Letters to the Editor
Rowyna
Published Letters: 105 Editor's Choice: 36
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different from adoption?
[Read the article: Who's your daddy: The search for sperm donors]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There is nothing stopping a requirement for donors to provide a comprehensive medical history, yet still remain anonymous.
Parents who give their children up for adoption are protected by laws preventing them for being responsible for those children in the future, but sperm and egg donors are not allowed such protections. Why is that? Giving up sperm or eggs to create a child that is then raised by a stranger is, for all ethical intents, exactly the same as adoption, yet it is treated differently by the law.
I too am amazed that there are even 208 donors in Britian. I certainally wouldn't be one (had I sperm to donate...) These men are put in a totally disadvantagous situation, in order to help a total stranger acheive their dream of giving birth to their own child.
Children from these arrangements should realise that they still have one biological parent who they know and grow up with, which is more than adopted children. They should also realise that having an 'absent' biological father, or having a step-father, is pretty normal these days. Why should they have the right to contact a stranger who was simply doing their mother a favour by donating his genetic material?
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weddings now and then
[Read the article: The marriage industrial complex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As someone who is currently planning a wedding (for somewhere around $15,000, if you want to know!) I found this article interesting.
I have always planned on having a wedding, and not eloping. My parents who were married 35 years ago ALSO had a wedding ceremony. My great aunt did not bake my mother's cake, and their wedding was not in someone's backyard. They were not rich (my grandfather was a mechanic), but they still rented a hall and paid a photographer. As such, I find the comments about how weddings were '40 years ago' compared to today interesting. Is the scenario the author has pictured based on any sort of facts and figures? Do we actually know how much the average wedding cost in 1967, in order to compare it to today?
Don't get me wrong- I too find the commercialisation of weddings distaseful and bizzare. However, I think spending money on renting a reception venue, providing food and drink, buying a wedding dress, paying a photographer, etc are all fairly standard wedding proceedures. To compare weddings today to those that took place in the WWII era is a bit silly. During WWII women couldn't buy stockings, much less expensive wedding dresses.
I think eloping is a wonderful choice if that is what you want - don't begrudge me my wedding ceremony and reception though. Not everyone who wants a wedding is a teeth whitening bridezilla. Some of us just want to have a nice day at a nice venue with our friends and family.
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not all sites are bad
[Read the article: Is that laptop eating your daughter's brain?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ok so before I get into this I admit it - I'm biased. As a sometime player of World of Warcraft, I have a soft spot for social communities and online games.
I think there is a lot of hysteria out there about kids playing games and getting into social networking sites. From the 'predator' articles in the MSM about MySpace, to the 'your kid is an EverQuest junkie' articles, there seems to be a lack of balance.
Insidious advertising to children is bad, but it certainally isn't limited to the internet. In fact, there is a whole boatload more of such advertising on TV. And lets not forget that traditional barbie (you know, the REAL doll) comes with a whole host of accessories that are commercial tie ins (pink corvette anyone?) So the internet isn't any worse in this regard.
Playing online is a cool way for kids to interact with people who AREN'T their neighbors, and can expose them people from different places in a kind of pen-pal type situation from the days of yore.
Not only that, but a lot of these sites teach a sort of responsiblity. Live in a little appartment too small for a real pet? Want your kid to test drive the idea of responsible pet ownership before they drive? Maybe letting them play Neopets is a good way to see if they're even remotely ready for the responsibility.
Club Pengin is another insteresting one, where kids can learn to save credits to buy 'virtual goods'. 'turning kids into little capitalist consumers!' you say... perhaps. But also teaching them how to save and have the basic foundations of fiscal responsibility...
All I'm saying is the issue of children's online networking sites is more complex than 'they're rotting their brains with virtual barbie' or 'they should go outside'.
Try and look at it from a bit more of a balances perspective next time.
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chilling out
[Read the article: I don't know how to take a vacation!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hey LW, I'm just wondering when was the last time you actually just chilled out. I mean, did you go to college? Do you remember sitting in your dorm eating doritos and watching bad daytime TV when you were supposed to be studying? Or maybe it was back in highschool, before you were old enough to work, spending a lazy afternoon of summer vacation going for a long walk or reading a good book. Whenever it was, it sounds like you haven't just done nothing for a while... try it, its great!
All this vacation stuff sounds stressful because... well... it IS. Don't let anyone fool you - if you travel, you'll need a vactation to get over your vacation. You should still travel though! Its a great way to go places and see things you would never have seen while working your 70 hour week... what I'd suggest though is that instead of spending your 3 weeks on vacation somewhere exotic, spend 2. Then take 1 to sit at home and play Xbox. Seriously. Because going on vacation isn't going to solve your problem, but doing nothing at home will. Learn to waste a little time, and maybe you'll realise that it's fun!