I certainly don't claim to speak for the other letter writers here who aren't lining up to congratulate Sey for spitting on them....

But this isn't really about hurt feelings - not to me anyways.

It's about megalomania from an unjustified source.

Look, if Michael Jordan wrote an article saying he couldn't stand when amateur b-ballers tried to relate to him, I wouldn't really care. I'd think that's kind of condescending on his part - but he won championships & played at the top level of the game. He may be a jerk - but at least he's earned the right, y'know?

But what if some whiny, bitter ex-college hoopster who got injured & never played in the NBA and never won a championship did the same thing? To quote a famous rapper: Ni**a, please! That player hasn't earned the right to hate on the masses.

Sey hasn't earned the right to hate on the masses - because, while she thinks otherwise, she was never an elite athlete.

Elite gymnasts are not defined by National or World Championships.

They are defined by the Olympics.

And "elite" gymnasts win medals. Otherwise they are just another one of many...i.e. NOT "elite".

Is this getting through to you? Because, with her delusions of grandeur, it will never get through to Sey.

Your parting words are certainly food for thought...

And to Garrison: perhaps we don't need public baths for civil, productive discourse between strangers! The Internet can do just a fine job...when it's not overwhelmed by idiot trolls, etc., people can certainly socialize and interact...as evidenced by this very letter thread.

From King's column:

"He manages to project an average-guy persona without any phony aw-shucks bull, and to express his massive and well-earned self-confidence without coming across as an arrogant jerk."

This, Ms. Sey, is how an elite athlete behaves.

Y'know, one who is humble & grateful for his blessings - and who wins a crapload of gold medals (while owning several world records)...

...As opposed to one who breaks a femur and spends the rest of her life delusionally whining that she was abused, really an "elite" athlete, etc etc.

FYI.

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To terry: "One skill"?!?!

Have you ever even watched swimming - or tried to do it yourself?

The backstroke, butterfly, freestyle and breaststroke all require different preparations and skill sets. That's why many swimmers are capable of all...but usually an elite swimmer is best at only ONE stroke.

That makes Phelps's success all the more impressive...

But let's face it, he is the Salieri to Phelps' Mozart.

That being said, he's very dignified about it - confident and (justifiably) proud of his achievements, but understanding of his #2 role in the context of the US swim team.

Well, most supermodels out there are androgynously skinny - with the chests and butts of 10 year-old boys, so I don't think that a she-male model will really stand out tha much.

Thank God for the Victoria's Secret Brazilian girls: while still slim, Alessandra, Adriana, Ana etc. all have real feminine curves...actual breasts and curvy buttocks. You KNOW when you look at them that there ain't no Y chromosome (or dick & balls) anywhere to be found!

So by all means rock yourself some she-males, Calvin Lagerfeld Klein Armani. Boys will know they can at least trust Vicki's catalogs for real women to beat off to...=)

Sheesh - how many 8-year olds (boys or girls) are going to actually think that the message is a reference to muff-diving?? Even if they DID already have the sex talk with parents, I doubt slang terms for cunnilingus was included in that conversation.

I'm not keen on defending a megacorp like Disney - and I don't often agree completely with Broadsheet (!) - but this seems to be really reaching here - especially if High School Musical has a swimming pool play a role in it. People can get offended over the slightest little things...

I remember at age 7 having Speed Racer-type pajama pants with "Drive It!!" written along one leg; I suppose these same complaining parents would consider that remark to be sexualized (*gasp* It might imply driving a penis into a vagina! Oh, the humanity!=)

are marketers to college girls, maybe high school seniors at the youngest...NOT 8-year old preteens.

And an "Invite Only" panty seems a lot less freakish than a "NO RAPE ALLOWED" panty. Unless the latter comes with a chastity belt, it ain't gonna prevent sexual assault - and how cynical and Debbie Downer-ish (or Dworkin-ish) would a girl have to be to wear it on a regular basis, if nobody else is seeing it?

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Full disclosure: I once got a "Nuclear Warhead Inside" pair of boxer briefs as a gag gift, and had a good laugh...so maybe I'm just less offended by novelty underwear than others. =)

And to prove my point, it appears that my post on slurs got deleted.

Just so the editor(s) and everyone else knows, I wasn't trying to insult anyone by using examples of "full-strength" hate language. I merely wanted to show how slurs can be adjusted for their effect, and how viscerally strong reaction to a hateful word can be.

Cheers,

Lonewolfy

Because this story arc is so dang long, it either becomes hellish for a reader to wait when left on the edge** - or easy to lose interest since updates are published so infrequently.

Besides, as others have pointed out - these are reprints of her old stuff, not cutting-edge new work by Carol.

Ah well....

(**- Similar to what the South Park creators did when they left fans hanging for weeks on the "Who is Eric Cartman's father?" question/episode)