Columns

The Stranger: A Critical Overview

by A. Birch Steen, Stranger Public Editor and OSHA Board of Governors Member (Retired)

It has now been a handful of weeks since Dan Savage, the previous arbiter of bad taste occupying numero uno on this paper's masthead, was elevated to the jabberwocky status of "editorial director." And yet, attentive readers (of which there are many, sadly; most hunched over beers at some miserable dive, mouths moving slowly and silently as their eyes scan the pages) have probably noticed very little has changed within The Stranger. The subject matter remains unnecessarily lurid, the grammar and spelling atrocious, the criticism of the "kill first, gussy up the corpse" variety. In fact, despite a recent makeover (the words "polishing" and "excrement" come to mind) and a much younger dolt parading about with the title of "editor," it appears this paper has no real intention of changing anything. If it's always been broke, one assumes, then why bother?

Well, here's one reason: this week's feature package. Ostensibly a package of snapshots about night owls (or some such nonsense), the pieces collected under the title "We Saw Your Light On" (oh, if we could only get a glimmer of light from the bulbs in charge here!) offer little more than a treatise on stalking. The premise of the disaster: A handful of Stranger scribblers are sent upon the city one night after the taverns have closed and, upon seeing a light still burning in a window, attempt to connive their way into the homes of unwitting residents. Just why were these series of invasions undertaken? Let us allow editor Christopher Frizzelle's introductory words to hang him:

"The idea for the project came from an experience everyone's had: You're walking down the street when the rest of the city's asleep and you see someone's light on. You wonder: Why are they still up? What's their story/problem/hobby? What are they doing/watching/thinking about? In the dead of night, anything could be going on."

Now, I can't argue against the claim that "anything could be going on" within the confines of local citizens. But I can indeed argue what isn't going on within this feature package—namely, not a thing, not even a morsel, to justify its very existence. Mr. Frizzelle and his minions can bluster and attempt to justify all they want, but what this feature comes down to is fairly straightforward: Having assaulted Seattle's citizens in print over the years, The Stranger staff has now turned to assaulting them late at night and inside their very homes. For years, I've joked that Seattle's citizens should lock up their children, lest they become infected with this paper's unconscionable lack of morals. Now I shall have to recommend drawing one's blinds as well.

Also included in this week's issue: The Stranger's endorsements for the upcoming election, which includes, as always, a "handy voter cheat sheet" listing all of the editorial board's picks. Handy is right: Simply note whom they've chosen, and vote the opposite.