Letters to the Editor
Lestat1
Published Letters: 395 Editor's Choice: 17
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bfree
[Read the article: Dumbledore? Gay. J.K. Rowling? Chatty.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You make absolutely no sense. Gay people do not need to discuss their sex lives with children! Straight people do not need to discuss their sex lives with children. Just because you are a homophobic biogot does not mean the mere mention of homosexuality is tainting children. I grew up in fucking San Francisco, there are gay people EVERYWHERE. Amazingly though I had no idea what gay sex was until I got to high school because my mother didn't feel any need to explain to me all the ways gay people and straight people are different, I just got the hate them message, you aren't allowed to associate with them, no your gay friend cannot enter my home.
As for older men mentoring young boys, no I don't have a problem with it. I have male friends that are elementary school teachers, I have male friends that coach high school basketball. My church youth group was led by a 26 yr old guy. I don't for one second go around thinking all men are sexual predators and the Catholic priest thing is horrible, yet I find it interesting you mention nothing of the female victims. How about we keep all adult males away from all children, even their own huh. Bad shit happens, the only guard against molestation and abuse is frequent and clear communication with your children and locking up pervs when they are caught.
Gay people aren't any more likely to become sexual predators than straights.
Freedom means you don't have to associate with gay people beyond politeness at work, you don't have to allow them into your home, but no, you don't get to tell them they have to hide who they are so you feel comfortable. You don't get to say some author can't decide who her characters are because it would taint the children. That gay people have to hide who they are to protect the children. Yet you have stated nothing about how a child knowing about gay people harms them. How does knowledge harm people exactly?
That's it I'm done with you, I've had enough bigotry and hatred thrust upon me growing up in Protestant churches, being told I needed to hate human beings because of who they have sex with and that I was some more moral than others for something I had no choice about. I didn't choose to like guys, I didn't choose as a little girl that Superman was dreamy, he just was to me. I can't stand people who think freedom means those you don't like have to hide in shadows so you can pretend they don't exist. Or that being aware of gay people means they are recruiting your children into a lifestyle.
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Oh and I forgot
[Read the article: Dumbledore? Gay. J.K. Rowling? Chatty.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Your main point, it's stupid. Gay people aren't a belief system you idiot. Being gay isn't a religion.
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Now I think fake
[Read the article: An elderly salesman terrorized me in front of my kids!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He wasn't dangerous, but I couldn't make him leave.
I signed something even though he wasn't dangerous to make him go away.
Calling the cops would tramatize children? WTH? How, police aren't scary, they are here for our protection. Children shouldn't be afraid of the police, I called the police when some man was harrasing my mother and I didn't know if he would hurt her and I was 8 or 9. My mother being verbally berrated by a stranger was a heck of a lot scarier than when the police showed up.
He was an asshole, so now the company or regional VP is going to come to her house everyday to oversee a free re-model when he probably has an MBA not a construction or engineering background, because the salesman they sent was a non-dangerous prickm she has no proof or evidence he was a prick and she doesn't have to sign anything to tell her to keep it quiet?
Really? It makes no sense.
Hey lets all call up Sears, have them send someone over, then claim the guy harrassed us and see if Sears through a 24 hour bout of phone exchanges offers us a free remodel or even warrants a call from the VP.
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Gifts to the boss
[Read the article: Our office manager is a dental despot!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Perhaps your office manager does not know this, but it is not proper etiquette for the employees to give gifts to the boss unless it is a special occasion such as a wedding, baby shower or a flower delivery for condolences, and even then they are small gifts. It is the bosses job, as the one with all the money to show gratitude to their employees with gifts for assistants day, small holiday gifts or to take out ad space thanking his employees for helping him achieve favorite dentist of the year 4 years running.
Contributing money to an advertisement, an advertisement that will put money into the bosses pocket is not an appropiate request.
So perhaps find an office etiquette manual with this finding in it and place it anonymously on her desk.
The tricky part is that this seems like a nice gesture, hey lets congratulate the boss on winning this special award. So also talk to your co-workers and see if they feel this is as unnecessary as you do and see if you can all revolt and put her back into her place. Unless it's just 5 bucks, then it's probably better to give just to keep peace in the office.
Of course if you want to look for a new job, you could always say I don't appreciate you making decisions about my checking account without my permission. You can make the request, you cannot demand how much I contribute to a gift for the boss.
I also would just like to chime in and say I like Cary's answers, sometimes I don't agree with him, sometimes he meanders and is giving an answer without really giving one. If I just wanted a "Here's what you should do, 1, 2, 3" answer I'd read Ask Alice or Dear Prudence. He gives a way to think about a problem in a way other than what is obvious to most.