Letters to the Editor
sansho1
Published Letters: 230 Editor's Choice: 38
-
Easterbrook
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I had also given up on TMQ before Easterbrook got canned. FWIW, I didn't think his offense merited getting fired, but I didn't miss him. As others have stated, TMQ is stultifyingly formulaic, and offers analysis usually as an excuse to be smug. To be fair, he did introduce me to the Eagles cheerleader calendar, so I can't be TOO rough on him.
But there's nothing he does that isn't done better by others on ESPN.com. Peter King does better analysis, Chuck Klosterman is vastly superior at deconstructing sports-meets-pop-culture, and Simmons is funnier and more readable. Easterbrook is far better than Bayless, the sportswriter who hates sports.
-
Wow
[Read the article: Campus cruelties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The comments here are the saddest things I've read in some time. It's truly horrifying that hatred can overwhelm what should be a sense of shame at writing such misogynistic filth.
-
The Older Woman
[Read the article: Campus cruelties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Her hair had streaks of gray and her thick makeup did little to disguise the years on her face." - And what was the point of letting us know that the victim in this story was getting on in age?
I think it was to point out that she was not a peer of the students, which may have served to remove what might ordinarily be check on their behavior -- the likelihood that there would be any ramifications.
-
Blackpaw
[Read the article: Campus cruelties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Really ? - I would have thought the opposite - a peer would be more likely to be treated with a lack of respect.
Anything is possible, I suppose, but they're more likely to encounter a peer (or her friends) on campus the following day. Also, a fellow student would have more avenues at her disposal to seek the punishment of the men.
-
The Influence of Bill James
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I was 15 years old when the first mass-produced Baseball Abstract was published in 1982. I was already a baseball stat geek -- my favorite players were not necessarily the best, but the ones who filled up the back of a baseball card. Jim Kaat, Tony Taylor, Bert Campaneris, etc.
Needless to say, Bill James was a revelation. Basing his player rankings on runs created, predicting team performance on Pythagoras -- sacred cows were being slayed left and right. His disdain for adherence to conventional wisdom for its own sake, and his willingness to put the microscope to any and all assumptions (including his own), was an object lesson in critical thinking that I carry with me to this day. In that sense, the Hall of Fame is almost beside the point -- his inclusion on the Time list comes closer to honoring his contributions, to me anyway.
-
Door vs. Doormat
[Read the article: I'm having trouble with my high school friend]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]So far we've heard a snide one-liner, a name-caller, and someone whose screen name probably reveals more about the validity of his/her relationship advice than the content of the actual post. Another day of fun on the Cary Tennis letters feature!
The friend of the LW seems to have expressed her fear through some pretty blatant manipulation, but the LW recognizes this and seems already suitably emotionally prepared to be disappointed by any behavior. So I think Cary is right -- because the LW seems genuinely concerned about her friend, she should give a heart-to-heart chat a shot. This friend may think she has nobody to talk to, and the LW exhibits a willingness to walk a mile in her shoes.
If it doesn't work out, fine. She'll know she did her best to help.
-
I've been out-"meta"'d
[Read the article: I'm having trouble with my high school friend]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The LW doesn't seem to have had her trust betrayed by her friend (as twiceburned may have, judging from the post and handle) -- the friend has so far reserved that treatment for others. Sounds like she holds the LW in higher esteem. A fine opportunity to appeal to the LW's better nature, as Cary has done. I think what gets lost sometimes in the rush to dismiss the antagonist in many of these letters is the fact that, if the LWs didn't care about their antagonists, they wouldn't have written in the first place.
-
Mo Meta, Mo Problems
[Read the article: I hate your column and all the letter writers too!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've come here occasionally to question the wisdom and utility of having a letters section attached to Cary's column, and I'm glad he's provided this opportunity to discuss the odd (to me, anyway) dynamic that often occurs in this space.
First, anyone who pens an advice column will naturally be open to criticism -- who are you to presume to advise, what are your qualifications to do so, what insight do you have into the problems of someone so unlike yourself, etc etc. Those are fair questions, and if asked in the spirit that there might be a valid answer, that's great.
I think the answer is fairly simple -- anyone who is willing to practice empathy and compassion, and who can write a little bit, can have something valuable to say. And even when I disagree with his advice or get annoyed with his writing style (which happens), I don't doubt Cary's committment to an empathetic and compassionate approach. All in all, I like the column.
But so often the LTEs reveal not just disagreement on the merits with the problem or proposed solution, but dismissiveness and arrogance towards the format itself, and denigration on a personal level with both the LWs and the columnist. Naturally, it's already happening again. If these letters do anything but undermine some well-intentioned advice, I have no idea what that might be.
I keep coming back to the column and the letters, though, because there are a great many thoughtful people who take time to take the problem at face value, or who can enhance Cary's advice because they've been through a similar experience. It's an exercise in empathy and compassion in the abstract, but only if you want it to be.
Otherwise, this is just an updated version of the old saw about radio call-in shows -- if you let anybody write, anybody will.