LIFE WASTED

TO THE EDITOR: Regarding "The Forgotten" [Angela Valdez, March 1]: Sam didn't deserve to die. That couple didn't deserve to be held up at gunpoint, either. Your empathy seems misplaced.

Greg Kirkos

FORGETTABLE

DEAR EDITOR: You've always published a juvenile publication, but the feature by Angela Valdez really requires a response. The only possibly valid point in Valdez's piece of crap posing as an article is that SPD may have not given the victim CPR or called an ambulance for him. The rest is pure "only in Seattle" PC crap. If the off-duty police officer had been black and the victim had been black I doubt Valdez would have even bothered to write an article. Gee, the young man who was held up made a "joke" about it, regarding being initially nervous about his date. Oh my! How insensitive. It must be because the robber was black! What absolute drivel. Let's be clear: An ambulance should have been called for the alleged robber, and I condemn the officers if they did not, and they should be disciplined. However, if they didn't call one, I believe it was a result of them being cops, not of them being white men. Of course we don't even know what race the attending officers were, but Valdez's obvious implication is that they were white. I know Valdez is straining and contorting the facts to make a racial thing out of this incident, but it just doesn't work.

As for the man being shot in the side, a person does not have to be completely turned toward someone to be able to shoot him. As for the rest of the article: So the young man had a supposedly tough life—big deal. Millions of people have had a tough upbringing in this country and they didn't turn to armed robbery. What about personal responsibility?

Tom Colvin

CALLOUS CITY

EDITOR: As a journalist, I thank Angela Valdez for acknowledging the life and death of Samuel Curry. He was gunned down maybe two yards in front of where I live when I'm working in Seattle. Seconds after those shots (which could hardly have been described as "pops"), I telephoned two reporters and a newsroom and I doubt I am the only person who did so. However, any real interest in what witnesses saw or heard happening a few feet away clearly evaporated the moment the sheriff's office issued a statement.

I would hope that anyone and everyone who placed a flower in that modest memorial the family created was moved by the simple card signed, "Love, Mom & Dad." But many of the things I heard and have since heard or overheard indicate it is foolish to think so. Seattle is a city in love with its omnipresent rhetoric about "neighbors," "community," "consensus," and "diversity"—an empty rhetoric that is certainly more tool than truth. This is in fact a place of remarkable coldness, where stunning natural beauty is shamed by the ruthless selfishness and self-interest beneath most dealings.

The fact that anyone would lay hands on a parent's handwritten sign asking them not to remove flowers put there to "respect the life of my son" is simply below contempt.

Cynthia Rose

NO HERO

EDITOR: Regarding "The Forgotten," I'm trying to figure out what Ms. Valdez is trying to accomplish with this article.

Is she trying to portray Samuel Stephon Curry as "a hero"? He was committing armed robbery—holding innocent people at gunpoint—when he was shot. How is armed robbery heroic?

If Valdez is trying to communicate an object lesson to her readers, I applaud her efforts. Allow me to underscore the fundamental point: DON'T COMMIT VIOLENT CRIMES.

I can empathize with Samuel's family and friends. They lost someone important in their lives. His death was indeed unfortunate.

What's most unfortunate in this case is that Samuel felt that armed robbery was his best option on the night he died. Or perhaps he didn't truly consider the possible consequences of his actions. Either way, he made the choice to be a violent criminal that night—and he paid dearly for it.

Realistic in Fremont

DIVING IN

BRENDAN KILEY: I really enjoyed your essay about connecting with Roethke's death (and life for that matter) ["Drunk Diver," March 1]. It was a wonderful portrait of the depth to which literature can shape us.

Alex Merritt

SHITSTORM

JOSH FEIT: As a gay woman who often goes in a horde of mid- to late-twentysomethings to the Storm games, I am simultaneously so thankful for the fact that you've dug this up ["Foul Shot," March 1] and also really disappointed to know now that if we continue to go, the money we spend will just line the pockets of these jerks. It's one of the few sporting events that gay families can bring their kids to without having to worry about being heckled or stared at. Basically this sucks. But thank you for writing the article. It's always better to be informed.

Karin