Letters to the Editor
hermesloin
Published Letters: 49 Editor's Choice: 17
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Whitney Houston We have a Problem
[Read the article: Didn't she almost have it all?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This was the just the right tone for this article at just the right time in the latest news of Whitney's (continuing) downfall. One thing the article failed to mention, however, were the rumors of Whitney's lesbian relationship to her former manager (a woman). Could at least some of her self-destructive behavior be attributed to her inability to come to terms with her sexual orientation? Could a famous black woman in America come out of the closet and still thrive in her career? (Oprah & her "very good friend" Gayle might be able to weigh in on this one).
In the history of women popstars, there appear to be only three women who have what it takes to weather the storm; Tina Turner, Cher and Madonna (ok, and Mariah). The others have stumbled and fallen, never to fully regain their former glory. Madonna does it best, year after year, maintaining her creative viability and commercial dominance in spite of a revolving slew of upcoming would-be de-throners. After that kiss on MTV, Britney is now a shadow of her former self, guzzling cheetos and letting her less-than husband drag her down to his level.
It's too late for Whitney to regain what she once had. There's no point in hoping the mainstream media will acquit her or that she will make a comeback. The best we can hope for is that she'll stop doing drugs and try to salvage whatever health she has left and leave her toxic marriage and live out the rest of her years in quiet dignity, enjoying her privacy and avoiding the breadline and the tabloids.
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Dear Nina,
[Read the article: Country boy]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm sorry that the letters posted so far don't begin to rise the level of discourse that your wonderful article did. One of my favorite authors, Caroline Myss, has said that our world is being dismantled. The War in Iraq and all of its related mayhem in our country and abroad is but one sign of this unraveling. The poignant image of the boarded up school as the last line of your article is yet another thread that has come undone in a system that is crumbling. In order to survive we have to jump ship from the Narrowsburghs of the world and move to the New York Citys where we can be safe from people who desperately cling to antiquated ideas of patriotism and religion before we become their casualties. Nice job.
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Vegan Diets for Everyone!
[Read the article: Not a drop to drink]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]John Robbins touched on the amount of water used to raise animal products to feed the masses in his latest book The Food Revolution. Cows, pigs, and chickens require an enormous amount of water to a) water them b) water the crops they eat and c) wash away their waste. The way animals are raised right now on large factory farms is unsustainable. John Robbins was the heir to the Baskin & Robbins thrown, but he gave it up and now he advocates a vegan diet not only for its health benefits but also for its sustainability compared to raising livestock. I'm not a vegan, but articles like this make me wonder if one day we won't all be forced to become vegans. The real cost of eating a hamburger at a fastfood establishment is greatly hidden, not only in terms of its water quotient but in terms of government subsidizing. If people had to pay the real cost of meat for a humburger, Happy Meals would be a thing of the past.
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All too true
[Read the article: Campus cruelties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]After I read this fantastic article, I jumped to the letters and saw there were already 45 posted and it's not even midnight on Sunday! I was eager to read other's responses on this intelligent article, but instead my eyes were assaulted with vile, hate-filled letters adressed directly to the author. The only thing they seemed to take from this article is that the author is a hypocritical male-basher. These letter posters read the article through a very strong filter and widely missed the point of the article. But their behavior just validates the whole point of the article! People can be vicious, vicious.... The same impetus that led a group of young men to set a woman's hair on fire lies behind the need to post nasty, personal responses to an article like this. Lauryn Hill once said "The origin of man's heart is black. Picture that. Scripture that." It's too bad the bar owner with the baseball bat wasn't at the Duke house the night of the alleged gang rape.
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Between the lines
[Read the article: Mother inferior]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've read several letters so far along the lines of "Dani is selfish b/c all her mother ever did was wear crazy sweaters and worry about her daughter's marriage... What's so horrible about that?" To those letters I would say that it's not what Dani wrote about, it's about what she didn't write. Which is exactly how her mother communicated to her. She would say the appropriate thing, but in a tone that betrayed the intended sentiment behind it. It was that kind of toxicity that scared Dani enough to make her stop producing breast milk to feed her own child. Her mother had that much power over her. The voice mails warning Dani that one day she would die and Dani would feel guilty... that's emotional abuse. It's manipulative to the core. I can't imagine my parents EVER saying something like that to me. The only way the mother felt she could control Dani anymore was by withholding her approval or sending a tidal wave of guilt, both tactics meant to cruch the independent Dani. Yes, it's a two way street, but Dani never said she was beyond repproach or had her hands clean in the matter. When it comes to mothers, no one's the victim.