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• Tuesday, January 13, 2009 01:43 AM

  in defense of the daughter

  It's not possible to drive until at least 16; it's not possible in most places to go for a haircut alone until you are able to drive.

  Most 16 year olds don't do their own laundry; fresh towels appear when the laundry fairy puts them in the bathroom. It's fairly normal for teenaged girls to struggle with the inconvenience of menstrual periods and to be embarrassed when they get blood all over something (which happens to everyone.) It is embarrassing to have to get a fresh set of towels when it's not the ordinary time to do laundry.

  People who have live in nannies and maids (or even mothers who make their children's beds) don't learn to make beds by magic. They have to be shown how. Likewise, people aren't born knowing how to cook. There has never been a 16 year old girl since the beginning of time whose stepmother has thought she knew how to dress appropriately.

  Liking to read books is not a sin. In fact, it's a trait I admire in others. Being a klutz is not a sin either. Nor is being ugly - although I should point out the dangers inherent in judging the future beauty of a woman by her appearance at 16. I have an uncle who went to high school with Cybil Shepherd. He reports that she sat "at the ugly table" and was considered hopelessly homely.

  I agree with everyone who says this woman should get out of this relationship - not just for the reasons given but also because the father seems to be a star spangled horse's ass with a heapin' helping of sociopathy on the side - but I thought the poor kid needed someone to speak up for her.

  —Allie_ Read Allie_'s other letters
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