Anarchy Everywhere!

Structural damage: Regarding Allie Johnson’s Kansas City Strip (July 31): bad form. Complete with misquotes and defamatory half-truths, Johnson abuses her position as a journalist to misrepresent the Revolutionary Education Community Center. The shameless and excessive use and misuse of the buzzword anarchist is a transparent attempt to stereotype and trivialize the collective efforts of the RECC.

How dare Ms. Johnson portray the group as exclusive in ideology! In fact, the very nature of the RECC’s conception is one of anti-division and solidarity. The group’s members are not all anarchists, nor conservatives, nor pacifists, etc. Labeling the RECC as such is tactless and irresponsible, to say the least.

Johnson’s cheap effort to solicit readers is obvious. Am I surprised that a journalist could print such a fascinating array of deceitful context? No, just disgusted as usual.

Florella Fisher

Kansas City, Missouri

The revolution will be digitized: I’m writing because a friend forwarded me a link to Allie Johnson’s “Anarchy at KU!” piece (August 14). Although painful at times, it’s probably true. But there are a few of us anarchists not in our twenties.

However I do have a bone to pick. Johnson’s article quotes my account of a Chimera show/anarchist gathering benefit at the Pirate House (toomuchrock.com), but she never gives me credit. Why is that? When she quotes from various other publications in her article, she at least mentions which publication, yet with my account, she only says “one reviewer.” I’m perplexed.

Sid Sowder

Boston

And televised: When I’m lucky, these anarchists’ antics are shown on the local news, always making for great entertainment. Ms. Johnson did a great job of helping us understand the anarchists’ motivations while still keeping their inherent silliness in the forefront.

Eric Bowers

Kansas City, Kansas

Skate On This

Half-piped: When I first heard about Mayor Kay Barnes declaring an end to downtown skateboarding, I was puzzled. There must be a way, I thought, for both parties to work this out — a place where people can skateboard without it being a danger to anyone and without doing damage to any public property. However, I am not happy about it being in Gillham Park (Casey Logan’s “Slab Happy,” August 7).

No one has discussed this with any of the people who live around Gillham Park. Gillham Park is a gem that should be left alone. It is ideal for walking, riding bicycles, picnicking, sunning and playing with the kids. Now you tell me the task force is going to spend a million dollars to rip up the greenbelt and build a world-class skateboard park three blocks from where I live? Not no, but hell no!

The old Hyde Park neighborhood has had some hard times. The inner city has been hit with white flight, crime, housing-code violations, blight, etc. The area is now experiencing a revival with people like my wife and me moving in. Now that I know what is happening, I intend to drum up some organized opposition.

Skateboarders will be coming to this park from the entire Kansas City area. It will be another magnet for people after dark, just like Westport. More traffic, more noise, more crime, etc.

I hope that everyone reading this will immediately get on a phone and ask City Hall officials what the hell they have been smoking.

Larry Rollings

Kansas City, Missouri

Sole Mate

Solitary confinement: I read Jen Chen’s “L-U-V Hangover” (July 31) and wanted to let her know that her depiction of the “singles scene” in Kansas City seemed to have pinpoint accuracy. I just moved here about a month ago from North Carolina, and evidently I am single. So, needless to say, it is refreshing to find that I am not the only person who deems it difficult to find quality singles here.

Ryan Merrill

Kansas City, Missouri

Pickup sticks: About two months ago, I moved to northern Iowa for a job. I still enjoy the Pitch and Jen Chen’s articles online. I particularly liked her latest feature. I bet she is flooded with responses!

I think she should add one more factor into her list: the suburban factor. A large portion of the single population never make it north of 85th Street because it’s “too far away” or “in a bad neighborhood.” Like Chen, I grew up out south. Now I loathe the area, which is why I lived downtown for the past few years.

Kansas City has a lot to offer if you’re willing to look. She was absolutely right in saying that it all really came down to the person. KC has a bad singles scene? Sure. But try living in Mason City for a week … yikes!

Aaron Justus

Mason City, Iowa

Girl talk: Just read Jen Chen’s article relating to Forbes.com listing Kansas City 36 out of 40 for luv connections. Would love to know the next four so I never move to such a place.

When I moved back to KC from Los Angeles at the age of 28, I had relatively two good years in picking up singles, but as soon as I turned 30, I received the same constant responses from girls, all of whom asked, “How old are you?” and “Have you been married before?” Any response of 30+ and no, never married were met with the following: “Then there must be something wrong with you” or “You are gay.” Fed up with this nonsense, I moved to Chicago. Not only did my dating pick up, but the girls never even asked those questions or gave those responses. They even seemed to understand that in a city teeming with so many possibilities for fun and adventure, the hardest thing for a woman is to corral a man because he’s having so much fun in a big city.

So in other words, in Chicago you are single and won’t settle down because it’s too much fun; in KC, you at least must have been married once or you’re gay! Forbes.com is right — maybe even generous.

Eric Peterson

Kansas City, Missouri

Editor’s note: The four cities ranking lower than Kansas City: Cleveland (No. 37); Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina (No. 38); Cincinnati (No. 39); Pittsburgh (No. 40).

Play Bill

Numero uno: I just now read Andrew Miller’s story on Bill James (“The Numbers Game,” July 17). It’s a well-written story on an intriguing man. I look forward to reading more stories by Miller.

Phil Wilke

Lawrence

Pizza Coven

Upper crust: Thanks for Charles Ferruzza’s review of California Pizza Kitchen (“Pizza Haute,” August 14). We think it will do well on the Plaza due to the dumbed-down tastes of the homogenated masses.

We wanted to know what he thought of the bread that was served there. We know, a minor thing, but something to let you know how bad things were going to be. At least Ferruzza’s bread tasted like coffee cake. The bread we had tasted was baked off-site and had been sitting in the freezer before being thawed and served to us. Ugh. Nothing like freezer burn on “freshly” thawed bread to inspire confidence.

Our pizza was “OK.” Nothing to write home about. We were given the CPK cookbook years ago as a gift. If we want to have CPK pizza, we can do it at home with better results.

Thanks for the review. They are always entertaining.

Michele and Mike Craig

Leawood