Mincing Is For Cooking, Not Words

• Reports of shots fired in a class war:
  

  "You're aiding and abetting the demise of working class and middle class housing," said Senator Charles Schumer. "Banks share in the culpability" said State Senator Jose M. Serrano.

  I hope those aren't blanks your firing guys. <City Room>


• Remember that cringe worthy article in the NYPress last week? The one that reeked of hidden agendas not so well hidden? Well, two letters to the editor in this weeks' NY Press are in response. The first letter to the editor is great, and is from a resident of Italy who has visited Harlem and writes in cute broken english, but oh so earnest.

  "My passion for photography brought me to Harlem, where I spent one afternoon. There I realized that I would need more to learn, to walk around, to look around, pay attention, walk carefully...
  
  My impression is that the writer-journalist—as well as myself—would need to wake up: [Stop being] "naive"... you or I are not "black," you will never be black; it is a fact..."

  The next letter to the editor is not so diplomatic. Rashida Ayers writes,

  "...the article is so heavily peppered with condescension and entitlement that I frequently found myself doubling over with pangs of revulsion. Susan Bakos is truly an atavistic throwback, painting herself as a precious and fragile damsel who, by divine right, is supposed to be exempt from the ills of the world...The paradox is that, while savoring all of the (alleged) attention she receives from black men, Bakos uses every opportunity to denigrate and devalue black people and their culture. Her true loathing of, hatred for and myopic view of black people came through crystal clear. Bakos apparently views herself as a gift to the poor, uneducated black masses of the world: a people who should be grateful she would even consider commingling with them."

  <NY Press Mailbox>

I imagine the NY Press received similar letters from a wide variety of their readers, as the original article was such a masquerade of hate and bitterness laid bare.