Michael Schaffer’s attack on the Sept. 3 Free D.C. rally is a narrow, nasty piece of work (“Demonstration of Impotence,” 9/12). He should be ashamed of himself for writing it, and you should be ashamed of yourselves for publishing it.

Washington City Paper has attempted to entertain its readers by chronicling and encouraging the implosion of the city government and its institutions. It’s no surprise that you continue to snipe at us as we try to recover our limited rights.

Schaffer’s commentary is trivial and uninformed. He slams the rally, slams home rule activists, slams the mayor, and parades a few quotes that support his negative point of view. He closes by suggesting that “organizers might think about having the next rally not on Congress’ front porch but on some Washingtonian’s.” Please. With ideas like that rattling around in his head, no wonder he has trouble seeing and thinking. But it’s unkind of you to let him make such a fool of himself.

If you’re not simply trying to sabotage efforts to regain home rule, I hope you will reconsider the role you are playing in this tug of war. You call yourself the City Paper, and it’s time for you to act like it. Learn the history of the city and the people who live here. Find out what it was like here before we won limited home rule. Then use that knowledge to inform your reporting and your opinions. You might even think about what has gotten better and what has gotten worse, and why. Until then, I’ll hope that the “Demonstration of Impotence” refers to the City Paper, and not to the people who are trying to salvage some democracy in the nation’s capital.

Manor Park