Sexism marks the spot: After reading Luke Turf's "From Denver, With Love," in the March 2 issue, I am shocked by its sexism toward women on both ends of the globe. The story portrays American women as conniving, gold-digging bitches. "American girls are just such a pain in the ass.... There's no difference between straight girls and lesbian girls; you wind up dancing alone because they're all dancing together," says one man. Perhaps if women earned more than 77 cents to a man's dollar, they wouldn't be looking for support from men. As for the lesbian comment, printing quotes like that only serves to help reinforce a culture of homophobia.
The idea that Thai women are supposedly subservient and need a man to dominate them demonstrates the stereotype of the passive Asian woman, which is racist as well as sexist: "All women want to marry Daddy.... If you give her your American Express card and say here, go have fun with it 24/7/365, you have created an American woman."
I know that these quotes are merely a part of the story, and that Westword does not necessarily endorse the viewpoint of its sources. However, the types of articles your paper chooses to print reinforces these oppressive stereotypes. The last three cover stories in Westword have been about a woman's murder, an escort service and a marriage tour. Can't you come up with some story ideas that portray women in a positive light?
Rebecca Pier
Denver
Missed America: Luke Turf's article about men seeking wives in Thailand missed a very significant point. He did not address the fact that American men are traveling to countries around the world and bringing home foreign wives in record numbers. While the article seems to imply that only broken-down losers go on these "tours" in search of sex, it doesn't discuss at all the current state of affairs between men and women in this country that is motivating men to marry women from other countries.
The horrible truth is that feminism and the women's liberation movement are the equivalent -- in terms of their destructive impact on America, its culture and, most particularly, its families -- of Nazism and Communism in other parts of the world. While this country has not been destroyed physically as Europe was at the end of World War II, these philosophies have created just as much damage culturally, especially in relation to American men and American women.
The article does not elaborate at all as to why American men are seeking foreign women and are tired of American women. In fact, the reporter didn't do anything as simple as go to one of the local divorce courts and examine the records and behavior of American women. Had he done this, he would have seen that American women are as crude and deceptive as anything he described in his article, and that American courts are not pleasant places for most American men.
Has it ever occurred to you that there might be some basis as to why American men are tired of American women? Has it ever occurred to you that the least desirable women in the world are now American women? Had Luke Turf bothered to check, he would have found that most American women expect substantial amounts of money to be attached to proposals of marriage, not just the few thousand dollars described in his article. Most American women will not consider marriage anymore unless several hundred thousand dollars are at stake, and certainly older American women -- say, past forty -- expect several million dollars to be at their disposal. He conveniently left all this out. The real story here is the simple fact that American women are no longer appropriate mates, wives, mothers or just plain friends for large numbers of American men.
Jerry Bergthold
Castle Rock
Losers on the loose: So the men in Luke Turf's story don't like American women? Maybe that's because American women see them for what they are: chauvinist losers. My sympathies to the women of Thailand.
Jessica Meyer
via the Internet
Thai the knot: Here's raising a tall, cool glass of Singha in honor of Luke Turf. His piece on the romantic pairings of American men with Southeast Asian women was a superbly researched and finely crafted slice of life. His honest and informative portrayal could not have come at a more opportune moment for decent and honest men seeking love in Southeast Asia. It was a refreshing change in a time when dirtbags like Gary Glitter dominate the headlines for going to places like Thailand to sexually abuse underage children.
Timothy P. Gregor
Lakewood
Bum steer: I very much liked Patricia Calhoun's "Photo Finish" column in the March 2 issue, and particularly the subhead, "Sorry, but Denver has nothing to apologize for."
Now, here's my quibble.
One problem with luring Easterners to our cowtown is that Denver isn't one and never was. During the post-Civil War boom in the cattle industry, the cattlemen came down here from Wyoming to get capital from bankers and to enjoy the delights of the almost-big city, and earlier in the century, cattle drives passed by on the plains, but Denver itself was not a center of the cattle industry or even a major outpost of it.
Even the National Western Stock Show grew out of business gatherings at the Denver stockyards, and nowadays seems to owe much more to the Hollywood view of the West than to history.
But I guess if we can get people from either coast to come here and spend their money while gawking at our recently manufactured quaint folkways, the rest doesn't really matter!
David Dvorkin
Denver
Bum's rush: "Crop of headless bums"? I might expect such a tasteless phrase from the loutish Adam Cayton-Holland. But I'm surprised to find it in Calhoun's "Photo Finish" column!
David Hakala
Denver
A friend in need: Jessica Centers's article on Brenda Denton ("Femme Fatale," February 16) was extremely moving. It was written so beautifully. Brenda seems like someone I could have easily had for a friend.
I look forward to future pieces by Jessica. Thanks very much.
Loretta Siracusa
via the Internet
A friend indeed: I am so very sad that Brenda Denton died that way. I knew her for a short period of time and worked with her at King Soopers at Ninth and Corona, probably soon after she arrived here in Denver. We connected instantly during the time when we both had to take the pee test. I believe she said something to me first, and then within seconds we found out we were both going to work for King's.
She wasn't about brawling and fighting when we hung out. I'm thinking that opposites attract, and she most definitely was my opposite and I hers. I was a bit more domesticated, and she was strong. I met my then-boyfriend while working at King's, and the triangle that we formed in friendship didn't work. But I wanted it to. You know new love, and since she was still trying to shake off her marriage, she couldn't care less about l-o-v-e. Of course, at the time, I wasn't sure I was going to marry my boyfriend (but I did). I think there was a bit of insecurity on both of their parts.
I have kids now, and when I first heard about her death, I thought about her girls. The only thing she told me when we first met was that she had two girls and that the father was raising them. He was an engineer of some sort, and it sounded like he had money. Kids didn't matter to me at the time, so I guess it didn't bother me that she lived differently than, say, my mom, who never drank. So it was weird to put the two together.
It was a great article. I'm glad it's been written, and I want to pay my respects to Brenda.
Elizabeth Padilla
via the Internet
Bach to the future: I always thought the music of Led Zeppelin was early heavy-metal, blues-based rock or just plain '70s hard rock. But last week Westword listed it under "Classical," presumably because it was being played by a symphony orchestra. So I guess when a symphony plays Bach, it's not Baroque but "Classical," and if they play Brahms or Gershwin, it's not Romantic or Twentieth Century, respectively, but rather "Classical." This leads me to conclude that if Mozart or Haydn were played on electric guitars, it would no longer be Classical, but rather "Rock."
David Nereson
Denver
Trunk show: I recently ran across Jason Heller's article on Deadboy & the Elephantmen, from the February 16 issue. Everyone has the right to his opinion; however, I was really disappointed with this article and felt compelled to respond as a fan of DBE. Such a negative review could do so much damage to their career.
First of all, I have been a fan of Dax Riggs for roughly ten years. He is extremely talented and has a very distinct voice and a unique style all his own. DBE shouldn't even be compared to the White Stripes. The only similarity is that the two bands consist of a male and a female. And then to say that they suck because they don't sound "enough" like the White Stripes is just a sorry statement.
When I first heard We Are Night Sky, it wasn't what I expected in comparison to the other albums that Dax has recorded in the past. I did think that he was trying somethin' new, and, ya know, that takes some balls! I hate it that everything that gets radio play all sounds basically the same. We don't need carbon copies of the White Stripes, and I never got the impression that was what they were going for. We Are Night Sky has a fresh sound. It's not something that's already been done. I happen to appreciate that.
I hope that bad reviews and articles written by small-minded people don't discourage others from checking out the band.
Amanda Adams
Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee
To air is human: Regarding Jason Heller's This Ain't No Picnic in the February 16 issue:
As a member of the air staff at KEZW, I can honestly say that Heller's comic is one of the most comedic takes on our boss, station and listeners that I've seen! Keep up the good work. And if you really do listen, convert your friends accordingly!
Steve Edwards
Evening host, Studio 1430
