Letters to the Editor
meeneecat
Published Letters: 37 Editor's Choice: 1
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Misuse of Language
[Read the article: Irène Némirovsky's life after death]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When will people learn and start using the term "Anti-Semetic" properly, I am continually surprised by journalists who are supposed to be writers, that do not know even the meaning of a word they so commonly use. In recent times the phrase "Anti-Semitic" has been used for political purposes rather than as an accurate assessment of the actions or words of the accused "Anti-Semite". First of all the word Semite refers to people of Arabic decent. The majority (90%) of Jewish people are Ashkenazi Jews, which are of Caucasian decent NOT Arabic. The other 10% are Sephardi Jews which ARE of Arabic decent. Most people who refer unknowingly use the word "Anti-Semetic" when what they actually should be using is "Anti-Jewish". Because in this country (and in most of the world) Ashkenazi Jews makeup the majority of the population and most usage of the term "Anti-Semetic" refers to this group, however it is an incorrect usage of the word. Like I said the proper term is "Anti-Jewish". I learned this from my Jewish studies professor who gave me a whole history of the usage of the word "Anti-Semitic". I suggest everyone who didn't know about the misuse of the word do some research. It's not only used incorrectly, but it is also used for political and manipulative reasons. For example no one describes the prejudices that Muslims have been facing in the post-9/11 world, however to term these prejudices "Anti-Semetic" would be correct application of the word. In fact a person who disagrees with the current war could argue that it is "Anti-Semetic" because it targets specifically the Arabic people. I'm not trying to diminish the issue of "Anti-Jewish" remarks and prejudice, because it's important to discuss and eradicate any prejudice and to seek justice for everyone. I'm just trying to clear up a common misuse of a word, so that people can be more informed as to the hidden meaning of certain language. So remember the correct term is "Anti-Jewish".
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CatDog
[Read the article: Good news for cat ladies!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've had both cats and dogs, currently I have two cats. One of my cats acts like a typical cat, he's the ultimate lap cat and loves to ride on my shoulders around the house. My other cat however is completely different. He talks nonstop, he will actually play fetch with his toys. He wags his tail when he's happy, he love having his belly rubbed, and he has that dopey carefree attitude like a dog. He never bites, scratches or otherwise gets aggressive, and he's the most lovable cat I've ever seen. He likes to sleep in the bed with his head on the pillow and paws tucked up over the blankets. I think he acts more like a dog than a cat, so while I know there is this stereotype of the aloof cat that just sleeps and washes all day, my one cat is the complete opposite. He's an attention seeking, playful, lovable, barking dog (even his meow sounds kinda like a bark/howl). I guess I'd say I'm a CatDog person. I like them both equally.
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It's not going to work
[Read the article: Anonymous no more]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It really stinks that a few immature folks who don't know how to handle themselves forced Salon to change their policy, in a sense allowing these people to win. I definitely know they get satisfaction out of inflammatory comments which encourages them to continue, and also that something needed to be done. Personally I don't think getting rid of anonymous commenting will help much. It doesn't take that much effort for a person who's been warned to just sign up for a new username with a different email. It takes five seconds to apply for a new email account at hotmail or google and then another five seconds for a new username at salon. It's possible for a person to have 10 different user names from which they can continue their immature and inflammatory commenting. I think a better option would be to just allow other users to "flag" inflammatory comments and say once a particular comment gets a certain number of flags than it will be automatically removed (maybe three - 3 strikes and yer out). If a person knows that their comment is just going to get removed, than they would probably be discouraged from posting or not post at all. This would be a much better way of community self policing. It's just a thought, I think taking away anonymous posting just punishes everyone else for the stupidity of a few, thus encouraging these people even more.