EDITORS: I am African American, and thuggery is NOT a value that is celebrated in my home ["White Fright," Dan Savage, April 12]! I'm sure Savage will agree that you don't have to be black and poor to be violent, and what's more, his "White Fright" article is so self-congratulatory... as if he should be applauded for asking the "difficult questions" which only serve to perpetuate negative and unhealthy stereotypes about lower-class black people.

Dan Savage needs to come off his high horse and take a walk in the plantation--I mean ghettos--of all our big cities and ask some REAL questions!

Anonymous, via e-mail

DAN SAVAGE: I find it hard to argue with your [opinion] about the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's failure to ask tough questions about the racial disparity in the numbers of students disciplined in the Seattle Public Schools. This was, indeed, another example of the journalistic timidity I referred to in my Mardi Gras article. I would note, however, that I did a cartoon on this very subject that got a strong reader reaction (mostly positive), and Robert Jamieson has also been touching on racial issues in his column that have, heretofore, been ignored. I offer this as evidence that the P-I is at least opening up to a less politically correct approach to racial questions. This is in marked contrast to The Seattle Times, where ultra-sensitivity and blindness to the uncomfortable paradoxes of race relations still determine what questions they ask and what they choose to print. While the P-I's spine in this regard is weak, it is stiffening. The Times, meanwhile, continues to be a jellyfish.

David Horsey, via e-mail

DAN SAVAGE: You are absolutely right on this one ["White Fright"]. Many kids are being taught by the popular culture (rather than by intelligent parents), and they cause a disproportionate amount of exceedingly violent crime. Their culture (rap "music," movies, and TV shows which demonstrate the "gangsta" lifestyle) appeals to these poor kids. They are taught that it is proper to be angry, and that instant gratification is something the world owes them.

What you did not mention is the failure of the criminal justice system to hold kids accountable for their crimes. Within a few days after the Mardi Gras melee, several young black men were arrested for murder and other serious crimes. [According to TV news reports], each of these kids had been arrested several times for violent crimes as well as lesser crimes. Why weren't they in jail or reform school?

Spencer Bryant, via e-mail

DAN SAVAGE: I was very impressed with your article "White Fright." It seems someone has finally addressed in print a question that has nagged at me ferociously: Why are the fingers automatically pointed to the white authority figures in any given situation when race statistics are askew? It isn't the type of question one raises at a party. Especially in such a liberal setting as our fine city. The fear of being instantly labeled a "pro-Aryan supremacist" is forever imminent in this overtly "politically correct" age. It seems, in my non-white-supremacist opinion, that every ethnic group with an ax to grind is proudly waving the banner of victimhood. All the while Joe Average White Boy is immediately charged, booked, and convicted as a racist.

Jeff Bennett, via e-mail

"HI, MY NAME is Mary and I'm responding to an article written by Dan Savage called 'White Fright.' I don't want Dan Savage addressing nothing regarding black children except his relationship to them. Instead of addressing what he thinks is 'cultural thuggery,' he needs to go and address his own racism. We don't need white people telling us how to address our cultural icons, or what they are, or who our leaders are, or what we need to look at. We don't need no white boy telling us how to look at our cultural icons, or deconstructing them, or explaining them to us."

Mary Costet, Seattle, via voice-mail

EDITORS: Now that KCMU is officially history ["Radio Ga-Ga," Jeff DeRoche, April 12], that history should be told with accuracy. DeRoche's article implies that in spite of mass firings, a strike, and a lawsuit, volunteers returned. This actually was not the case. Around 60 volunteers and employees walked out on strike and stayed away from the station for two full years until the strike was called off. The walkout initially forced the station off the air nightly. Others ultimately stepped in to replace; only about seven of the original folks returned.

Dawn Jewell, former KCMU volunteer

Dear Jeff: Thank you for your recent article about KCMU. It was very informative, and cleared up a lot of the misconceptions about the KCMU/KEXP definition of public/college/community/non-commercial radio. I hope that the University of Washington understands that aside from great programming, the current DJs are an integral part of keeping [KCMU/KEXP] a great [station].

Even though I am not a student, I also am in full support of another radio station for the UW. Since KCMU is "all grown up" now, it seems only natural to start another.

Kim B, via e-mail

Dear Editor: I would like to suggest that Jeff DeRoche check his facts. As a DJ for KCMU (now KEXP) since 1995, I would like to set the record straight. The article opens with a paragraph stating that KCMU asked for money for a "new home" with KUOW, but never moved to the new home. That part is true. What the article fails to mention is that the money was returned to those who donated. The article also states that in 1997, KCMU fired all of its volunteers and hired a new staff. This is an outright lie. ALL--I repeat, ALL--of the DJs hired were from the volunteer staff. The angle of the story was appealing in that DeRoche raised the question, "What is public radio?" And maybe the article could have had merit if, instead of bashing the station with untrue facts and speculative opinions, there would have been some real investigative reporting.

Michele Myers,

KEXP DJ JEFF DeROCHE RESPONDS: The e-mail message from which I was quoting directly was written by someone who gave money during that pledge drive. She asked that question--a good question--because she never got reimbursed. And though I see how you might misinterpret the statement "In 1997, the station fired the last of its remaining volunteer DJs," I never said KCMU fired all of its DJs and hired a new staff. Some DJs were already being paid; some DJs got jobs; and the remainder, all of whom were volunteers, were fired. That's not "speculation"; it's fact. Lastly, I didn't write the article to "bash" KCMU, or even KEXP. I think it's a great station, and I said so in my article. KEXP simply no longer warrants the public support for which it asks.

RICK LEVIN: So are you done writing for the year? The tone of your column [Courtside, April 19] suggests so. I've enjoyed reading your stuff--very thoughtful and intelligent, but not excessively witty to the point where it puts the focus on the writer and not the topic. In addition, you have a good knowledge of the game. Sports writing is for the most part mediocre, so it has been refreshing to find a column that I don't just gobble up guiltily like a bag of Chee-tos; I actually read it carefully and am given things to consider after I'm done.

Jarrett, via e-mail

Dear Editors: I must write to criticize the sorrowful writing of Nate Lippens. While I [don't] believe that a writer should cater to the lowest common denominator of their readership, Lippens' self-serving verbosity must be stopped! His article praising Low ["Hard Truth Sung Softly," April 12] is a fine case in point. While many writers have struggled to get a handle on this uniquely daring trio, Lippens plunges forward with bloated excess and useless grandeur. Such long-winded copy as "[Their] music retains an elliptical force that speaks loudly through gaps and things unsaid," or "[a] song of silence sung back to us, the inexplicable and unsayable is the real American song," could be so much stronger if the reviewer was more succinct.

I'm sure Zak Sally would frown at the comment that his bass playing is "puissant"--not that it isn't true, but because the word choice is so goddamn pretentious!

There's nothing more annoying than a writer who's hashing out his novel through newspaper articles he's writing. Novels, simply by their length, are better suited for verbal fireworks and parades of multi-syllabled monstrosities. Lippens, an apparent fan of Low's music, should take to heart the band's enduring passion for the "less-is-more" approach to the creative process and get back to basics.

Stuart, via e-mail