Not in a long time has a Salon piece so tweaked my last gay nerve as did Cintra Wilson’s review of Henry Rollins’ one-man show (which I have not seen).

First, since when did the adjective "faggy" enter the lexicon of acceptable descriptives? I doubt the phrases "Damn, those tacos are spic-ish" or "Yo, let me get some of those nigger rib tips" would pass muster. So why did "the faggy aspects of personal home design" fail to catch someone’s editorial eye?

Then, Wilson says Rollins "makes a lot of gay jokes" in his show. Her example? "Orrin Hatch really needs a finger up his butt." My question to Wilson and Rollins, then, is this: why is sticking things up one’s or another’s ass "gay," let alone a "gay joke"? Plenty of gay people I know, especially lesbians, don’t insert anything up, near, or adjacent to their asses. Call me anal, but I don’t find "fag" funny or penetration pertinent.

-- Erik Piepenburg

Right on Cintra! My stomach fluttered when I read your article. I too was won over by Hank's softer side during his last tour. Hank seems to embody what a lot of women want -- a hard-ass, testosterone-pumping machine that deep down wants the wife, the house and 2.5 kids. He not only appeals to women (my sister and I were wondering where our Henry Rollins is) but he also amazed my boyfriend and other male friends.

-- Jen Shaffer

Rudy's Right and Rosie's Wrong
BY JONATHAN FOREMAN
(01/04/00)

Jonathan Foreman's a film critic for the New York Post? Wow, and so he's an expert on social issues? Before reading this article [about N.Y. Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s policies on homelessness] I had assumed that Salon featured news articles written by journalists with well-researched opinions. I think that in the future, Foreman's views on anything but film should be confined to the columnists' section.

"A similar homeless policy has been in place in Suffolk and other New York counties for two years and not a single child has been taken away from its parents," states Foreman -- incorrectly. The following is a quote from the Dec. 20, 1999, New York Times ("In Suffolk, Shelter Rules Force Two Into Foster Care"):

"On Dec. 7, in the office of the Suffolk County Department of Social Services in Coram, two caseworkers and four guards took Billy and Dillon Engesser, ages 8 and 4, into foster care. Officially, their mother, Eve Engesser, who is unemployed and homeless..."

Foreman talks about at least one interesting program, but his lack of research (he can't even be bothered to look up the quote with which he ends his article?) makes me doubt everything else he has to say. Maybe next time Salon should try reading the New York Post before hiring their writers. It's a mockery of a newspaper.

-- Bridget Borsheim

Giuliani's "mysterious ability to attract bad publicity" isn't mysterious; it's the product of distortions and outright lies by Hillary Clinton's friends in the media (like Rosie O’Donnell) and the administration (like Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo).

-- Richard Solomon

Don't you realize that publishing such an insightful article as this will reduce [Salon’s] stature as Clinton sycophants? I might even get to like you!

-- Andy Devlin

Next page | Laura, you can have your damn chicken!