EDITOR: I want to thank you for your article about Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf ["Somali Warlord Heads to Seattle," Sandeep Kaushik, Sept 19].
Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf is a bloodthirsty dictator who killed a large number of his people. He is a war criminal, and should not be allowed to visit a democratic country like the U.S.
The United States of America should bring Abdullahi Yusuf to criminal court.
Anonymous, via e-mail
EDITOR: As a Somalian who lives in Minneapolis, I want to thank you for your well-written and reliable article. Your paper has helped to reveal to the international community, especially the American people and their politicians, that America should not be a haven for warlords like Abdullahi Yusuf, who committed crimes against his people.
Anonymous, via e-mail
EDITOR: In his article "I'm Complacent, You're Complacent" [Sept 19], Dan Savage says that AIDS is no longer a medical crisis but a stupidity crisis. He calls upon gay men and AIDS organizations to step up to their responsibilities and quit thinking that others owe them a handout.
This point is very well taken. However, I fear that the message will be missed because of the baggage borne by the messenger. Since his falling-out with the Chicken Soup Brigade years ago, Dan has been attacking AIDS organizations. Maybe what he charges is true, but he has so established himself in a negative role that his clear call for personal sexual responsibility will probably be lost. That is unfortunate.
Janice Van Cleve, via e-mail
DAN SAVAGE RESPONDS: My falling-out with Chicken Soup Brigade--and other AIDS organizations--was prompted by what I was writing about AIDS, and not the other way around, as Van Cleve implies.
DAN SAVAGE: As usual, you hit it dead center again. Do you suppose if ACAP programs didn't guarantee an endless supply of antiviral medications to new seroconverts that people might think more seriously about their sexual behavior? The interesting thing is that the writing is already on the wall and no one is paying attention. There are states where there are waiting lists for antiviral medication programs. Even the most narcissistic HIV-positive person might understand the wisdom of not passing on the virus if the [alternative] meant "sharing" scarce [treatment] resources.
Thanks again for having that gigantic pair of balls and saying "out loud" what people will only speak in private.
Bill Krutch, via e-mail
EDITOR: "Many critics with leftist or Marxist commitments will be appalled by Barbershop," writes Charles Mudede ["Low Comedy," Sept 12]. Since when are "critics with leftist or Marxist commitments" The Stranger's target audience? I fear that this group will be unable to sustain The Stranger's circulation numbers.
Can you please write a review of this film for the majority--"the folk," to use Mudede's comically pompous terminology--who enjoy jokes about flatulence, and scenes where people get hit in the groin and then fall over into wet cement or something?
Seth Kolloen, via e-mail
EDITOR: For a while, I was convinced that people's characters could be judged by the measurement of their necks. The thicker the neck, the dumber the fuck. I was also sure that there was no one in the world stupider than a professional boxer. Who the FUCK would want to get punched in the head ALL THE TIME, and work so hard every day only to get PUNCHED IN THE HEAD? I could never understand it.
Your feature article this week has changed my mind ["True Brit," Matt Sorenson, Sept 19]. Mr. Neil Stephens does not appear to be a stupid fuck. Perhaps that is because of the writer, whose neck size did not appear in the article.
C. Min, via e-mail
STRANGER: In response to the letter sent to The Stranger by Kevin Nolan [Sept 19]: First, I want to say that it was very inappropriate. There was no call for the lack of respect shown in his letter. Second, I thought we were supposed to learn something about being American after September 11. So much has been preached about loving each other and standing by one another, and yet he acts like this. There was no excuse for his childish behavior. Third, many of us--including myself--are sick to death of hearing about September 11. September 11 has turned into a big moneymaking scam, and I commend The Stranger for not trying to gain money off this day. Mr. Nolan is the one who has learned nothing from this great tragedy, and sadly, the same goes for a huge percentage of so-called Americans.
Josh Adams, via e-mail
EDITOR: Thanks for your article on Deano's last week ["Lounge Act," Amy Jenniges, Sept 19]. I was especially happy to learn that David Osgood will be representing McNaughton and Deano's. Maybe if Osgood wins again, the patrons of Deano's will have their own parade, with signs that say, "Go home, you gentrifying racist fuckers!" We can hope.
Mitchel, via e-mail
EDITOR: Read that article on Deano's and East Madison. Pretty accurate. So if you're interested in reading a response from someone who lives with it, then keep reading.
I've lived here for the last three years, and seen all the shit that you mentioned in the article--and a whole lot more. But realistically, I don't know one person living around here who is more concerned with looking like a racist targeting a "black" bar than [with] getting crackheads, sirens, and hookers the fuck off their block. And in all seriousness, Deano's and Oscar's II are the epicenter of all the shit that goes down, and everybody knows it--black, white, whatever. I don't know who you talked to, but [they don't] represent a large constituency here.
Graham, via e-mail
EDITOR: I am writing in response to Dan Savage's criticism of Gretchen Johnston's leadership in his September 19 article ["New & Improved"] on the changes in this year's Seattle Fringe Festival.
I have been working with the festival since 1993. I started here as an intern, and Gretchen was a mentor and an inspiration to me--in fact, it was largely due to her encouragement that I have stayed in arts administration. Her passionate belief in freedom of speech and freedom of assembly has remained at the core of the festival, the base from which we work to accomplish our mission of developing artists and audiences. Far from "nearly running the Seattle Fringe Festival into the ground," as Savage wrote, Gretchen kept the festival operating in the black for its first six years. The changes this year in season and compensation to artists are the result of a huge amount of research, time, effort, and dedication, and are based on ideas that she discussed with me from my first day here nine years ago. She is as delighted as you and I are to see them brought to fruition.
Kibby MacKinnon, executive director, Seattle Fringe Theatre Productions
DAN SAVAGE RESPONDS: Kibby MacKinnon is free to make excuses for and/or kiss the ass of her inept and dim-witted predecessor, Gretchen Johnston. MacKinnon is not free, however, to rewrite history. Every praiseworthy reform the Seattle Fringe Festival has undertaken in recent years was taken after Johnston's departure. If Johnston was in favor of these reforms, why weren't they implemented during her six-year tenure? Answer: Because Johnston wasn't in favor of these reforms. When I interviewed Johnston about the lousy state of the Seattle Fringe Festival when she was running the show, Johnston was strongly opposed to letting artists keep their own box-office income and to moving the festival to the fall, bringing it in line with the North American fringe fest circuit. Financially speaking, by ripping off artists and cheating audiences, Johnston may have kept the festival in the black during her tenure. But artistically speaking, Johnston kept the festival in the toilet.
