Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________ TAMMY WYNETTE, 1942-1998 BY GAVIN McNETT (04/08/98)

Thank you, Gavin McNett, for your tribute to the incomparable Tammy Wynette. Too many pundits, usually leftist and privileged, sneer at country music. To these critics, any music created by poor, Southern whites (at least those poor, Southern whites who didn't attend an Ivy League university) must be held in contempt, along with its correlatives: incest, racism and trailer parks. Hillary Clinton? Who would even know her name were it not for her attachment to a man? Where would she be now if she as a child had to pick cotton from sun up to sun down? Tammy Wynette stands alone, a legend; and she will be admired wherever people appreciate the honesty of the human experience. Human beings are vulnerable. We all should be thankful to any artist courageous enough to bare her soul on the public stage so the rest of us who are listening and know whereof she speaks might benefit.
-- Sean Smith
Fresno, Calif.
Gavin McNett managed, just barely, to keep his condescension in check in his slight tribute to the late Tammy Wynette. But as Tammy might have said herself to a customer who'd gone too long between visits to the beauty salon, Mr. McNett's roots are showing badly when he claims that Wynette's biggest hit was her cameo on KLF's "Justified and Ancient." While her vocal was indeed the one thing that made that song memorable -- at least during its rotation on MTV -- it doesn't carry water for songs like "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Kids (Say the Darndest Things)" and of course "Stand By Your Man," which not only were actually about something but also had much better melodies.
Next time someone of Ms. Wynette's luminescence in the pop cultural firmament passes on, why not assign someone with at least a passing knowledge of her oeuvre to write about it?
-- David Vawter
Your article published in response to Tammy Wynette's unfortunate and unexpected death was without a doubt the most poorly edited and hard to follow article I have read on your site. The pseudo obituary totally overlooked the sorrow behind Mrs. Wynette's death and the full legacy that she left. While Mr. McNett did allude to Mrs. Wynette's legacy, it was interjected with rambling and totally unnecessary commentary. Comments about "the podunk jukeboxes these days" and the unneeded comparisons to Garth Brooks, Clint Black and LeAnn Rimes (how anyone could even consider a comparison and contrast to any of these is beyond me. And the uncontrastability shows in Mr. McNett's editorial) only drew attention away from Mrs. Wynette and her legacy. Next time you consider writing a biographical obituary, please find the appropriate contributor. Mrs. Wynette deserves so much more.
-- Reiggin Hilderbrand
Due West, S.C.
_______________ HEY HEY, HO HO, THE MATRIARCHY'S GOT TO GO BY LORI LEIBOVICH (03/27/98)

As a founder and executive committee member of the Third Wave Foundation, I want to offer Salon readers the facts about the Third Wave Foundation, rather than Lori Leibovich's attempt.
The Third Wave Foundation is the only national organization for young feminist activists between the ages of 15 and 30. Through grantmaking, leadership training and public education, Third Wave informs and empowers a generation of young women. Third Wave has a national membership of 1,500 strong and we continue to grow. Leibovich failed to mention any of these details, including that in 1997-98 we awarded more than $20,000 in grants and scholarships to young women and the organizations that support them.
The organization is led by a diverse group of 24 young women and men between the ages of 17 and 35. Though Leibovich did speak with active Third Wave members and one new board member, she did not choose to speak to any of the leadership of the organization. This includes the organization's associate, myself, two inaugural board members and numerous longtime supporters (Gloria Steinem included), all of whom attended the event.
While many of those involved with Third Wave would probably be flattered if we could "replace Steinem as the activist feminist icon for the next millennium," if we did that we wouldn't be offering a new movement but merely recycling someone else's leadership. Oh, if activism and leadership could be so easy as, apparently, Leibovich thinks it is. She also thinks that feminism is simply about being "sex positive" and about offering opinions to the existing media hype, rather than focusing on real issues in real women's lives. While Leibovich herself describes Third Wave as the "political leg" of the "New Girl Order," she seems to believe that politics are limited to the Clinton Scandal. While Third Wave may not be sending off statements (maybe because I and Steinem support Lewinsky's right to her sexuality. Who's calling who "sex positive"?), we are empowering women so they may never know what sexual harassment is and so they have the tools to address it when it happens -- not five years later. It's a sad state of affairs when Leibovich thinks that feminism could be reclaimed merely by offering an examination of the White House sex scandal.
At Third Wave our activism isn't about five minutes of fame, it's about building a movement. The fact that Gloria Steinem, after more than 30 years of feminist activism, can garner more media attention than the "New Girl Order" is reason enough that she is feminism's present. I'm glad that she's a supporter of Third Wave and happy that together we will build the Third Wave of feminism.
-- Amy Richards
Thank you for your courageous piece on Third Wave S.F. I am so tired of people our age dodging the fact that they reject the feminism of the 1970s. Saying you disagree with Gloria Steinem doesn't make you anti-woman or conservative. It makes us forward thinkers, not nostalgic wimps who need to be told what feminists think. If part of being a feminist is thinking for yourself and rejecting the view that women can't make up our minds, well, Third Wave may as well be called Second Wave -- the Next Generation. Or maybe Second Wave -- It's All Washed Up.
-- Molly Ditmore
I just finished reading Lori Leibovich's really good article about the Third Wave and Gloria Steinem. At various points in the article the author points out that Hillary Clinton has received criticism for "standing by her man" and thereby becoming a less than perfect role model for emerging feminists. I don't understand this. I think, although this is pure supposition, that Hillary Clinton seems to be handling this part of her family life much in the way she has handled other aspects of her life. To the degree it is possible, she tends to keep her family interrelationships private. If this is true, she should be commended by feminists, not criticized.
Feminists have no more of an obligation to open their private lives to the public than anyone else. I also do not agree that Hillary Clinton is being humiliated by Bill Clinton's alleged extramarital sexual activities. To the degree that they are true, only Bill Clinton can be humiliated. You know, it is also possible that Hillary Clinton has decided that there is something more to their marriage than keeping a fidelity scorecard. I am somewhat surprised that people I consider enlightened do not seem to agree.
-- Joseph D Weinman McElwee
_______________ SEE SOME EVIL, HEAR SOME EVIL ... BY GENE LYONS (04/08/98)

I have an earth-shattering news flash for Gene Lyons, whose sweeping pronouncements betray more than a little of parochial Little Rock, and all the trusting souls at Salon who suck up his writing with a straw: In Washington, politics is the biggest game in town. And when you have a supreme politician who has built a career upon championing the rights of women and middle-class bank depositors, both of whom he has trashed unconscionably in his "private life" (conducted on government property), then politics screams for justice. In that sense, Starr's investigation is politically motivated. And here I'm gonna blow your minds: SO WHAT?
Here is a scenario that is truly outrageous: Ken Starr lays off Clinton and trashes the rule of law because he decides he should be a nice guy, like, say, Gene Lyons of Little Rock, who is far too proper to engage in icky politics. Starr should sit back and think, "What would Gene Lyons do?" Right? So should we all, come to think of it.
So, what would Gene do? Gene would probably let the eternally adolescent Clintons shoot for the gold star on the giant homework assignment in the sky that is the Clintons' idea of the presidency, rather than uphold the rule of law and the idea (far-fetched for proper people like old Gene?) that you shouldn't lie under oath. And Clinton is such a great guy, who cares if he trashes the reputations of women whom he has harassed? Yes, Ken Starr may have all the evidence in the world that he did these things, but he just shouldn't pay attention to that evidence because, well, since Clinton is president and all, it's just too darn political.
You've sank, Salon. David Horowitz and Camille Paglia are way too good for you.
-- K. Reilly
SALON | April. 10, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| SICK VICTORY BY DAVID HOROWITZ (04/04/98)

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_______________ TAMMY WYNETTE, 1942-1998 BY GAVIN McNETT (04/08/98)
	Thank you, Gavin McNett, for your tribute to the incomparable Tammy Wynette. Too many pundits, usually leftist and privileged, sneer at country music. To these critics, any music created by poor, Southern whites (at least those poor, Southern whites who didn't attend an Ivy League university) must be held in contempt, along with its correlatives: incest, racism and trailer parks. Hillary Clinton? Who would even know her name were it not for her attachment to a man? Where would she be now if she as a child had to pick cotton from sun up to sun down? Tammy Wynette stands alone, a legend; and she will be admired wherever people appreciate the honesty of the human experience. Human beings are vulnerable. We all should be thankful to any artist courageous enough to bare her soul on the public stage so the rest of us who are listening and know whereof she speaks might benefit. -- Sean Smith Fresno, Calif. Gavin McNett managed, just barely, to keep his condescension in check in his slight tribute to the late Tammy Wynette. But as Tammy might have said herself to a customer who'd gone too long between visits to the beauty salon, Mr. McNett's roots are showing badly when he claims that Wynette's biggest hit was her cameo on KLF's "Justified and Ancient." While her vocal was indeed the one thing that made that song memorable -- at least during its rotation on MTV -- it doesn't carry water for songs like "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Kids (Say the Darndest Things)" and of course "Stand By Your Man," which not only were actually about something but also had much better melodies. Next time someone of Ms. Wynette's luminescence in the pop cultural firmament passes on, why not assign someone with at least a passing knowledge of her oeuvre to write about it? -- David Vawter Your article published in response to Tammy Wynette's unfortunate and unexpected death was without a doubt the most poorly edited and hard to follow article I have read on your site. The pseudo obituary totally overlooked the sorrow behind Mrs. Wynette's death and the full legacy that she left. While Mr. McNett did allude to Mrs. Wynette's legacy, it was interjected with rambling and totally unnecessary commentary. Comments about "the podunk jukeboxes these days" and the unneeded comparisons to Garth Brooks, Clint Black and LeAnn Rimes (how anyone could even consider a comparison and contrast to any of these is beyond me. And the uncontrastability shows in Mr. McNett's editorial) only drew attention away from Mrs. Wynette and her legacy. Next time you consider writing a biographical obituary, please find the appropriate contributor. Mrs. Wynette deserves so much more. -- Reiggin Hilderbrand Due West, S.C.
_______________ HEY HEY, HO HO, THE MATRIARCHY'S GOT TO GO BY LORI LEIBOVICH (03/27/98)
	As a founder and executive committee member of the Third Wave Foundation, I want to offer Salon readers the facts about the Third Wave Foundation, rather than Lori Leibovich's attempt. The Third Wave Foundation is the only national organization for young feminist activists between the ages of 15 and 30. Through grantmaking, leadership training and public education, Third Wave informs and empowers a generation of young women. Third Wave has a national membership of 1,500 strong and we continue to grow. Leibovich failed to mention any of these details, including that in 1997-98 we awarded more than $20,000 in grants and scholarships to young women and the organizations that support them. The organization is led by a diverse group of 24 young women and men between the ages of 17 and 35. Though Leibovich did speak with active Third Wave members and one new board member, she did not choose to speak to any of the leadership of the organization. This includes the organization's associate, myself, two inaugural board members and numerous longtime supporters (Gloria Steinem included), all of whom attended the event. While many of those involved with Third Wave would probably be flattered if we could "replace Steinem as the activist feminist icon for the next millennium," if we did that we wouldn't be offering a new movement but merely recycling someone else's leadership. Oh, if activism and leadership could be so easy as, apparently, Leibovich thinks it is. She also thinks that feminism is simply about being "sex positive" and about offering opinions to the existing media hype, rather than focusing on real issues in real women's lives. While Leibovich herself describes Third Wave as the "political leg" of the "New Girl Order," she seems to believe that politics are limited to the Clinton Scandal. While Third Wave may not be sending off statements (maybe because I and Steinem support Lewinsky's right to her sexuality. Who's calling who "sex positive"?), we are empowering women so they may never know what sexual harassment is and so they have the tools to address it when it happens -- not five years later. It's a sad state of affairs when Leibovich thinks that feminism could be reclaimed merely by offering an examination of the White House sex scandal. At Third Wave our activism isn't about five minutes of fame, it's about building a movement. The fact that Gloria Steinem, after more than 30 years of feminist activism, can garner more media attention than the "New Girl Order" is reason enough that she is feminism's present. I'm glad that she's a supporter of Third Wave and happy that together we will build the Third Wave of feminism. -- Amy Richards Thank you for your courageous piece on Third Wave S.F. I am so tired of people our age dodging the fact that they reject the feminism of the 1970s. Saying you disagree with Gloria Steinem doesn't make you anti-woman or conservative. It makes us forward thinkers, not nostalgic wimps who need to be told what feminists think. If part of being a feminist is thinking for yourself and rejecting the view that women can't make up our minds, well, Third Wave may as well be called Second Wave -- the Next Generation. Or maybe Second Wave -- It's All Washed Up. -- Molly Ditmore I just finished reading Lori Leibovich's really good article about the Third Wave and Gloria Steinem. At various points in the article the author points out that Hillary Clinton has received criticism for "standing by her man" and thereby becoming a less than perfect role model for emerging feminists. I don't understand this. I think, although this is pure supposition, that Hillary Clinton seems to be handling this part of her family life much in the way she has handled other aspects of her life. To the degree it is possible, she tends to keep her family interrelationships private. If this is true, she should be commended by feminists, not criticized. Feminists have no more of an obligation to open their private lives to the public than anyone else. I also do not agree that Hillary Clinton is being humiliated by Bill Clinton's alleged extramarital sexual activities. To the degree that they are true, only Bill Clinton can be humiliated. You know, it is also possible that Hillary Clinton has decided that there is something more to their marriage than keeping a fidelity scorecard. I am somewhat surprised that people I consider enlightened do not seem to agree. -- Joseph D Weinman McElwee
_______________ SEE SOME EVIL, HEAR SOME EVIL ... BY GENE LYONS (04/08/98)
	I have an earth-shattering news flash for Gene Lyons, whose sweeping pronouncements betray more than a little of parochial Little Rock, and all the trusting souls at Salon who suck up his writing with a straw: In Washington, politics is the biggest game in town. And when you have a supreme politician who has built a career upon championing the rights of women and middle-class bank depositors, both of whom he has trashed unconscionably in his "private life" (conducted on government property), then politics screams for justice. In that sense, Starr's investigation is politically motivated. And here I'm gonna blow your minds: SO WHAT? Here is a scenario that is truly outrageous: Ken Starr lays off Clinton and trashes the rule of law because he decides he should be a nice guy, like, say, Gene Lyons of Little Rock, who is far too proper to engage in icky politics. Starr should sit back and think, "What would Gene Lyons do?" Right? So should we all, come to think of it. So, what would Gene do? Gene would probably let the eternally adolescent Clintons shoot for the gold star on the giant homework assignment in the sky that is the Clintons' idea of the presidency, rather than uphold the rule of law and the idea (far-fetched for proper people like old Gene?) that you shouldn't lie under oath. And Clinton is such a great guy, who cares if he trashes the reputations of women whom he has harassed? Yes, Ken Starr may have all the evidence in the world that he did these things, but he just shouldn't pay attention to that evidence because, well, since Clinton is president and all, it's just too darn political. You've sank, Salon. David Horowitz and Camille Paglia are way too good for you. -- K. Reilly SALON \| April. 10, 1998