Letters to the Editor
JennyLynnF
Published Letters: 48 Editor's Choice: 2
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In response to Holly Capote
[Read the article: Boys in the girls room, oh my!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Interesting, Holly "Go Lightly" Capote. You don't seem to be adopting the mannerisms of your own moniker. That's quite a strawman you created, claiming that I was dismissing compassion as merely "hip." And you seem to remember the girls locker room as a pretty icky place to be, the same as I do, so I don't know why you are advocating it as the solution for transgender teens. Do you not think these kids will be picked on there, too, by the Mean Girls? Teach the girls not to be bigots, you say? Well, then why not teach the boys to be open-minded as well? The only other possible solution I see to this problem is to adopt the European solution of unisex changing rooms everywhere. Of course, I don't know if schools in Europe have unisex locker rooms or just changing rooms. Come to think of it, has anybody investigated the European approach to transgenderism in public schools? But I don't think that solution could be adopted only by the schools - I think it would have to become universal, so that kids would learn how to behave in unisex changing rooms. And no, I am not worried about sexual desire, just about mean folks. But as you demonstrated, mean folks come in all genders and in both biological bifurcations. So maybe that is the best solution - let the transgender guys use the girls' locker room.
On the other hand, what if some boy somewhere decides he wants to fake transgenderism just to get into the girl's locker room? I know that is unhip or "fearmongering" or something for me to dare suggest it, but I really don't believe it is an unrealistic concern. What are the standards going to be for proving yourself transgender? Is the school administration just going to take the kid's word for it, even if there is evidence to the contrary? Are privacy concerns going to overrule the need for proof that a kid really is transgender? Somewhere this thing will have to become written policy, and given that public schools tend to prefer to handle these situations in very black and white ways, I am wondering how it will all shake out on paper. So, see Ms. Capote, you made me think. So pick up your martini and your cigarette holder and give yourself a good cheer!
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LeftyChris
[Read the article: Boys in the girls room, oh my!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Lefty, I was serious about the unisex locker rooms. I really wasn't being sarcastic. I was merely brainstorming for solutions. No sex panic, although, wow, from the length of your letter I imagine that I put you in a panic.
Second of all, my rusty old brain THOUGHT that us progressives weren't advocating boys using girls locker rooms as a solution to ending violence against transgender kids. So what are us progessives advocating? That transgender kids exist and no one should harrass them? Well duh. So what kind of policy does a school implement to deal with harassment based on gender identity?
Apparently you missed my concession to Ms. Capote about mean girls vs. mean people in general. As I stated to her, I agree that teasing bullying occurs among all genders. I made a weak argument.
Well, that about wraps it up for me. Godspeed and good luck lefty, somewhere out there is your perfect right wing foil. Your will meet her one day and fall madly, passionately, flamingly in love. Don't ever give up.
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Holly Capote
[Read the article: Boys in the girls room, oh my!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Yeah, when I got over my initial defensiveness - "now wait a minute I am not a right wing homophobe"..... but then I realized how my letter might have sounded to someone who doesn't know me and I had to laugh in spite of myself at that the reference to Carrie and the cheerleaders having their own dressing room and wanting the girl who ate her own skin to have her own dressing room. Stinging, ouch yes, but I saw the humor there.
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Terrific imagery for experiences that stretch the limits of language
[Read the article: Childhood's end]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I enjoyed this piece. It describes a nebulous feeling, but then the nebulous description itself embodies the feeling. It is so simple and gentle that you think you can catch it, but then you realize you are trying to wrap your hands around a sunbeam or a soap bubble. Tonight I saw my daughter at 14 playing in her school's symphonic band concert, the first year that that they sounded confidenct and competenct instead of inexperienced. Beside me, my toddler son sat and grinned at his candy cane, an unexpected treasure fiven to him by one of the older girls in the band. It made his night. I too feel caught between two worlds, Mr. Kamiya. As a fellow parent, your piece touched me and I thank you for constructing a framework for emotions I might have let slide into the fog without consideration.
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Edwards dominated the New Hampshire debate
[Read the article: A Democratic donnybrook]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama came across as the strongest candidate in last night's debate? Mr. Shapiro makes this assertion without providing any concrete examples of Obama's superior rhetoric or command of the stage. In my opinion, Edwards took the center stage in that debate because he seems to be the only candidate that is willing to admit that uniting people and bipartisanship must take second stage to challenging corporations and politicians on positions that are harmful to the greater good of the nation. In addition, Edward's co-authorship of the Patient Bill of Rights lends support to his claims that he would seek to reform health care by imposing limits on the insurance industry. Furthermore, Edwards is the best extemporaneous speaker of the four candidates debating last night. Obama, as much as I want to like him, came across to me as dithering and tongue tied when forced to speak on the spot about his positions on the issues addressed last night. Sorry Mr. Shapiro, your claims that Obama prevailed in the debate seem baseless to me.