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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
kaysong
Published Letters: 9
I too thought they had a great relationship. I was even more amazed to read an article that mirrored my feelings so closely. It's nice to know there are other people out there that feel as badly as I do for them.
Hopefully they will get back together.
I don't think the majority of 16 year olds are ready to have sex. I don't think a lot of 16 year olds are capable of saying no when they like someone but aren't ready to make that step. If they make that step with another 16 year old who manipulates them, nothing happens. If they make that step with anyone 18 or older, the 18 year old is open to prosecution no matter the circumstances. A one day over 18 guy being prosecuted for his almost 1 year relationship with his 16 year old girlfriend for example. (Because her parents don't like him and run down and file charges on his birthday.)
Is this fair? Probably not. The age 18 is an arbitrary limit but it's hard to say what's right. More kids are mature of enough to handle life when they are 18 than when they are 16. So, it's seems like a fair number to use. I don't think anyone wants the age to be 14, right?
Our current culture of mandatory minimums and 3 strikes laws doesn't leave much hope that prosecutions could be tailored to the situation. Once you put in an exception if the child was willing, you leave open the possibility that the child is being manipulated and doesn't want to believe that the adult is wrong or what they did is wrong. I don't know how you would determine the difference.
15 & 16 are a grey area for me but 14 just seems beyond the pale. My dad taught 8th grade for over 30 years and he saw plenty of pregnant 8th graders (usually by high school boyfriends) so obviously there is a segment of that age group having sex on a regular basis. I just can't imagine - couldn't imagine it when I was that age. It was a huge deal just to kiss someone on the lips (not French kissing).
I think the law serves a purpose but I also think that prosecutors have to take responsibility for the cases they choose to proceed with. Whatever happened to the prosecutor having a moral/ethical problem with going forward on a questionable case or a case that doesn't fit the spirit of the law?
I just love pieces like this. I'll probably never get a chance to read the books but this article gives me new insight into a musical genius. I'd love monthly (short) articles on the great musicians and artists of the past.
I was born in 1970. By the time I reached high school, it had become apparant that my father was the ONLY father doing any housework or childcare.
My father was a middle school history teacher while my mom was a math professor at a community college. He had all the same vacations we did and worked set hours while my mom sometimes had night classes and worked all summer. He sacrificed being a high school coach to raise my sister and I because my mom made twice as much as he did. Together they decided he would be the primary parent because my mom wouldn't be happy staying home (neither would he) but someone had to be home in the evenings for us and during vacations and his job was the best suited for that (sans coaching of course). I let him know all the time how much I appreciated what he did.
My parent's marriage taught me that if I didn't want to stay home with the kids, I had to find a man who would. Looking at my prospects in high school and college, I wasn't holding out much hope. So, I always said I would never have kids.
At 28 I met my husband. He's from The Netherlands and despite his mom never working, he was raised to pull his own weight in the household. I think this is the biggest problem with society now. Not enough families are teaching their kids that everyone contributes to the household and when they get married it's an equal partnership. Too many woman get in the rut of doing everything for everyone in their family because it makes them feel good and validates their existance. This does a disservice to their kids (male and female).
We are trying to get pregnant now and he will be staying home with the baby because he wants to and he knows he will love it. He does half the housework and all the finances (he's better at it despite me being an accountant :-) right now. To say only women are suited to stay home with the kids is to not acknowledge the diversity of personalities and talents among both men and women.
Each couple has to work out their own rules for their marriage but any woman who has a husband who expects her to work full time, do all the housework and the majority of the child care needs to take a hard look at what kind of person her husband is and what kind of marriage she wants to have. If she's okay with it, that's her choice but no one should perpetuate a myth that men can't contribute equally to the household. They can. I refused to accept that when I got married I would be in charge of all the housework and all the childcare. If that meant I never got married, so be it. Luckily I found a great guy who wanted an equal partnership in marriage.
Sorry this was so long.
Hmmm, I've never tried the extra moist just the lean (which is the best brisket I've ever had).
And on the topic of the bacon - I can't resist it. I don't even contemplate going vegetarian because I'd have to give it up.
I'm glad to see it finally rolled out.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
