Weird, upsetting, disheartening mail

Every now and again we get a piece of reader mail that bears remarking upon. Yesterday's sampling, bearing only the return address of "poet/artist," was the torn-out first page of "Dumped" by Andrew Steinbeiser.

This one was drawn and written on in ways that appeared to suggest that the sender was blaming the Portland's Dumpster-overload problem on Muslim men who "demand the women haul the trash" and, presumably, drop it in Dumpsters late at night and in the early morning. That's a strange, weird, and fairly offensive (less than outrageous only because it's so bizarrely weird I have trouble taking it seriously enough to be truly offended by it) explanation. Needless to say, it differs from the explanation we explored, which was that the price of the city's blue trash bags had increased, leading economizers to dump on the sly.

There are other anti-Muslim notations on the page as well.

All of which should serve to remind us that anti-Islamic fervor is not only widespread, but also apparently wide-ranging. What else are these bigoted anti-Muslim loonies going to blame on the peaceful followers of Muhammed? I shudder to imagine.