If this is true, that Ron authored the letter and is also on the newspaper board, this is inexcusable. I won’t allow this to slide unchecked and without protest.

Many years ago there was a weekly newspaper in my hometown where the editor was fed up with negative feedback, so he made up letters in support of the paper (and bashing the negative letter-writers) and published them under various made-up names.

When the publisher found out about this, the editor was canned.

I’d be interested in hearing – nay, I am expecting – a response from the Examiner editor.

Face it Shimizu. The reason these guys are at the International Examiner is that they aren’t good enough to be anywhere else. Look at how biased/amateurish the reporting is…. not just on this article but all over this site.

If these guys had integrity they WOULD be at a real news outlet. You have to take what you read in the Examiner with a grain or two. Just “consider the source.”

I’ve seen the Bodies and I agree, the writers of the editorial should see it before being so prejudiced.

That’d be like some white guy saying “I’ll never go to the I.D. because Asians make me uncomfortable.”

I’d just like to point out that I’ve seen the Bodies exhibition twice – once here and once in Las Vegas. I believe the Bodies exhibition is educational. The bodies are presented tastefully. The remains being displayed in “seemingly ‘normal’ activities” are to illustrate the usage of muscles for things like physical activity and the incredible flexibility of the machine that we all carry around, but in reality know very little about.

If you think the bodies are being presented for “shock value” then you have not seen the exhibit, therefore you are not qualified to judge it.

I understand there has been some controversy surrounding the origin and source of the remains. I don’t condone remains acquired without permission, and hope that this is not the case. If it is, I would be opposed to the exhibit on these grounds.

Finally, there is an exhibit that displays healthy lungs next to those damaged by years of cigarette smoke. There is a box where people can deposit their cigarettes and make a commitment to quit smoking, right then and there. This and other displays, such as the complexity of the circulatory system and the apparent fragility of cartilage and nerves, only serve as powerful reminders to people to take care of their bodies.

For you to say the public should “ask themselves whether they would wish this fate on their family members” – I would be interested in donating my body to be used in an educational fashion. You haven’t seen the exhibit, so you don’t know what you’re talking about.

I have great respect for Ron Chew and Dean Wong, former journalists for the IE and outstanding representatives of the Asian community, but I’m guessing they haven’t seen this exhibit.

Oh by the way – I’m Chinese American and I consider myself educated (master’s degree) and on top of current events, knowledgeable about all things political and religious. I’m not ignorant. I saw the exhibit with an open mind before I judged – how about you? I’ll even pay for Dean and Ron to go, so they don’t contribute their hard-earned money toward something they have so much prejudice and so little actual factual knowledge about.

Dean and Ron, post a reply if you’d like me to send you a check for the admission cost.

P. Huang-Barner