Letters to the Editor
Anna68
Published Letters: 186 Editor's Choice: 2
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This is sad
[Read the article: Duke charges to be dropped?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But having seen rape cases prosecuted (or not) in NC, (in Orange county, which is if anything more liberal than Durham county) ... I'm pretty sure that just because the charges were dropped does not mean that the boys were innocent. Just that it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
The fact it came to trial at all suggests to me that the evidence was compelling that the victim was at least sexually assaulted and sodomized.
For example, the NYT said that the rape charge was dropped in December because the woman changed her story. She had initially said she was gang raped and then later said that she did not know that she had been penetrated with a penis.
Not that she had NOT been penetrated ... but what with. (get on your tummy and think about it. What can you see?) According to NC law, one is only raped if there is penetration with a penis ... not with a finger, or object. I remember a particular case at Duke from the 80s in which a girl was sexually assaulted with a Coke bottle. That wasn't legally rape in NC either.
No doubt people who just love to squeal about false rape accusations will love this development ... but will fail to realize how hard it is to *prove* rape in a criminal case in North Carolina, and how few quite legitimate cases ever come to trial at all, for lack of evidence.
At this moment, at best, we just don't know what happened.
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never say no to love
[Read the article: Do I have to be a mommy to "opt out"?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It's funny how people are really gung-ho about the above statement when it is applied to *romantic* love or love of one's *own* kids! But when it is our extended families or our parents, that kind of love is looked upon with a certain degree of suspicion.
I too grew up with a great stampede of uncles and aunts and, while single and childfree, I'm utterly nuts about my godchildren and play auntie with great relish! But that doesn't mean I think I am giving up on my own family someday. It's just that I don't see the sense in refusing the love in front of my face to save myself for the social stamp of approval. No way! You will be a better parent if you end up with your own kids, because you'll see what parenting is like in real life and you'll be closer to your own family ... the people *you* love.
Heck, you're more likely to find someone right for you while living among people who share your values than you are through Match.com. And you're even more likely to find meaningful work!
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why on earth is it incumbent upon feminism to dismantle capitalism?
[Read the article: Tough titties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]when capitalism is one of the singular positive forces that frees women from domination.
If you don't understand why, go back and read Adam Smith! Or Louisa May Alcott. Or better yet, Slavenka Drakulic. Communism was terrible for women, who were compelled to work outside the home but were not able to use their earnings to control their lives.
Economic freedom *is* freedom ... that's why the anti-feminists are all in a twist at the horror, the horror of career women and working mothers! They get it!
Quite simply, when you don't work, you're the economic dependant of whoever pays your bills (husband, father or other guardian). And, to put it bluntly, when you take the king's shilling, you must kiss the king's ... behind! But when you can earn your own shilling through the application of your own sweat and talents, you are your own person ... whether you share expenses with someone else or not! Capitalism allows women to profit from their labor, and anyone who tells you different is selling something ... probably a kitchen to keep you barefoot in!
Fulfilment and meaning is fine and all, but comes later on Maslow's pyramid than making the rent and putting food on the table. But let me tell you something, nobody said freedom was easy street! Freedom is tough, involves responsibility and choices. But freedom is dignity.
The world of work is hard for women, but it's hard for men as well. Say you want to reform the workplace and I'll say right on and help sign the petitions and stuff the envelopes! But dismantle capitalism? Next you'll tell me I shouldn't take martial arts to learn to defend myself!
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Clearly none of you read the same article I did ...
[Read the article: The invisible AIDS cure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The article says that male circumcision MAY offer some protection which means (duh) it ought to be studied. Nothing more.
Plus it does not say that the West should abandon Africa, only that just throwing money at the problem is not the solution. Nor is trying to find solutions that fit the Western drug companies' bottom line instead of solutions that actually work. And that Africans, who are on the front lines of the epidemic, probably know better what to do than well meaning capitalists and philanthropists far, far away.
Now what would fix *that* is if all that "donated" money were actually administered by African researchers and applied according to local priorities. But, in typical all-or-nothing fashion, I'm sure if those Western donors (and investors) can't have their way, they will take their toys and go home.