Letters to the Editor
calcareous
Published Letters: 286 Editor's Choice: 48
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Men notice it
[Read the article: Are our husbands really so helpless?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Well said, Amy.
Another point to add is that men notice when they are looked down upon. One obvious response would be to respond in kind. So this kind of behavior doesn't exactly advance the cause of feminism. You have to give respect if you want to receive it.
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you forget Jon Stewart, Stephan Colbert!
[Read the article: Keeping up with GOP flip-floppers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]No liberals with a sense of humor? How can you forget Jon Stewart of the Daily Show? He's fantastic! He doesn't do it alone either, his supporting cast are all highly talented as well.
Did you see Stephen Colbert at the White House Press Correspondents dinner? Hilarious. Cutting. The best piece of satire I may have ever seen.
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Cultural Relativism
[Read the article: Cleric: Your sexy outfit is killing me!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Rather than attaching a moral judgement to this cleric's statement, lets just take it at face-value. I think he is honest in saying that he feels assaulted by provacative dress, and that his standard of what constitutes that is narrow from our perspective. This is honest communication, and it says something about his culture and religion that isn't that suprising to the moderately informed. Unlike in the US where there might be taboos around certain acts, to this cleric (and many like him) there are taboos around the sexual impulse itself. That being the case, I can easily imagine significant discomfort at having those vulnerabilities provoked. We all our a product of our own culture. I think from his own perspective, which is as valid as anybodies, he has a legitimate grevience.
Clearly this cleric isn't the only member of Malaysian society, and while he probably speaks for many, they are only a fraction of the population. But it is important, should we wish to really understand what is going on here, to listen to what he is saying independently of whatever judgements we might attach to it.
Patriarchy is as old as humanity, and has been the dominant paradigm since the recording of history. Anybody who expects it to disappear overnight is, to put it gently, highly optimistic. Be patient, even in the US we still have work to do. I think we can realistically expect Malaysia (and others) to at best take decades to modernize. If things are rushed, there will be backlash, and it will take even longer.
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supply and demand drives resale price
[Read the article: Once and for all, proof that Macs are cheaper than PCs]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The higher resale price that Macs can fetch could be based on the limited supply of Mac computers. If they enjoyed a larger market share of the new computer market, there would be more used Macs for sale, and this would drive the price down. I think that is what has driven down the price of used PCs, a glut in the market.
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This lawsuit is easy
[Read the article: Think you're anonymous? Watch out.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Generalities of patterns of abuse are immaterial in this discussion, the article details a particular incident which is clearly one-sided.
Juliebird mentions "threatening" her husband. In that situation it is clear she is joking with her threat, and both parties agree. But communication isn't as simple as the words that are being spoken, there is context and tone.
Gender isn't even an issue here, almost everybody would rightly be disturbed by credible anonymous threats of violence. Credible because the people issuing the threats clearly have some outside-the-web knowledge of the targets.
This lawsuit is easy - those posters are going down.
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free speech? Also illegal.
[Read the article: Think you're anonymous? Watch out.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]>It's threatening and intimidating. But hey - it's FREE SPEECH!
It is not protected free speech, it is in fact illegal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_threatening
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I'm an athiest, and I think this is profane.
[Read the article: Bless me, Mother ...]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm an athiest, and I think this is profane. You can think what you want about catholic teachings, but it is the perogative of the Church to define what they are. For somebody to usurp the Church's right to define what it means to be catholic is to deliver grave insult to catholics everywhere. It attacks the legitimacy of the papacy, and everybody who supports it.
From a religious perspective, it is certainly a sin. From a secular perspective, it is terribly rude and inconsiderate. From a human perspective, it is selfish and egotistical. I'm not disputing that these women might make fine priests, but to put their own desires in front of the wishes of an organization with a nearly 2000 years of history is presumptive to say the least.
When will American catholics learn - the church isn't a democracy. If you want an organization that listens to you, and is responsive to your desires, you need to form your own church. That was the whole point of the Protestant reformation. If you don't like the sexist doctrine of the Catholic church, please stop sending them your money!