The word bandied about is one of ash’s pet peeves. There is such a thing as whining, which occurs almost exclusively on the part of animals and small children. Among adults it is actually quite rare.
Incidentally, the titles are presumably Mike the editor's. ash certainly didn't write hers. In fact, every title she supplies is invariably replaced.
Tired of constant whine from the left wing
Monday's letters section brought two more selections of whine from the left wing. One writer whined about the cost of the inauguration and another whined that the nation had selected a not-too-bright person to be its president.
The amount of federal dollars being spent on the presidential inauguration is no more or less obscene than that which has been spent in the past for any president. What's wrong with celebrating the fact that the American system works?
The whiners may not think the system works because they don't like the outcome, and to continually carp, cry, whine and take cheap shots shows the weakness of their position. Why not complain about the expense of the Golden Globes and Academy Awards? Let's cancel the Super Bowl! Perhaps we ought to cancel soccer and T-ball team end-of-the-season pizza parties as well.
The fact that we are in a war on terrorism (a war totally ignored by Mr. Bush's predecessor) isn't the real issue with the whiners. The real issue is that Mr. Bush won and the whiners don't like it.
Which brings up the second whine selection regarding Mr. Bush as a "rich, not-too-bright member of the Air National Guard who avoided the draft." It's more than two months after the campaign and some people just can't stop hating. I wonder if this whiner feels as strongly about knowing what the actual nature of John Kerry's discharge is?
It's obvious he doesn't care that a majority of voting citizens voted for the guy he considers not-too-bright. We can only infer what he thinks about them. Condescending, isn't it?
Whiners, put a cork in it!
OK, I’ll play, retorts ash.
Jan. 19 letter writers a bunch of whiners
On Jan. 19, I could say the letters to the editor section comprised: One writer whining about Monsignor Costa; one writer whining about the gay rights bill; one writer whining about the governor of Illinois; one writer whining about smoking at hospital entrances; one writer whining about attorney general-hopeful Alberto Gonzales; one writer whining about seat belts; one writer (all the way from Oregon) whining about adoption records; one writer whining about an oncology group; one writer whining about a stolen flag; one writer whining about President Bush's intellect; one writer whining about Chicago sports teams; one writer whining about stem cell donation; Springfield's chief whiner whining about abortion; and one writer whining about whining.
I could say that, on a variety of topics, all letter writers - that day and every day - whine. I won't make that claim. Nor will I add the caveat that whining is exclusive to the left side of the political spectrum. The word "whine" is a pejorative used to discredit the speaker. In psychology, it is known as a discount.
One person's whine is another's legitimate complaint. Readers presumably are fully capable of separating the cream from the skim milk.
ash’s email friend concurs:
Liberal Democrats keep on surviving
When I was a kid growing up in a blue-collar neighborhood half a century ago, everyone around me was a Democrat. In those days, Democrats were the regular folks - the production-line factory workers, union members, neighborhood shopkeepers, police and firefighters, and even the Catholic clergy. Very few of us went to college.
Republicans were the educated rich people. They were the ones who lived in the expensive suburbs and held top management jobs - the stereotypical WASPs.
Today, Democrats are often referred to as "fancy pants elitists" and Republicans, by and large, have switched places with my old neighbors - those folks who easily would have supported a man who was hardly able to speak a coherent sentence. Heck, we did! We repeatedly voted the first Mayor Daley - one of our own - into office. And now they've done the exact same thing with George W. Bush. But while "da mayor" wasn't articulate he did possess a brain, unlike Dubya who is little more than an empty-suit performing puppet of the neocons.
I say, thank heaven for liberal Democrats! We've managed to survive amidst the lies, insults and threats thrust upon us by those who prefer to remain ignorant. In fact, we're probably the only ones standing between democracy and fascism, so some of your writers need to stop whining about our so-called whining.