I am writing to the editor and publisher of the Mirror regarding the anonymous columnist Mr. Federal Way. In the Jan. 22 online edition of the Mirror I wrote the following in reply to an anonymous attack on our Mayor:

“It is difficult to ascertain truth in an anonymous forum. Reading this makes me question the questioner. Are there hidden motives here? If a person has an opportunity to ask an anonymous columnist an anonymous question, why would they use that opportunity to express something so negative? Why would they want to instill mistrust into our community like this? We can choose to embrace the good efforts of Mayor Ferrell and respect his hard work filled with challenges, or we can read this slander without questioning the source. Anonymous negative attacks are not healthy, and not productive. It’s disappointing that the person that wrote this appears to have intentions of breaking down the public’s trust of our respected Mayor.”

The following week in the Jan. 29 edition of the Mirror, the anonymous columnist refers to the female staff, the advertising team, “like $20 prostitutes on dollar night…” and then compares them to animals. In the same article, the writer makes offensive remarks about his own wife. He uses his anonymous identity to encourage the public to march down to the Mayor’s office and “yell and scream” without justification as to how this could be of value, importance, or for any other reason than to upset the peace.

Last week in the Feb. 5 edition of the Mirror, Mr. Federal Way makes reference to girls by their body sizes and boasts of calling girls fat. Research shows that media can be profoundly influential in shaping images of young girls and young women. I am asking the editor and publisher to please not allow into print anything that could be considered demoralizing or hurtful, whether it is considered “satire” or not.

Thank you,

Sharry Edwards, Federal Way