Letters to the Editor
Published Letters: 38 Editor's Choice: 5
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Arguments aside, it works
[Read the article: The artful seducer]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry to all those who feel offended when the magician reveals his tricks. You sound like disappointed young children when they realize that, no, he did not really pull a coin out of your ear or pull a rabbit out of an empty hat. Romance is not sorcery and love doesn't "just happen," as many letter writers want to believe, perhaps from watching too many chick flicks. Chances are the men you have "clicked" with have honed their techniques from trial and error over the years. I know I have.
It's a little unnerving to realize that our eyes and ears can get the better of us, and that someone can use tricks to get us to feel, think, and do things we wouldn't otherwise. But that's life. Human psychology and social stability rely on the fact that we can be swayed and influenced by appeals to our needs, fears, and desires. It is not necessarily manipulative or unethical for someone to perfect that interaction to mutual benefit.
Social interaction is an an art form to be crafted and honed, not unlike the workings of a magician. Is it so horrible that someone wants to improve himself so his interactions with others are more mutually beneficial? Or would you rather a lonely geek remain "true to himself" and live out his life horny and isolated?
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Why are we blaming Salon?
[Read the article: Stop your sobbing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Salon is providing us with a differing perspective on a very important issue. Yes, we may disagree with that perspective, as I'm sure most of the editors at Salon do. Even if you think that perspective is not well-thought out, this is an opportunity to discuss and criticize that position. But don't criticize Salon for bringing it to us. If anything they are doing us a favor by letting us pick it apart so we are more prepared for arguments like this. Lets stick to the free exchange of ideas. I'd rather read more challenging items in Salon than less.
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Rob Schneider is A Carrot
[Read the article: Public bathroom dilemma: Paper or air?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As that brilliant actor Rob Scheider says after pulling out 30 paper towels while ogling Colleen Haskell's tree hugging hippie character in The Animal:
"They need one of those hand-jobby things ... I mean, blow-jobby things ... I mean hand blowers!"
Rob Scheider had it right all along. I knew he was brilliant.
By the way, in Thailand they don't even have toilet paper in the public bathrooms. They have a hose with a high pressure nozzle, which you use to spray your ass until it's clean. No Joke.
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There is such a thing as relative suffering but...
[Read the article: I can't stand losing my beauty as I age!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While I'm sure the LW's problems are significant to her, I can't help but feel for the overweight or otherwise unattractive women reading this article right now. She is bemoaning the loss of interest from others; meanwhile some have never received this interest in the first place.
Of course, you could argue that they might be the better for it, if they survived the years of people ignoring them and putting them down. But, that's a big IF. I know that shit can wear you down, and I'm not even ugly or a woman.
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I know why ...
[Read the article: America's water war]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]... the Bush Administration is not admitting the dangers here.
When the shit hits the fan, they can say, "No one anticipated what would happen when the water ran out." Of course not you f#ck, you didn't even bother to take a guess.
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What's going on here?
[Read the article: Keeping men out of the kitchen?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Marx's column was silly and shouldn't be taken so seriously. Buying gifts for the opposite sex is always hard. I never know what to get women, and apparently women have the same problem with men. So she teased us a little bit in the process. Who cares? Would you really be that offended if a male comic got up on stage and complained about what women buy? Chill out.
As far as cooking goes, aren't we missing the whole point here? If everyone is just does what they "want" or what plays to their "strengths" nothing will change. Habits die hard, gender stereotypes or not. If men don't like cooking or don't know shit about it, being with a partner who does is an excellent opportunity to broaden their horizons. And women who like to cook should be a little more patient about including their willing partners in such tasks. Unless of course, they really just enjoy snickering about their useless husbands. ;)
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Why does dating advice inspire such contempt?
[Read the article: If the first date isn't great, why go out with him again? ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I find myself tensing up, getting defensive just reading these responses. Yeah, I'm bitter. Yeah, I get very little attention from women and roll my eyes at the way they look for the ever elusive "spark," while passing up a whole slew of good
quality men who I personally know to be awesome people.
But whatever. I'm done trying to argue or convince anyone that I'm a good, decent man who just can't understand or read women and who freezes and clams up in the presence of someone I like. They think I'm weird and nothing I can say or explain will change that. The fact is, they need the spark for it to work. So I'm trying to learn how to interact more effectively and successfully with the opposite sex. Trying not to take things personally: It's not me... It's the way I present myself, after all. Trying to relax and be confident in what I have to offer (harder than it would seem). It would be nice if women would meet me halfway, but I doubt it based on the responses here. So, I trudge on.