Possibly these men - for whatever personal or cultural reasons - feel unable to cope with their own sexual emotions, thus seek to destroy the perceived cause of them. Common enough. If this is the case, then these events are symptomatic, and I am left disappointed and confused that their anger is such that they take it out on strangers. I guess we all - now at the beginning of the 21st century, in one of the most fortunate, liberal societies - still have some work to do.

» Bryn Symonds

Hooked on porn?

My God. Is it my imagination? (I think not.) Or is the Mirror obsessed with porn?!?! (I think so.) [Cover, "Montreal Porn from A to Z," April 29].

» Anonymous

I just wanted to congratulate you on your April 29 paper. I especially liked the cover page. It's gutsy - we see the woman's top, she's naked and that's great for a free paper. You should do those things, I think. It's open-minded and that's what society needs in general. So keep it going.

» Anonymous

Persecution for potheads

Regarding "Busted for pot" [Letters, May 6]: I've had this same problem many times. But, thankfully, I've never been charged.

Police harassment usually comes on insistence from officers' superiors, and there is ample evidence for this. Only a small minority of police bully (these people generally do have deep-seated psychological issues), and yes, they actually break the law while enforcing it. In the case of your search, if you're charged, fight it and you'll probably win because of this.

To all you potheads out there: just remember, never consent to anything - especially when it's unjust. The police want marijuana to stay illegal because they'll lose funding if it's legalized (less crime, fewer officers different departments). Tell them and your local MP that you don't want to be oppressed anymore.

And for all those who don't think it's oppression, ask your grandparents about prohibition of alcohol and all the gangster-related deaths that disappeared with its legality. I'm sick to death of fighting for the right to enjoy something that isn't a poison like tobacco or alcohol. Tell the RCMP to stop lying to us; they do it so much and it makes me ill.

» William B., Kitchener, Ontario

More chi-chi shunning

Well said, Alex my son, there are too many chi-chi joints in this town [Letters, April 29]. Long live the likes of the Cock 'n' Bull. I miss the St-Regis big time. There was a place where Real, the head waiter, worked for 40 years. That guy knew what to bring you just by looking at you from 40 paces away - even if you'd never set foot in the joint before. I'm not suggesting that we return to the old dreadful taverns of the '50s, but all this chi-chi wears thin real quick if you're over the age of 20.

» Bruce "Suds" Jones

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