LETTERS

FREE SPEECH WILL OUT

Tali Woodward's three-inch column ["Odd Choice?" 2/1/06] covering the San Francisco Archdiocese's antichoice ads, which ran on BART throughout January, made some valid points about the necessity of keeping one's tactical shit together in times of great duress, such as when right-wingers use their First Amendment rights to demonize women who have chosen abortions (like myself). My response to the ads ran something like this: These ads, which imply that abortion is murder (and by logical extension that women who choose abortions are murderers) should not be ripped down. Every "point of view" ad (BART's terminology, not mine), such as recruiting ads for the US military, should be responded to, in every way possible.

An ad, which appears courtesy of a $43,000 dollar budget, is one type of free speech. My Sharpie is another. With my $2 Sharpie, I can create dialogue between myself, my community and the ad, and in doing so transform this mute manifestation of authoritarianism into healthy engagement. The result is a much broader communication to the viewing public and a better example of "free speech."

And yes, if I bought and paid for ads that advocated reproductive rights, I'd expect response. If I wanted to shut down dissenting perspectives, I'd hang those ads in my living room and gloat in the privacy of my own house. But I don't want to run an end-run around the perspectives of the antichoice community in San Francisco and the Bay Area. I'm betting that, should there exist a middle ground to be found in the debate over abortion, it'll be located in the verbal skirmishing between the antichoice and pro–reproductive rights communities. Free speech will out, whether it costs money or not.

You note, correctly, that the "Walk for Life" marchers "overwhelmed" those who believe that abortion is a legitimate act. Yet you call reaction to the posters "outsize" and call the writing on the posters "graffiti and vandalism." I gotta wonder if you've ever taken members of the antiwar crowd to task for "vandalizing" recruitment centers or been as sniffily disapproving of a military recruiting ad being written on. Somehow, I don't think so.

Elizabeth Creely

Bay Area Coalition for Our Reproductive Rights

San Francisco

BUSINESS UNDER SEIGE

I think your reporter exaggerated a bit in his report on the C-3 parking issue, ["Joining the Battle," 2/8/06]. Rather than imagining secret deals going on between big business and the mayor, you really ought to investigate the not-so-subtle "progressive" agenda to get public financing for everything its adherents want at the expense of the business community. It's no secret that the business community feels under seige from this current Board of Supervisors, and this new (and crammed through) legislation to restrict parking downtown is just the latest manefestation. The alternative C-3 parking ordinance that Sup. Michela Alioto-Pier submitted was originally board president Aaron Peskin's legislation, and he could have worked with her to craft a more acceptable version that addressed the downtown business community's concerns. He did not. Rather, he chose to take Sup. Chris Daly's legislation, put his name on it, amend it to include the Planning Commission's recommendations, and push it forward, without consulting with the Mayor's office or the business community.

We aren't all car lovers or car haters in downtown San Francisco, nor are most residents of San Francisco. We, like they, are looking for balance in our transportation and parking policies. As I stated at the Feb. 1 Land Use Committee hearing, the city should not impose social planning on its businesses or its citizens without doing its due diligence of studying the equally important economic impacts.

Ken Cleaveland

Building Owners and Managers Association

San Francisco

FOR THE RECORD

Due to an editing error, the date of the Goblin Cock show at the Mezzanine, indicated at the end of the band's "Bagged and Boarded" review [2/8/06], was incorrect. The performance is scheduled for March 10.

In last week's Valentine's Day issue, two photo credits were mislabeled. Lori Spears took the photo, on p. 22, of the couple eating ice cream; Mirissa Neff snapped the Transjanimal, on p. 24.