This letter is more of a response to other people's letters rather than the article itself. I've noticed recently that whenever Ayelet Waldman or Rebecca Traister publish articles, their articles incite a flurry of letters to the editor. Many of these letters often talk about how irrelevant much of what these writers say is, and how Salon shoudn't bother publishing such ridiculous/irrelevant material.

And yet, these writers seem to garner more letters to the editor than others. Topics such as parenting, gender, sexuality, etc. seem to be getting people talking more. People write in and say "But what about Iraq? The administration? Salon should be concentrating on these issues." But honestly, those articles don't gather the same kind of action. Obviously, Salon is going to publish pieces that get more reaction, whether its negative or positive.

I really feel like if you honestly felt like much of what these articles said were so irrelevant or ridiculous, you wouldn't be writing in. I agree with other letter writers, I think these topics must be striking a nerve to be creating such a huge amount of activity on these message boards. If you really feel like these topics are so ridiculous and crazy, you wouldn't bother reading them are writing in. The huge amount of activity tells me that people such as Traister, Dowd, and Waldman must be touching on something that is speaking to people. I don't agree all the time with everything they say, and sometimes I may disagree with a lot of what they say. But I think the articles are still meaningful nonetheless. Marriage, family, and relationships between the sexes are fundamental to how we lead our lives, and these things are changing rapidly in our society. These writers are addressing such issues, and that's going to be uncomfortable for a lot of people. And so, when they say things that strike a nerve, everybody and their mother writes in with their opinion.

I'll believe you all that you think these writers are so irrelevant when their articles fail to inspire letters to the editor.