Backlash

Why this backlash against mountain bikers? ["Battle of Wheels, Jan. 25] Just what is so wrong with us taking to hiking trails by the truckloads, poaching new tracks here and there, having such a raging good time that we can be heard half a mile away (those hiking fossils better hear us coming or we'll bump 'em off the trails) and causing what wildlife there is to run or fly off in panic? Nothing funnier than running over a snake, bro. And enough about bagging on us for the Day-Glo spandex we choose to wear.

I have been a soapbox pundit for the eradication of credit in all areas except for homes and automobiles. The extension and pervasiveness of credit throughout our society has been the single largest contributor to the bankruptcy of thousands and the further cause of inflation. This issue was, again, demonstrated by "E-Brokerages Face Backlash After 'Margin' Debacle" [June 11]. It brought out how the extension of credit in the stock market can cause tragic monetary disruption to those allowed to make such purchases.

In the Popping Off column in the March 15 Calendar, Kristine McKenna aired her negative views on the Bruce Springsteen phenomenon. Here's a sample of the heavy reader response, which ran roughly 60% to 40% against McKenna's opinion. The mantle of rock Messiah is one that Springsteen has steadfastly resisted, despite all the media hype and attention. Now that he has finally reached massive popularity, is it time to turn on him and start a "Bruce backlash"? The fact that Springsteen can survive such acclaim and still make such great music is a statement to the character of the man. Give him a break, huh?

It's time someone with clout spoke out! Hurray for Cal Thomas' article. But how about a direct attack on "the drumbeat of sensuality that assaults the sense through the media?" Teen-agers are powerfully influenced by musical videos and the movies. All of us have wanted to be like our favorite movie star. So what does one do--when even Superman hops into bed with his favorite girl friend, and a slick magazine's cover advocates " passion pills "? There have been rumors of a new conservative moral backlash, but it is powerless unless there is some responsible cooperation from the producers and promoters of the media, both on the screen and off. JEANNE G. HOLMES Balboa Island

I read the Commentary by Sheldon. It was very enlightening. I agree that we need to have compassion for the homosexual--but dismay, to say the least, at their chosen life style. However, under no circumstances should the homosexuals continue to be given minority status. They in no way fit the criteria. They never have and never will. Their insistence on being given a minority status will cause a backlash against true minorities that will be devastating to the whole civil rights cause.

Re "Memo Curbs Arrests of Immigrants," Aug. 13: Since when does the Mexican government dictate U.S. law and how it is carried out? The government arrests illegal immigrants wherever and whenever they find them, yet this causes a backlash among illegals? Being in this country illegally is a crime, thereby making those breaking the law criminals. They should be arrested wherever they are found. The U.S. government should not be hamstrung by a foreign government intent on unleashing its poor and uneducated to pour into the U.S. for the taxpayer to take care of. The U.S. has fallen far short of enforcing its own laws and now is slowly turning into the world's dumping grounds.

Senate President Pro Tem Robert C. Byrd Jr. of West Virginia is widely known as a stickler for form. His knowledge of parliamentary procedure has long been acclaimed as the greatest in the Congress. Not only is the 71-year-old Byrd correct congressionally, but he is the very image of the august Southern senator--a mane of white hair, suitable for shaking for emphasis; serious mien, impressive during oratory; dapper, well-pressed, carefully inspected every morning by Erma Byrd (who herself does all the family laundry)