As a loyal reader of Washington City Paper, I was appalled to read John Cloud’s uninformed cover story (“New York Fetish,” 8/1). Making the Washington-New York analogy is so overdone and so…stupid. No city in the world can compare to New York, and trying to hold Washington up to the same scrutiny just doesn’t work. (Aren’t the editors responsible for weeding out bad ideas?) Why is there so much concentration on the “club scene” in New York. The article failed to point out one alternative to clubbing in New York as a way to spend an Friday or Saturday evening (nor did he mention how impossible it is to get away for a weekend, seeing as it takes hours to get off and on the island). Obviously, the author runs with the wrong crowd here in the District (and it’s no wonder he can’t find a better group of friends).

There are people in this city who don’t work on the Hill or in law firms and who do really enjoy going out with friends and being able to have a good time without having to pay $5 for a can of Bud and who can enjoy a conversation without screaming at the top of their lungs over the “trendy” new Chemical Brothers hit. And as for the gratuitous, City Paper reference to hallucinatory drugs—have you ever dropped some acid and attended a Senate Judiciary Hearing? I find that a little more intriguing than tripping and watching a couple of drag queens singing “Cunty” and waving a gay pride flag around. And that “Clockwork Orange” cafe is probably really rad, man. Sometimes you people are so cliché (now, that hurts, doesn’t it?). I think Mr. Cloud needs to get a little more and find a different group of friends.

Arlington, Va.

via the Internet