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Read other letters about this article
Oh, no, I'm not trying to be funny, I'm serious. I've been reading your letters for some months now; you are well-spoken and I usually come down on your side. I like your point of view and your tenacity, and I look forward to your comments. You are against racism, sexism, stereotyping and prejudice, as I am, so when I read your remark about Neanderthalish behavior, I only meant to point out a little stumble in your routine - something minor, an intellectual error rather than an emotional one, but nevertheless, it weakens your overall performance.
Because:
1. Your idea of Neanderthal behavior is likely derived from cartoons and comic strips - gross caricatures, projected in ignorance, with no basis in reality.
2. Your use of the word indicates that in your thinking, Neanderthal behavior is defined solely by adult male behavior, that the word Neanderthalish, as an adjective means 'like a Neanderthal male. You exclude Neanderthal women and children from your definition of Neanderthal.
Here's what we do know about Neanderthals: They buried their dead with honors, both male and female, of all ages, including the elderly and the disabled, whose lives they protected and sustained. And they created art. They sound almost human, don't they?
And here's what I think, personally. Maybe you'll agree: The women must have been very strong and fierce, and formidable opponents to any man or beast who threatened them or their families. After all, they survived as a species for 100,000 years in the harshest environments and against the harshest of predators.
Why isn't that what you think of when you hear the word Neanderthal?
Your fine intellect should have stopped you before you finished typing the word. And now you react to my observation with insult and sarcasm. Again, it weakens your performance. Why don't you really impress us all and concede the point?
