Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
THE LAW IS THE LAW, MA'AM
[The following letters pertain to R. Scott Moxley's February 9 story “Illegally Park-ed,” in which Moxley reports that a former officer avoided criminal liability for his undisputed sexual encounter with a motorist.]
My jaw just dropped in horror as I read this article. I'm from Toronto and I was wondering who to contact to express my outrage regarding this matter. I'm sure there are many, many others like me. Will there be a follow up article? I feel sick to my stomach.
Unbelievable. I thought this kind of thing only happened around here (East Texas). I appreciate Scott Moxley's work a great deal—keep giving us the facts.
I am glad you published this article, however, I have a slight problem with the following extract: “Kamiabipour believed she'd caught the 6-foot-3 cop in a lie. Records show he ran the bosomy, 5-foot, 110-pound dancer's license plate before the stop . . . ” There may be slight justification for including her weight (in which case, the same ought to have been done for both parties) but “bosomy”? Not only is that irrelevant, it sails dangerously close to the ingrained misogyny of tabloid coverage—something I would have thought your paper would want to avoid, especially considering the article's subject matter.
This law enforcement officer's behavior was OUTRAGEOUS! He is dangerous and should have been thrown in jail. He also should be registered as a sex offender. This is unbelievable! You seem to take this whole story (as do the authorities) as some kind of harmless prank.
GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE. ILLEGALS DO
KFI-AM talk show hosts John N Ken giddily celebrated Gallegos' death, referring to him as a “scumbag.” Yeah, I'd say he qualifies [Nick Schou's “Santa Ana Showdown,” Jan. 19]. The slightly more sober Fox News and CNN's Lou Dobbs also gave Gallegos' death prominent play in their evening news segments the day after his death; highlighting the fact that he was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had been deported three times and questioned why he had been able to stay in the country. I'd say those are legitimate questions and concerns. How many times do we have to deport these idiots before we consider a harsher penalty other than just deportation? Maybe the Pew Hispanic Center or, better yet, Gustavo Arellano should investigate the number of murders and crimes that have been committed by illegal aliens who have been repeatedly deported. When it comes to the issue of illegal immigration, I'm finding myself more and more in agreement with the feelings of KFI's John and Ken and the Minutemen. Sorry. I can't help myself. The situation is reaching absurd proportions.
TO JAM OR NOT TO JAM
Ratdog is not a “jam band” [Kate Carraway's “This Week in Hybrids Run Amok: Bob Weir and Ratdog,” Feb. 9]. Yes, I am a fan of Ratdog, as well as lots of other forms of music. Everything from Glenn Miller to Tony Bennett, Sinatra, the blues, jazz, classical, “classic” rock, CSNY, rock N roll, etc., etc., etc. To use this term in regard to a band such as Ratdog tells me that the author of this piece really is not too aware of the music that they play. The drive behind this band, besides Weir and the guitar player, of course, is a trio of heavily based jazz/hip-hop/bop musicians. This is 2007, Kate. Your “hippie noise” comment is another telling factor of your musical ear. One never knows what a show will bring. There is a wonderful night of music to be had if you open your mind and ears, Kate.
WE'RE NUMBER ONE!
Regarding the Mater Dei High School coach, Gary McKnight and the rest of the scoundrels, I say what else is new [Gustavo Arellano's “McKnight Fall,” Jan. 26]? Whether it's Catholic or not, it's win at any cost. Catholic hierarchy do not care a whit about what anyone does, good or bad—piests included—as long as they can have their own way with everybody. No one questions the clergy. Get a life, forget church and sue the bastards.
[Re: Gustavo Arellano's “McKnight Errant,” Feb. 2] Although we could not find a complaint or an investigation submitted to or issued by a CIF official over the last 26 years, we have a letter submitted to a CIF official in December of 2000 from someone who complained that McKnight allegedly once told an opposing coach not to accept a former player . . . but the CIF official refused to look into it. Instead, he asked that the letter writer forward him a description of the incident so he could pass it on to Mater Dei's principal, but we don't know if he ever did. What a blockbuster revelation! Sounds more like an unchallenged rumor to me. It is really hard to believe that you are fairly reporting the events surrounding McKnight, especially when you claim, “Lawsuit reveals tampering charges against famed basketball coach.” I count one charge, one very flimsy charge, in 26 years.
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN'
[RE: The departure of Will Swaim, Rebecca Schoenkopf and Chris Ziegler] Son of a bitch. In the eight years I've read your mag for more than the sex ads, you've managed to piss me off to no end. You've been a bunch of uppity, obnoxious, opinionated asses who seem 98.2% positive your shit doesn't stink. You've also been the heart and soul of our various communities, providing snarky commentary and insight into the crap that the rest of the world thought they were too good to care about. Well, we cared about it. Still do. You helped bring it to our attention, gave us something to talk about, and reminded us that OC isn't just a wasteland of pseudo-conservative assholes married to ex-porn star Born Again Christians. Mr. Swaim, Mr. Ziegler, Ms. Schoenkopf, you will be missed more than we can tell you. You pissed almost everyone off at one point or another, but God bless you for making us care enough to be pissed. So long, and thanks for all the fish. Oh, and Mox, you're the shit. If you bail, this fucking rag will tank.
OREGON IS IN MIDDLE AMERICA
I just read your article about the guy in Oregon who got suspended for showing a co-worker “The Mexican” [Gustavo Arellano's “Ask A Lawsuit,” Jan. 5]. This is a classic example of corporate America trampling the rights of those they employ. The corporate mentality of standing on the backs of the employee is plenty enough to endure, but being disciplined for exercising your right to free speech? I didn't read where this fellow held this person at gunpoint and made him read “Ask a Mexican!” They were of their own free will to read it or not. Will some people consider it offensive? Of course. I guess we're lucky that the founding fathers of our country didn't decide that the Constitution was offensive. Free speech is a right, not a privilege. It's not up to someone else to decide what is offensive. What's more horrific is the attorney advising him to drop his lawsuit because no judge in Oregon will uphold his rights to free speech. I guess Oregon isn't the more progressive, liberal state that I thought it was.
PORN FOR RENT
[The following letter pertains to Greg Stacy's January 5 column “It's a Living,” in which Stacy gets the day-in-the-life scoop on Ismael Marquez, a porn-store clerk.]
I have been working at a video store in Anaheim for over two years. We carry the normal blockbusters, family movies, indie releases and we have a back room of about 3,000 adult titles. I can relate to this guy. We get guys coming in here for three or four hours who purchase or rent nothing. We get some customers that will come in two or three times a day to rent. Sometimes we'll even get guys that come back in 45 minutes after they just rented something (gross!). We also have fathers that will come in to rent trannie porn and then come back later in the day with the wife and kids to rent some Disney movie (sickos!). A few times, kids have come up to the “returns” desk with a stack of porn and I can see the parent sitting in the car. The kid is definitely old enough to understand the title; I don't see how you could be so lazy to not return your own greasy-fat-he/she-porn, disgusting! I have in no way become numb to sex. I rarely take any movies home myself, but hell, some of the titles have given me new moves for the bedroom.
