Letters to the Editor
borinquena
Published Letters: 228 Editor's Choice: 26
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Excessive punishment
[Read the article: At her majesty's pleasure]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Last week, Neil Whitehouse, 28, was jailed for a year after refusing to switch off a mobile phone on board a flight.
This is a stellar example of the punishment not fitting the crime. Even if you have no sympathy for Whitehouse, taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill for keeping this guy locked up for a year.
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Affording a nanny
[Read the article: The other mothers]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Really, how many working parents can afford to even think about hiring nannies?
My husband and I are far, far from being wealthy, but we've chosen to hire a nanny because daycare options for infants are ridiculously expensive and have long waiting lists. It's costing us a lot of money, but it's worth it--I love my job, it's my job that provides the medical insurance for the family and my child is getting high quality care for what it would cost us to enroll him in daycare.
As for the people carping over the term nanny vs. babysitter, to me the term babysitter implies a teenager watching your kid on a Saturday night, not someone who provides regular daily care.
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Former NY'er loves LA
[Read the article: I love L.A.]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is particularly true of "West LA" ... elsewhere, I can't say.
Well, no wonder you hate LA. When I first moved here I lived in Brentwood, God help me, just blocks away from where Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered. The west side epitomizes every ridiculous, vapid and shallow cliche of Los Angeles. But then I discovered the east side communities: Los Feliz, Silverlake, Echo Park, Eagle Rock, Lincoln Heights, Highland Park and Downtown LA, to name a few. They have an incredibly rich art, literary and music scene and are much more ethnically diverse than the rest of the city. They also boast some of the most beautiful scenery you'll ever see in an urban environment--rolling hills, blue skies and lush gardens. Yeah, the traffic sucks--so do what I did and get a job close to home. I love it here and I'll never leave.
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331 Letters!
[Read the article: Her sexy T-shirt says "Kitty Not Happy" -- is that OK at work?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Holy crap. Who knew Kitty could inspire this kind of response?
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I agree with DonaQuixote
[Read the article: Bad news dad]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree with DonaQuixote that there could have been much more interesting topics to explore on Father's Day. Any of the bloggers on http://ricedaddies.blogspot.com/ could've written a more thought-provoking essay.
Having said that, I'm floored by the level of hysteria in response to this essay. As a new mom I say that while parenting is full of joy, it can also be really, really boring at times. Hell, there are multiple discussion threads on the Berkeley Parents Network addressing parenting boredom--and a lot of those folks are heavily into the attachment parenting philosophy. There's nothing wrong with talking about the less-than-rapturous aspects of parenting. It doesn't mean you don't love your kids and it doesn't mean you won't do a good job of raising them.
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Distance and perspective
[Read the article: Bad news dad]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is hard to funny haha something when you don't even know what a good father feels like.
My father disappeared when I was five and was not involved in raising me at all. My stepdad was an alcoholic who abused my mom. But I found this essay very funny. Look, there's a difference between abuse and neglect and a parent kvetching about the very real tedium involved in parenting. Being a good parent does not mean being enthralled with your kids at every moment.
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Author's journey with his sons
[Read the article: Bad news dad]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In 2002, Rose published a memoir recounting a trip he took with two of his sons to Europe to retrace the steps of relatives who tried to escape the Holocaust. One reader/review notes the following: Foremost though, is his relationship with his own sons, and the unique loving relationship between the three of them. Another says: The author reveals himself to be a caring father, one who misses his sons greatly after his divorce and seeks to find a way to create a whole family out of the three of them. He doesn't spend much time talking about how painful the divorce itself was to him, but this shows through in the writing. This is not something seen from a male perspective too often. There are sure to be other fathers out there who will resonate with this aspect of the book.
More here:
http://www.amazon.com/Hiding-Places-Retrace-Familys-Holocaust/dp/0609809156/ref=sr_1_2/104-1104206-2499958?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182202271&sr=8-2
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Shut down the thread
[Read the article: Do you have to be gay to tell another guy his eyes are pretty?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Christopher1988 nailed. Move along, nothing more to see here.
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A learning opportunity
[Read the article: My roommate bounces my cats the wrong way]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Cary's right--they're your cats and you can set the rules for how you want them to be treated. But this is a great opportunity for you to challenge an irrational belief and learn to be more easy going, because there's always going to be something that makes you crazy and is out of your control. The roommate won't put the coffee mugs in the cabinet with their handles all facing in the same direction or she'll pile the pillows the wrong way on the couch. If you learn to let certain things go, you'll be much happier in the long run.
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"I think that most of the posters have been unnecessarily malevolent toward the LW, calling him "self-centered" and "immature." "
[Read the article: There's a cougher in the office and it's driving me mad!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Read the last line from his letter: "How can I help him (and those who are also being impacted) realize that this condition is the result of a neurosis?"
Unless he's an MD who's examined the cougher, he has absolutely no basis for thinking it's a neurosis. He's justifying his own irritation by demonizing/marginalizing his coworker. Had he said, "I know this guy is genuinely ill but the coughing is driving me crazy," I'd feel much more sympathy for the LW. Instead, he comes across as self-centered and completely lacking in compassion.
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McJudgerson--
[Read the article: I'm so damned judgmental!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]After reading your post in this thread, it's obvious to me that you feel sad and hurt by all of the judgmental comments being made about you.
That's how your friends feel when you judge them.
The next time you feel like climbing on a high horse, remember how you felt reading these letters. Then treat your friends the way you wish you'd been treated here.
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Brightstar
[Read the article: I'm so damned judgmental!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Where in my post did I say we should have no standards or accountability? Holding people accountable for their actions is different from judging them. You can condem the act while still feeling empathy for the person committing the act. You know, hate the sin, love the sinner.
"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." John 8:7
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"where, exactly, is someone getting "left"? Who is a victim?"
[Read the article: My brother left his girlfriend with a 5-month-old baby]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The child. And if the split is mutual, then both the father and mother are behaving selfishly.