Murderer of mother-raper not a nice guy: Timothy Holt is anything but a tough guy from the West Side ["In Hot Blood," June 23]. He was a dope seller and often beat up smaller boys -- with or without a weapon. For you to call him a victim is at the very least irresponsible. His mother isn't much better. Had she been a real mom, he wouldn't have bec0me the punk criminal he is. Mom should be his cellmate.
Dennis Sweeney
Cleveland
Murder won't fix rape: This is in response to "Killing for Mom," the letter from Yolanda Jones [July 7]. I cannot even imagine what Timothy Holt's mother is going through. What happened to her was tragic. But does it make a murder OK? Absolutely not.
I love my mother more than anything. Would I be super-pissed if she was raped? Hell yes. Would I want to take a life over it? Maybe. Would I take a life over it? Hell no! What ever happened to two wrongs don't make a right? These are two really big fucking wrongs, and now Mom has to suffer for both.
Now the rapist is dead. Great, he can't do it again. But guess what? Mom was still raped. There is no taking that back. What's done is done. Let the authorities handle the rest.
Anthony Gonzalez
Lakewood
More Brew Than Storm
Send this tempest back to the teapot: Thanks for the ink ["When Weather Erupts," First Punch, July 14]!
There's a big difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. Those counties were under tornado warnings. Richland County reported wind damage. Those counties are a bit of a drive from downtown, but they are in the Cleveland viewing area, and a lot of folks watch us from there. Just because they don't get Scene doesn't mean they don't exist!
But thanks for setting it straight -- though, as I mentioned, I didn't write the second e-mail. I'm sure if you contacted the management here, they could have dug deep into the computer archives and found the e-mail I sent to him (or the e-mails I didn't).
I'm just glad your column didn't interrupt Savage Love. You might have gotten into a heated exchange with Chad!
Mike Stone
Weatherman, Channel 5
Cleveland
Chad responds: "Thanks for the ink?" I think that comment alone proves my point that Mike Stone is a glory hound and my conspiracy theory is right. It shows that Mike Stone only cares about face time.
The fact of the matter is, Stone needs to put this whole thing to rest. That tornado warning was like a month ago. He's still living off that whole experience, the way my Uncle Dan lives off his high school football days. I'm sure the people of Richland County have repaired their mobile homes and moved on with life. I suggest that Stone do the same.
Chad Zumock
Lakewood
Weather warnings are antigay: I'm glad you addressed the issue of weather bulletins. Television personnel are hysterical dick knobs. Every time the wind shifts or the sun goes behind a cloud, it turns into a marathon about how the world is coming to an end. Channels 19 and 43 are the chief offenders -- and it always coincidentally happens during gay-oriented programming (Will & Grace reruns, without fail; once, during a Ricki Lake episode about drag-queen makeovers). Channel 3 conveniently preempted a broadcast of Ellen's talk show, and Channel 5 is composed of wall-to-wall assholes so tightly packed, you couldn't slip a strand of dental floss between them.
The "tornadoes" are always in redneck areas that no one in the civilized world has ever heard of, where bumpkins don't even have electricity, let alone teeth, hygiene, literacy, fire, opposable thumbs, or the understanding of how to work a TV.
I could go on and on. I don't have cable, so when the sky is falling, I'm really screwed.
Michael A. Miller
Lakewood
Dude, it's his job: Thanks for informing the entire Cleveland viewing area that the world revolves around Scene writers' TV habits. Mike Stone is just doing his job. You cry like a baby about missing a LeBron James interview. So glad to see that Scene magazine is tackling the really tough issues of the day.
R. J. Chavez
Cleveland
Get over it and move on: This Chad guy sounds like a whiny brat. Most of us do not live in our mom's basement, so we need some information when tornado sirens are going off. So you missed LeBron James giving yet another interview? My guess is he spoke about playing on a team not in the championships and how he spends the kind of money most of us will never see.
What is sad is that Chad got so bent out of shape. What is sadder is that he contacted Scene to write an article about it. The saddest of all is that you felt it warranted column space. Now, complete the cycle with this letter and give all of us closure.
Andrew Miller
Rocky River
Punk Convictions
Not all conservatives are felons: I dig [Michale] Graves and Gotham Road ["Rebels of the Right," June 23]. They are one of my must-see bands. However, what Graves would like us to believe and what the truth actually is are miles apart. Graves states that his European tour was canceled due to his conservative-punk views. What Graves forgets to tell us about is his multiple felony convictions for drug possession and assault that have kept him from that tour -- and previous tours with the Misfits. C'mon, Michale, you should know better than to lie to your fans!
Jeff Dean
Fairport Harbor
Wiccan Ways
Forget pagans -- pick on Republicans: I just read your story about pagans ["Forces of Nature," July 7]. The interviewer already seemed a little hateful of Wiccans/pagans. Why go into someone's life and home, and publish harsh things about them? I think Rebecca needs to find better things to do than mess with pagans. She should go mess with the Republicans or something!
Sally Brewer
Mentor
Pagan pointers: Thanks to Scene and reporter Rebecca Meiser for coverage of the conflict between the Pagan Awareness Coalition (PAC) and Pagans Next Door (PND). As someone who was around at the founding of PAC and at the time of the split, I offer some clarifications and perspective.
It is not true that pagans are averse to hierarchy. No movement with so many people calling themselves Lady This, Lord That, High Priestess, and High Priest can make that claim. Your reporter's analysis of how consensus can give rise to paralysis and Larry Cornett's observation about inner-core manipulation are spot-on.
It's not even true that pagans are all about peace and harmony. There are pagans in the military, and many pagans are staunch Second Amendment fans. At best it can be said that pagans are all about respect for cycles of nature, which include predators and prey, growth and decay, and can bring down violent consequences upon ineptitude or folly.
David Burwasser
Oberlin
Got the facts right, anyway: I am going to avoid giving you the lecture you deserve. I am a pagan and witch, and my wife and I are both licensed pagan clergy in Ohio. This article was one of the most disappointing things I have seen. You did represent the beliefs correctly, but I am appalled by the rest of the article.
About 98 percent of pagans in Cleveland do not even know these people or the groups you wrote about. The majority of us tend to stay away from these politically driven groups. Most of us are very highly spiritual people, and your article made the rest of the community look really bad. I'm sure you are getting a lot of hate mail for it. In the future, if you are going to write about the community, you should do a little more research on the community. Otherwise, stick to the beliefs and practices. At least there you did some justice.
Be assured, you have upset a very large number of people with this ill representation of us. There will be a response!
Rev. Shuvano Starwolf
Cleveland
