Cuteness overload.


RE: “The Mercury’s Cutest Pet Photo Contest” [Feature, Aug 9], in which readers voted for Portland’s cutest pet, and the past two weeks of Letters to the Editor [Aug 16 and Aug 23], which have chronicled Portland’s remarkably awful pet owners as they cheated, tattled, whined, and ranted. Our contest included one dog getting disqualified for voter fraud (Louie), fan-favorite dogs being eliminated (Ottis, Chauncey, and Django), and a final round between Sora, a 12-year-old cat forced to wear a lion costume, and Johnny, a nine-month-old “very smart and funny” miniature pig. Johnny captured 88 percent of the final vote, with 1,145 votes to Sora’s 156. Yes, we checked, the votes were legit. STOP CALLING. STOP EMAILING.

I think the pig, Johnny, is cheating! He got over 200 votes in 20 minutes earlier today! I know another pet was disqualified for cheating, and it seems like the owner of the pig is attempting to rig the contest. Thank you for looking into it.

A Cute Pet Fan Who Wants the Pets to Have an Honest Chance

For today’s round of the cute pet contest, there is an inconsistency. For all prior entries, the pet photo shown on the left side has corresponded with the top choice listed in the voting box. Currently, for Sora vs. Django, Django is displayed in the right side, yet occupies the top slot for voting options. Blogtowners, having been conditioned to connect the left-right/top-bottom dynamic, may be more prone to voting errors.

Also I’m totally biased towards Sora, and looking for reasons why he might be losing, as Django looks like a pretty basic German Shepard.

Kyle Smith

The ghosts of Ottis and Chauncey are watching this shamockery of a final. God have mercy on your souls.



RE: “UPDATED: Sweeping Exits Frontwoman Reports Transphobic Encounters with the Roseland’s Security” [Blogtown, Aug 18], Music Editor Ciara Dolan’s post about local musician Mira Death Glitterhound’s recent experience at the Roseland Theater. Glitterhound’s nonbinary friends were forced to use a gendered security checkpoint, while Glitterhound, a trans woman, was denied entry to the women’s restroom. The Roseland later terminated the employees involved and ended its gendered security checkpoint.

Have gender-neutral bathrooms. Label checkpoints as “checked by male” or “checked by female” and let patrons decide which they’re most comfortable using. I personally wouldn’t care what gender checked me for guns/weapons, or which pot I piss in at a club, but overzealous security at any club would be a turn-off for me.



RE: “How Portland Is Driving Away New Residents of Color” [Feature, Aug 23]. “What does it mean when I, and other people of color (POC), walk away from Portland because we can no longer stomach its racism?” wrote Zahir Janmohamed. “I’ve been wrestling with these issues ever since I moved to Columbus, Ohio, in July. But before I left, I spent my last month in Portland traveling the city, asking POC how their experiences mirrored or differed from my own.”

I would have loved to see some exploration of the economic dimension—i.e., what is the relationship between a POC who have just moved here to work in the tech industry or some other high-paying job, and a native Black Portlander who grew up in Albina? The socio-economic factors are huge.

Lauren Everett

This article doesn’t actually tell us how Portland is driving away people of color. The author’s only examples of Portlanders’ behavior that made him leave is people asking about his ethnicity and a Middle Eastern restaurant with an offensive name for a cocktail. That’s it? That’s so bad that you had to leave a city?

I am also Indian American and live in Portland. I do get asked about my ethnicity, and people often comment on my name. I don’t consider that offensive—they are curious. I have also lived in Ohio, and comments I got there were actually offensive.

Portland has its problems, but this article failed to articulate any of them. Personally, any hostility I feel here isn’t based on being a person of color. It comes from the fact I have moderate political views instead of super-liberal ones.


Modpdx, you win the Mercury’s letter of the week... and two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater, where everyone is welcome—even those who have *shudder* moderate politics.

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