_______________ MOTHERS WHO THINK
	I must disagree with a fellow reader's diatribe against the direction of the Mothers who Think column. I have always read MWT eagerly, and my devotion has increased markedly in recent months, despite the fact that I am 24 and uncertain as to whether I will ever have children. Frankly, I'm relieved that the column doesn't deal strictly with parenting issues, simply because MWT seems to be the only recurring feature in any mass publication (except Ms.) that attempts to appeal to women who think. Susan McCarthy's recent column detailing the feminist dilemma of carrying a handbag provides a perfect example: MWT brings to light an issue that I (and many other women, I'm sure) have often pondered: Does carrying a purse, dressing fashionably and wearing makeup conflict with my feminist ideals? Other mass women's publications wouldn't dare touch this issue -- they'd just tell us which handbag we had to have, in order to comply with the wishes of their major advertisers. Of course, I also find the parenting columns interesting reading; they are probably the only such articles for women in a mass publication written with the assumption that mothers continue to desire active intellectual discourse following the births of their children. But I believe that Salon's efforts in diversifying the column are important and should be continued, so that issues of relevance to all women can be aired in a forum free of lipstick application techniques and crash diets. -- Amanda Cantrell
_______________ THE WAR AT HOME BY ANDREW LAM (03/04/99)
	I was outraged by Andrew Lam's article about the Southern California Vietnamese who targeted a man for openly revering Ho Chi Minh. Those of us who gave time, money and years of our life to struggle against the war that the United States waged against Vietnam are offended by the outmoded idea that we somehow must be against communism because it's communism. Nope. The evil empire has died, and some of us were not too convinced it was evil to begin with. The offenses against human rights perpetrated by the Vietnamese government after the war should be condemned. So should the many offenses of the South Vietnamese government. Let us remember that Ho Chi Minh asked the United States for support in establishing a Vietnamese nation separate from French domination. He was turned down as part of the U.S. paranoia about communism. The Vietnamese have a heroic tradition of opposing foreign domination (lasting thousands of years). The U.S. was just another colonial power; one that they defeated. The United States has since tried to strangle Vietnam economically. Despite that, the Vietnamese people remain friendly to Americans (travel there and find out). Those Vietnamese who now live in the United States must be prepared to embrace democracy. Here in the U.S. we believe -- and at our best moments, we uphold -- the right of any person to hang up any picture or fly any flag in their own home (even that of Adolph Hitler or someone we despise equally). -- Susan McGee Ann Arbor, Mich.
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