Although I am thankful for the reporting on the brutal crime against cyclists that occurred in Portland on June 3, I take issue with the emphasis being placed on what the cyclist was or was not wearing, (“Naked cyclists beaten with pipe by Portland man; hate crime, assault charges filed,” June 29). It also would have been informative to report what time this happened.
Two bicyclists were beaten with a three-foot metal pipe by a man with “at least” 28 convictions on his record, including aggravated sex abuse. He was screaming homophobic slurs at the victims while beating them. By leading with “naked cyclist,” the reader is invited to assume that somehow the victims were asking for it. Have we not come farther than that?
The story is this: a violent man with many, many criminal convictions attacked two cyclists, knocking them off of their bikes and putting them in the hospital while yelling homophobic slurs. I hope that future reporting leads with the story, not with the distraction.
Elizabeth Levenson, Portland
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