Pussy Riot thrill Pride
Re Pussy Riot Is Putin’s Worst Nightmare (NOW, June 25-July 1).
You may remember, Toronto came out in numbers to support Pussy Riot during their court appeals in 2012. I was happy to organize those protests, initially motivated by personal outrage at the ridiculous excess of the charges laid against them and their subsequent sentencing.
There was overwhelming media interest in Toronto at the time, and all of us involved in the protests at the Russian Consulate were glad to help spread the word not only about the proceedings of the kangaroo court in Russia, but also about the core messages of Pussy Riot, generally summarized as freedom from bigoted repression of all kinds.
We raised more than $300 for their legal defence by selling buttons generously donated by a local vendor.
I definitely plan to express my continued support of these brave and innovative young women.
Lynn Flatley
From nowtoronto.com
A few more picks from the Fringe
Re Five Top Fringe Trends (NOW, June 25-July 1). There are a lot of shows at the Fringe on the theme of mental health and developmental disorders this year. Hanger, Water Choke and Mad Life Imagined deal with depression All Our Yesterdays and Aspergers: A Tale Of A Social Misfit with the autism spectrum.
There’s also Darryl Pring’s OCD – Obsessive Compulsive Diary and Loose Leaf Theatre’s Me With You, which address anxiety and impulse control disorders. Katie Dorian’s beautiful experimental storytelling show How Often Do I Dream… explores memory and dementia.
Oliver Georgiou
From nowtoronto.com
Trans spotting NOW’s Best of Toronto
You recently asked for nominations for your annual “Best of” issue. In the category of comedians, you have best male and best female. Along with many of her friends and fans, I nominated a very talented trans woman comedian, Mandy Goodhandy.
What surprised me is not that you didn’t include her – it’s possible that you received more nominations for the other women, which is fine – but that you have a gendered category in the first place.
NOW has always been a leader in social revolution. I’m not a trans person, so I don’t want to get into a nuanced debate about categories and terminology, but it would have been more inclusive to have a “best comedian” category.
Todd Klinck
Toronto
Rush to judgment
Your decision not to put Rush on your June 18 cover ahead of the band’s last big Toronto shows raises the question, did Geddy Lee steal NOW publisher Michael Hollett’s girl back in the day?
Love them or not, there’s no denying that Rush have made a huge contribution to the Canadian music scene.
So why couldn’t you see fit to pay tribute to them on the occasion of their two sold-out 40th anniversary shows in Toronto? Rolling Stone finally did!
If international recognition, financial success, a reverential documentary and legions of devoted fans aren’t enough to convince you of their merit, how about the fact that over the 40 years they’ve stayed and played together, they remain our hometown boys, investing personally and materially in Toronto?
If loving Rush is wrong, I don’t want to be right!
Vali Bennett
Toronto
“New” carding policy still open to abuse
As is painfully obvious by now, the mayor and friends caved in to the police. We are now back to the policy of April 2014 with a process that is still open to police abuse. Who honestly believed it would end differently?
Ted Turner
Toronto
A question of genocide no more
The horrific government/Church act of criminality against First Nations children and indeed against entire families remains a shameful black mark on this country’s history (NOW, June 25-July 1).
Not surprisingly, this act of cultural genocide involved Canada’s first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, who used the power of his office to evict and assault the innocent in order to further his lust for power and appease monied, politically connected corporate interests in the railroad industry.
A question of genocide no longer.
David Maharaj
Toronto
Hope Steven Davey is living la dolce vita
It has been a year now since your food writer Steven Davey passed away, and I still miss him and his weekly column. I think of the many new and exciting restaurants he introduced over his long run as food critic, and his contributions to Toronto’s arts and music scene before that.
I hope he is living la dolce vita at a table surrounded by all the other friends who made a difference in the city, then left us too soon.
Stephen Hobson
Toronto
