Letters

ART DIRECTOR

The Village Voice has an immediate opening for an experienced editorial art director. Applicants should have experience commissioning high-quality photography and illustrations, negotiating fees, clearing rights, and managing a budget. A superior understanding of typography is also essential, as is a firm command of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat. Helpful but not required: knowledge of PDF and postscript technology, illustration or photography skills. This is a full-time position, with a competitive salary and benefits. Interested and qualified applicants should submit a résumé, samples, salary requirements, and cover letter to Michael Shavalier, Design Director, artjobs@village-voicemedia.com.

TARNISHED IMAGE

Re Adam Matthews's 'Death of Disco' [August 1–7]: As a close friend of Dave Shayman and his family, I have to say this article was written by someone who doesn't know his ass from his elbow about Dave's history or his final months. Way to put that in the hands of some asshole who dropped the ball! I had the opportunity to make songs with Dave, and this piece is a tremendous disrespect to his craft. He was a genius . . . I wish that Matthews was. And the cover is in such poor taste. Really. You guys are fucking clowns for letting that slip by. A lot of people in the underground-music community are boycotting your magazine because of that. Imagine your untimely death caused by a terrible mental disorder . . . now imagine the magazine that cared enough to write about your death (a half-year later) plasters a huge fucking skull across the cover with the headline "The Death of The Village Voice—The Rise and Fall of Douchebag, Tasteless Journalism." Sleep well at night.

Messinian
North Philadelphia

'Death of Disco'is a very well-written piece that is poignant for many people, especially those of us who were fans of Dave's music. It was well-researched and treated him with dignity. Why, then, did you choose to do the opposite with the cover of the issue? Is it necessary to trivialize Dave's death by putting a grill on a skull? A tongue-in-cheek cover design for an obituary is a new low (at the least, as low as your racist Pazz cover several months ago), comparable only to the New York Post's trademarked lack of political correctness. It was tacky and insulting to your readers.

Chris Hires
Brooklyn

Disco D was a very big inspiration and influence of mine. He was also one of my mentors. He's one of the reasons why I hustle so hard. Dealing with his death was really difficult, and I wanted to give up around that time, but I knew he wouldn't have wanted that.

Donny Scott
Manhattan

ON BONDED KNEE

Re Allen Barra's 'Hoop Screams' [August 1–7]: Terrific piece on la scandale. I'd never heard the "Rupp" line or a lot of the other juicy stuff you wrote of. Where has the Times been on this—and every other media macher? If you haven't put the Bonds story in perspective, would you please? One thing that occurs to me: His peers sure love or at least respect the shit out of him.

David Butwin
Leonia State, New Jersey

THE RACE GAME

As a black man, I find Bonnie Ruberg's 'Resident Evil 5: White Man Shoots Black Zombies'[villagevoice.com, July 30] infuriating. Not only does she try so hard to reinforce racism and start controversy where there obviously is none, but she actually relates AIDS/HIV to the video game. Now, while I do not know someone firsthand that had the disease, my cousin had a close friend that was positive, and it devastated her. I do not think she should correlate the two so easily. I hope this isn't the stance of the Voice, and I think it's only right that you clarify that it isn't.

Greg Wyatt
VIA e-mail

In regards to the recent article about Resident Evil 5 being racist, just so you know: I used to respect The Village Voice for its journalism, and if I were you, I'd fire that writer immediately for starting this ridiculous campaign to taint a video game. This article is the laughing stock of the gaming community; go look at the forum on GameSpot. The writer of this piece needs to get a life and find something more viable to write about. (Journalistic integrity—there's a thought!) It's Resident Evil; it takes place in Africa; there are black people in Africa, and they turn into zombies, and Chris Redfield must kill them, just like he did in other RE games. The last game was in Spain, and I didn't see anyone freak out about that. They are zombies, and this is just a game; it's not real, nor is it racist. But congrats—your article created some shock value and now is being laughed at throughout the gaming community. When I first saw the trailer, I was simply impressed with how great the game looks, and the great approach to the storyline in Africa—it changes the settings a little. If he were in China, I'm wondering if we'd see the same kind of ridiculous article! Or maybe the people in Africa should have been made to look green so as not to upset anyone?