EVER THE TWAIN SHOULD MEET

Regarding Patt Morrison’s “The Metropolitan Divide” (On the Town, Aug. 21):

I live in West L.A. I do not have a pool, a chauffeur or a guest house. I don’t belong to a gym. At least once a week, someone sleeps overnight in a van on my block, too. If Morrison really views the Westside as nothing but Brentwood and Beverly Hills, she doesn’t know her city very well. Most Westsiders cannot afford and don’t want to live in Beverly Hills, though we hold nothing against those who do.

My Westside neighborhood has ethnic diversity, gangs, bail bondsmen, people who sell dope on the street and junkies who break into my garage. There’s a methadone clinic two blocks from where I live and a fencing operation at a local convenience store (so I learned from the police after I was burglarized).

I haven’t noticed whether the day laborers who congregate a block from my apartment are discussing the Eastside-Westside issue, but I doubt it. Where do you think they live?

Y.E STINSON

West Los Angeles

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Instead of engaging in an our side vs. your side taunt, Morrison should examine why such a division exists at all and point up exceptions to the stereotype. I argue for encouraging exploration of the Eastside by Westsiders and vice versa--no altar-worshiping required.

JAMES JUDE FERRERA

Venice