What an elegant, elegant statement.Your artwork for your issue of Jan. 21-27 (“Spare Some Change”) was, in its way, even more eloquent than the swearing-in photos in yesterday’s papers.You should consider printing the artwork (without the accompanying text) on heavy stock, suitable for framing and/or on T-shirts.You could cover a large chunk of your budgeted costs for the next year with this idea. Thanks for the stark, significant statement you’ve made with this artwork! —Kevin Koerper, Upper West Side

Lissy TRULY

There was a lot of discussion after Matt Harvey’s profile (Jan. 21-27) of Lissy Trullie,“Doll Parts,” from the personal:“Hi Matt, after being impressed by the mélange of douchebag influences in your writing, I ask which blogger inspires those bitter sentences of insecurity you use to inform your readers you’re so tired of hipsters, and though you act like one, you’re much better than they are?” To the supportive:“I think the article was kind, or at least neutral, toward Trullie.What it was really criticizing was the hype/flack machine that insults its own audience by building little fashiony/socialite bands. Anyone who reads it as a vendetta or otherwise needs to learn to read between the lines—or read the ACTUAL lines; that’d be a start.” One reader summed it up best: “Lissy Trullie is not authentic or organic, as the constantly rotating line-up proves. But that doesn’t mean she should be dismissed either, if the music is good. BUT, this type of social commentary is much more entertaining than a review of one of her shows would be.”

West Indian In Doubt

Re: 8 Million Stories column, Jan. 21-27, “Thank God for Drug Dealers” about events at the West Indian Day Parade: One reader wrote: “I call shenanigans.This did not happen, none of it,” and another reader commented: “I found it evocative of West Side Story meets a grown-up Anne of Green Gables. Seriously, I’ve been thinking about it at various points throughout the day, and I’ve made an interpretive dance.”

A third reader chimed in: “I am no longer politically correct or liberal on race matters at all, and detest reverse racism/black racism or unnecessary thuggish behavior.However,being the ex-liberal native NY’er that I am, I can say that I’ve attended the West Indian Day Parade twice, both back in the bad days of the 1990s.

I know there is violence that goes down at that parade, but I have never heard of it involving whites. Even Rastafarians and other Caribbean black racists tend to be too polite to so loudly express hatred in that way described. I have experienced racial attacks from black women, but only one involving threats of violence, and that was from a gangbanger-type, 13-year-old in Williamsburg.The fact that this boy is so actively trying to seek a “book deal” makes me even more suspicious. Embellishment?” But then a reader came to the author’s defense with: “There is an undeniable difference in being a white woman and a white man in these hoods, especially at an event such as the West Indian Parade. I wish this night had never happened, trust me, but unfortunately I was either walking in front, next to or behind [the author,] Ty [Forvé,] the entire way, and it was a pile of crazy that I couldn’t understand—especially since I’m a bleeding heart, liberal hippy bitch from a family with five adopted black brothers and sisters and years of education to help me transcend racism. It’s hard for me to accept that so many strangers could spew so much hatred at someone whom they don’t even know and who hasn’t done anything but walk along the street.”

Sikh of It

While I’m all for free press and not a fan of censorship, I have to point out a detail I noticed in your [Dec. 31 “2009 The Board Game”]. On page 13, Square No. 12 has a graphic illustration of a turbaned man who is referred to as cabbie Mohamed Khalil.A vast majority, if not all Americans, who wear a turban are Sikhs, not Muslims. Ask any cabbie who has any semblance to your picture, and you will hear names like Amar Singh or Raj Singh, never Mohamed anything. The illustration is wrongly paired with a Muslim name. Since 9/11, Sikhs have borne the brunt of the backlash, and the least we can do is represent them accurately. I should know: I’m a Sikh woman and a journalist myself. —Kavita Mokha, NY