Letters to the Editor
deering
Published Letters: 1193 Editor's Choice: 20
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A few points...
[Read the article: Panic in the pages]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]1) Stephen King has often credited TALES FROM THE CRYPT and WEIRD TALES for inspiring him when he was a kid (indeed, he fondly recalled that "heart as first base" tale in his take on pop. culture, DANSE MACABRE.)
2) If Wertham had no scientific proof that comics messed up juvenile minds, how can Miller claim that he was essentially right--or was any kind of authority at all?
3) Has there _ever_ been a case of several folks from the "comics generation" committing crimes inspired by comics? No? Then apparently the vast majority of the kids who read these works were able to deal with the violence/"depravity", no?
4) I grew up on the grisly likes of BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER, Hammer movies, and giallo (60's Italian horror flicks by directors such as Dario Argento and Mario Bava.) What nightmares I had as a child were inspired _far_ more by daily stresses (being an outsider at school; not making good grades) than by said media.
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And do parents _ever_ show their kids the difference between reality and fiction anymore...
[Read the article: Panic in the pages]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...because it sure seems like a fair amount of them would rather censor than take even the above small responsibility. My father grew up with comics, but his parents instilled enough judgement and independent thinking in him for him to know that that stuff was _fiction. You know, not real.
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I'm sorry, he doesn't want _you_ to "live out of your _own_ place?!?"
[Read the article: My boyfriend won't give me his apartment key]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]But he won't give you a key to his crib? And you are willing to be wifey-at-his-beck-and-call and let him call all the shots in this "relationship.?!?" Hon, once you dump this control-freak turkey, hie thee to a therapist and figure out why you have such weak boundaries and lack of self-respect.
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Hoo, boy...
[Read the article: One of Instapundit's favorite blogs speaks on race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]>Many, many middle class whites - and blacks - had to scrape up private or parochial tuition for their children's education; it was either that or consign their kids to what had become an educational hell.<
...because it wouldn't at all occur to said middle-class whites to put their resources and efforts into helping _fix_ the schools instead of running away? If folks like yourself want good schools, why aren't you fighting/helping to keep them that way? (Answer: because it's easier to blame blacks for your cowardice, laziness, and bigotry. It also gives you all a perfect excuse to self-segregate--and spend the rest of your lives whining about those "inner-city" blacks who ruined everything...)
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It speaks volumes that Kate didn't answer the questions I put forth...
[Read the article: One of Instapundit's favorite blogs speaks on race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...and decided to be insulting. But, then, I guess ignorance is the only answer she has...
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@Tara21
[Read the article: My boyfriend won't give me his apartment key]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]>I'll resist repeating what others have said: "Dump him, and then ask yourself why you let this happen."...There is nothing wrong with your self-esteem or your 'boundaries,' you're simply and normally and human-ly in love.<
But does being "in love" mean you let the other person deny you not only part of his space, but _your_ space, as well? Love is a two-way street, correct? It's supposed to make you feel (mostly) happy/content--and secure in the fact you have someone who at least has your best interests at heart...and vice-versa. This "love" is making the LW miserable, and she doesn't see that it's not love. That sounds like a definite problem with self-esteem/boundaries.
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@AfroGoddess, you missed a point here...
[Read the article: My boyfriend won't give me his apartment key]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]LW said (see underlined part below):
>If he needed to fly out to Kansas for two days, I would basically have to pack a bag of my essentials because I couldn't have access to them if he was not around to open the door. It got ridiculous. _So I took all of my things back, and said that I need to "live out of" my own place. But he did not like that, either._<
Boyfriend didn't want LW to live out of _her_ own place, either, even though that would be the sensible (and convenient) thing. He wants her at his beck and call; to have all the convenience while she has none. It's not about her being "pushy"--it's about him wanting all the marbles.
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@Tara21
[Read the article: My boyfriend won't give me his apartment key]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]>Yeh, I get what you're saying, I agree. What I was trying to convey was that, when we get our hearts broken too often there's a whole raft of pop psychologists ready to tell us why we were idiots to let it happen in the first place.<
Well, that's usually because a fair amount of women _do_ have problems with boundaries/self-esteem--and an exploitative relationship like this is the first of many they will have. Shoot, how many letters does Cary get a year in which the LW is on her third-or-more "he treats me like crap, so what am I doing wrong?" relationship? And how often does the answer to those letters contain something like "get your self-esteem checked out so you'll know when a potential lover isn't acting right?" If people were given a heads-up that they may have problems setting boundaries early on, there would be less one-sided relationships (and less work for Cary.)
>I hope I'm expressing this right -- i think our culture has come very far away from the idea of 'self-sacrifice' and 'be the first to say you're sorry' in relationships in favor of "When you're in love, make sure all your needs are met! Make sure the guy is perfect, otherwise, YOU DESERVE MORE!"<
No one is saying "make sure the guy is perfect." What they are saying is that someone who loves you does not treat you like you are a servant or an appendage. And "self-sacrifice" has taken a societal hit because for years women were told that love was about _them_ doing most of the self-sacrificing. It was used too often as a rationalization as to why women should put up with any kind of treatment from men.
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Ugh...
[Read the article: The strange case of midnight renegade oleander gentrification camouflage]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dollars to donuts Ms. NIMBY got those plants because they were off-season cheap at Lowe's or something. :P LW should defintely clue the elderly neighbor in as to the poisonous nature of the plants, because it would be just the latter's lousy luck some neighborhood kid or pet might accidentally ingest oleander leaves and get sick.