Letters to the Editor
Cynthia Montgomery
Published Letters: 36 Editor's Choice: 6
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Then again...
[Read the article: The real war on Christmas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How is Bill O'Reilly, or any other far right nutjob responsible for your father's opinion? Aren't you insulting your "intelligent" Dad by intimating that his mind can be so thoroughly manipulated by others?
Interestingly, the Reagan presidency that seemed to herald a change in your parents had the same affect on my father - in the opposite direction.
After voting Republican in several elections, Dad became a liberal democrat after hearing one of Reagan's incredibly obtuse, dismissive statements about this country's poor and disadvantaged.
A reporter asked Reagan what he thought about the poverty and drug dealing evident on the street just a short distance from the White House - Reagan (sans handler) replied: "I don't know. I don't know about it unless I can see it from this window."
Dad has voted the straight democratic ticket ever since.
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for what it's worth
[Read the article: Acting dumb to woo Prince Charming]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My ex and I have remained good friends for years. One day last year we were having coffee and chatting when one of his friends happened by our table. After introductions, during which it was immediately obvious that the 'friend' was highly intelligent and reasonably hip, the friend's girlfriend appeared, and further introductions were made. This girlfriend was younger than he and Markedly Less Intelligent. (though cheerful) After they made their exit, I remarked on the disparity. To my surprise, my ex said: "It's amazing how many intelligent men I know who prefer women much dumber than themselves for relationships."
He said it, I didn't.
My ex has a Master's, an IQ of 155 and is a sought-after sommalier, among other fine talents.
He is well-adjusted, honest, urbane and masculine-yet-sensitive.
While I tut-tutted into my latte, he elaborated - telling me that this mysterious phenomenon seemed to prevail for about 80% of his intelligent male friends, regardless of their age group - 20's to 50's.
That it appeared to cut across all types of (friends) careers- from stockbrokers to artists to scientists to engineers to waiters to writers to teachers to construction workers to doctors. Further, when he tries to set up his intelligent female friends with roughly 'equivalent' male friends, the smart males usually are much less attracted to the smart women than the smart women are to them.
We then marveled at the alien weirdness of it all while finishing our coffees.
Does it mean anything - just being a statistically small number of intelligent and highly-intelligent males all socially and professionally known to my ex? Not really, of course. However, I have known him for years and his observations are usually quite sound and well-reasoned.
Hmmm.
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click beetle
[Read the article: "Men want facts, women seek relations on Web"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To me, the main boon of the net is easy access to information that in the past required a trip to the library.
Being a lover of research and information, I adore the library - but for being able to easily search for facts on any subject while drinking my coffee, for ancient or modern language translations, for news or views from outside the USA, for arcane tidbits that complete or update my knowledge, for keeping up with scientific and medical discoveries, for historical information - the net is heaven.
Added bonus - the book I want is never 'checked out'.
As to what men, women, or anyone else does on the net - I couldn't care less.
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however
[Read the article: Hello, sailor! (Kapow!)]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Notice that the sailors who cuffed the female were Honduran - citizens of a land far more ensnared in traditional sexism than the USA.
That is probably one of the main reasons why they didn't appear to see her as a real potential threat...in Honduras, women have little power.
Conversely, if they were trying to be 'nicer' because she was female, again we could point to the sexist society's tendency to treat women as delicate - actually, to INSIST that they be delicate.
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huh?
[Read the article: Hello, sailor! (Kapow!)]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]djbollman: What are you talking about?
I don't know any women who think in the the way that you describe. There may be some here at Salon, or in the broader world, but you are making some huge generalizations without offering any real examples or proofs.
In other words, you speak like a fanatic. Your recurring anxiousness to lump all women under a 'man-hating/blaming' label makes all of your remarks and observations suspect - and you make your own bias clear by so often accusing others of it.
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Ah, memories..or, mammories
[Read the article: Are you there, God? Can you put off my period?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My period started when I was 11. (during Sunday school class, I was in a white dress, what a mess)
I also had a baby at age 16.
I reached 5 feet 8 inches in height, and always wanted to be a few inches taller. How irritating that it may have been my early puberty that doomed me to a life of merely above average height....the birth of a child during my last growth spurt doubtless had an affect, also.
At any rate, I would have welcomed a delay in menses - any putting off of that recurrent nightmare. However, this is a HUGE step to be considering - and how to decide how long to delay? What would I think if my parents told me that they had me treated to delay my development, even if 'for my own good'? I'm not sure, but I doubt that my reaction would be entirely positive...especially considering that most kids of 9 or 10 long to 'grow up'.
And what of parents who might decide to do such a thing - could they also legally hide the treatment's purpose from the child? Creepy, indeed. How the heck would you explain it, anyway...especially to a ten-year-old? "Dear, we feel that it is in your best interests to monkey with your hormones for questionable benefits, and we have no idea what the long-term affects might be - how do you feel about that?"
Obviously we were better off in the cave days, when the menses came at about the same age as full physical growth and relative maturity.
And holy cow, what will the AFA say? Will they be for it, as it would delay the horrors of sexuality? Or against it, because God wants all girls to marry young and pump out offspring? I can't wait to hear...