Letters to the Editor
Tobbar
Published Letters: 159 Editor's Choice: 9
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testimony, sister!
[Read the article: I'm so damned judgmental!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I rarely comment on these advice letters. But I wanted to step in and defend the LW in this instance.
Yes, I said defend her. All you haters check this- she wasn't somehow "gifted" or "lucky", she was yet another average jane in another average town that just didn't make any stupid fucking decisions.
Let me say that again: no stupid fucking decisions.
The LW doesn't say that she has no sympathy for the victims of bad luck-- the poor bastard who in 1998 put half his money into ostrich farms and the other half in tech stocks, say. Or that she doesn't feel sympathy for people bearing their abusive father-broken-home-never-been-called-on-my-bullshit-before crosses.
The LW says that she has no sympathy for people who make stupid fucking mistakes.
My mom and dad are both from big families, like six or seven brothers and sisters each. You know what seperates the happy aunts and uncles from the unhappy ones? The happy ones didn't make any (wait for it) stupid fucking mistakes.
The ones that joined cults? Unhappy now. The ones who thought that getting married would fix their problems? Unhappy. The ones who thought having kids would fix their marriages? Unhappy. The ones who thought they could get out of debt if they just had a better credit card? Unhappy.
I'm not saying that the happy ones didn't make bad decisions, they did. Who doesn't? But the big thing is they didn't compound bad decisions with stupidity.
In fact, I would say that it is the LW's inability to act that is her main problem. Further, I would postulate that it isn't so much her lack of sympathy that's coming across, as much as a "Thank god I'm not you, dumbass" gut-reaction.
And, following that, I would also suggest that the LW probably suffers, like most sensible people do, from having a desire not to waste her time with fools. We've all been there- dealing with someobody who just won't own up to their stupid mistakes- they have the credit card 'cause they couldn't afford the groceries! And they HAD to have a new car! You can sell steak-knives sooooo much easier if you have a new car! And I'm really smart and driven, and I can MAKE IT selling steak knives! I've already maxed out one credit card on the "Diamond Pyramid Steak Knife Selling Secrets DVD" and the trip to Florida for the workshop! And what else was I going to do, that stupid bitch at CostCo fired me! Yeah I was coming in late every day, but it was because I had a POS car!
Ugh! The stupid- it burns!
So, in closing, I'd advise the LW to stay the course, call 'em on their bullshit. That way, when they finally hit rock bottom they'll know who to turn to for real advice and help.
Give 'em hell, LW!
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Something else not new, Todhitt
[Read the article: TV's triumphant overclass]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Heather H. gets paid for her words, you don't.
Keep 'em coming, Heather!
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They find a way to pull you back in!
[Read the article: Hit her, baby, one more time]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You know, maybe this is Britney's way of getting out of the industry.
And, I'm pretty sure, she probably waited until the MTV check cleared before doing it.
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Nothing like mentioning feminism-
[Read the article: Women are the new men on TV]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]- to bring out the batshit crazies!
But, when your life has been nothing but a series of failures and you're not man enough to take your share of the blame, I guess feminism will have to do, eh Brightstar65?
And Merely Mortal Male. Sweet zombie jeezus! 50+ pages of thinly disguised hatred of women. Fifty! And you do love the sound of your braying voice. Lord knows no women do.
Anyway, back to the article. It is hard to know what is more bizarre: the fact that this same basic formula is at the root of all these shows all at once, the fact that it seems so blatant, or the mystery of just who the shows are aimed at.
Someone mentioned that you have to have conflict to have a show, and I suppose that gender issue conflict will fit the bill just fine, but surely there have to be some other issues that could be put on the screen!
Is it just a stunning lack of originality or is there something more to it? Is there a huge group of people who just can't enough of this stuff? ARe they women? Men?
Others have mentioned that doofus guys are the standard in most comedies, which I'd agree with. However, there is a certain nearly sage-like quality to comedy doofus guy. A self-awarness of their doofusness and laziness.
Actually, KING OF THE HILL is probably one of the best representations of people found on TV. They have their strengths, they have their weaknesses. Nobody is always right or always wrong.
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Hillary is so going to win in 2008.
[Read the article: Is Hillary running away with the race?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Madam President. Get used to the way it sounds.
Once we get into some serious debatin' she is going to devour both democratic and republican foes alike. It will be a thing of horrible beauty.
I, for one, can't wait.
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Keep quiet, get out, and move on
[Read the article: Should I come out as an atheist?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Congratulations on shedding superstition.
You're in a tight spot. I agree with what several other people have said- that you keep quiet, you get your degree, and you begin to set up your independence from your parents.
All of this is based on the assumption that you are still getting money from your parents, and that if you rock the boat, the money will stop. I have no doubt that they would use financial strings to bind you to their will, as they have clearly been using emotional manipulation all your life.
Just be patient. Be grown-up about it. You're trying to escape something- something that is specifically designed to KEEP you from escaping. It isn't going to be easy.