Alert reader Charles Creighton of Corvallis has had it with blow-hard radio commentator Michael Savage, as evidenced by this letter that he sent to us for publication:

"I recently read that Brian Rohter, the CEO of the New Seasons Market in Portland, had taken a stand against Michael Savage of the 'Savage Nation' radio talk show. The store will not sell the 'Rockstar' energy beverage since it is produced by a member of Mr. Savage's family.

'"It's just a personal issue for me,' Rohter said. 'Michael Savage is on the air day after day doing his best to take apart the fabric of our society and to attack American values, and we just refuse to support him in any way at all. I'm the CEO of the company, and every once in a while I get to make a personal decision.'"

I applaud Mr. Rohter and ask that other business owners and radio stations also consider putting ethics above profits and cease to support the spewing of hate and social injustice in our community. Thank you, Mr. Rohter."

We can't join in the thanks, or the boycotters' ranks. It's not that we're fans of Michael Savage - or Howard Stern, for that matter. Listening to either of them is sort of like driving past one of those huge sludge-squirting irrigation sprinklers on Interstate 5 and having some of the liquid manure spray on your car. You just can't drive past - or hit the "scan" button - fast enough.

One of Savage's own defenders said in a letter to the Oregonian condemning the boycott that Savage is a great guy, who "in no way has he ever attacked American values. He is for saving this nation from terrorists, illegal immigrants, homosexual perversion, child pornography, the American Civil Liberties Union, and so on."

Good to know. But it's still wrong to hold Savage's son accountable for the radical spins of his father.

Not only does it tend to backfire, engendering support for the actual intended target of the boycott, it mutates a war of words and ideas into the actual germ of war - an attack on family. A boycott is a weapon, intended to hurt someone's livelihood.

This one is unfair. What adult child wants to be judged based on the actions and beliefs of relatives? Our relatives don't always define us. Does Ron Reagan reflect the views of his late father, President Reagan? Does Mary Cheney, a gay activist, reflect the views of her father, Vice President Dick Cheney? Do you always vote the same way as your parents? Adult children - even those with parents who have shrill radio shows - have the right to be treated as individuals.

We'll toast that idea with an iced glass of "Rockstar."