Letters to the Editor Artistic Interpretations To the Editor: Cory Dugan’s florid assessment of Greg Shellnut’s outdoor sculpture at Rhodes College [Art, July 22nd issue] made me very glad that he is not in charge of choosing public art for Memphis. As a physical object, the buried, corroding typewriter which he applauds as “site specific” and “content specific” would seem more appropriate for the anniversary of a secretarial school which had long since abandoned its Smith-Coronas than for the Rhodes Sesquicentennial. The James Agee text in the work is from a book describing the unhappy lives of Southern sharecroppers in the 1930s and expresses the futility of writing for telling this story. “A piece of body torn out by the roots might be more to the point” refers to the exploited body of a sharecropper – not something the writer ought to inflict on himself or a desirable aspiration for Rhodes students. Accordingly, this sculpture could be interpreted as an extremely oblique social criticism of wealthy Southern landowners who sent their offspring to Rhodes and/or a contemplation of the transition from written to visual culture (the death of literature). Yet Mr. Dugan says, “This stunning work celebrates not just a place and a time, not just a history; … also … the future.” Perhaps, but what place and time, what history, what kind of future? If Mr. Dugan’s muddled review indicates the actual value of this piece and its relevance to Rhodes, the sculptor might wish his work had included another quote from James Agee’s book, “Above all else: in God’s name don’t think of it as Art.” Karen Winterton Rhodes College Department of Art Newt’s Integrity To the Editor: I enjoyed Jacqueline Marino’s article on Newt Gingrich [“Being There,” July 16th issue] even though it was written with the expected liberal bias. Newt is one of the most capable men on the national scene and Ms. Marino’s suggestion that the “Contract with America” solidified his reputation as a noisy, spotlight-addicted bulldog was inaccurate and disingenuous. To many Americans like myself, it identified him as a man of honor whose word could be trusted. In the contract, Newt identified certain needs for society and addressed those needs. It is unfortunate that most Americans have been trained to expect lies from our politicians to the extent that they were totally surprised to receive a political promise that was intended to be carried out. Fortunately, we have men of integrity like Newt. America is better off because of his, and the Republican party’s, Contract with America. Tom Albin Cordova Pregnant Students To the Editor: In his commentary [“Viewpoint,” July 16th issue], William K. Richardson asked readers to call him an insensitive, sexist ogre for his viewpoint that “visibly” pregnant teens should not be allowed to attend school. Well, Mr. Richardson, you are an insensitive, sexist ogre, but you’re also an ignorant misogynist. This letter is not so much an argument in favor of pregnant girls attending school as it is a plea to the Memphis City Schools system to make psychological testing and evaluation mandatory for all teachers and coaches! Mr. Richardson is a wrestling and football coach at Westside High School and there is no doubt in my mind that he is helping to mold, as so many teachers do, the way students think. I simply cannot imagine how much of his idiocy he has spread to his students, especially the boys. Mr. Richardson believes more of the blame lies at the feet of the girl and that a policy should be adopted that removes the pregnant student from the school, as if a girl can magically become pregnant and the father has no responsibility at all. Mr. Richardson even has the audacity to say that “keeping her legs together” would have been the surest method of preventing pregnancy. I believe that keeping his mouth closed and his ideals to himself would be the best way for Mr. Richardson to help the students that he coaches. If, according to Mr. Richardson, there is no excuse for a teenage girl to get “knocked up,” there is also no excuse for him spewing his outdated ideals as if he’d been knocked in the head. Please, Mr. Richardson, wake up! Carol Thomas Memphis To the Editor: … How about promoting the enforcement of the law that states it is a criminal offense to have sex with underage girls? I think that a couple of prosecutions would cut down on the pregnancies. … Dot Truitt Walk Memphis To the Editor: There is much lip service given to the lack of morals and irresponsible behavior that pregnant teens exhibit. Most of these children come from single-parent families. Usually the father has split and the mother spends the majority of her time working to put food on the table. It leaves little time for her to monitor her children. Richardson describes a time in our not-too-distant past when parents ostracized their pregnant teens and sent them away or forced them to have an abortion. This is an example of good morals? Pregnant teens were ostracized to protect the reputations of their parents. Sounds more like a “let’s sweep it under the rug” mentality than a real solution to the problem of teen pregnancy. Ignorance is bliss. Walanda Houston Memphis To the Editor: I agree with making sure that teen pregnancy is not seen as a joyous event. However, I strongly believe in applying penalties to all parties involved in an “indiscretion.” If schools were to follow Richardson’s advice, young teen boys would surely realize that they had no culpability for their actions and could “score” with impunity, without future penalties. Most disturbing was the fact that this Viewpoint column comes from one of our children’s teachers. … His stance only reinforces the belief that “guys will be guys,” and only women should take responsibility for sexual decisions and repercussions. I wonder how Coach Richardson would feel about a rule that banned his star wrestlers or football players from participating in athletic events if they were “sperm donors” to fellow students? Barry Jackson e-mail (Nashville) To the Editor: Mr. Richardson’s “out of sight, out of mind” proposal is outrageously regressive, reeks of misogynism, and is counter to his role as an educator. This idea would be a step back from the somewhat open dialogue that the problem of teen pregnancy has enjoyed over the last 10 or 15 years. Yes, teen pregnancy is a big problem in modern America. But compounding that problem by denying teen mothers their right to an education, by expelling them for a year, only compounds the problem. … Mr. Richardson also states, “In 1998, there is no excuse for a teenage girl to get ‘knocked up,’” which he attributes to the wide availability of birth control. It should be pointed out to Mr. Richardson that no method of birth control is 100 percent effective. More heinous is his assertion that for a teenage girl, “keeping her legs together would have been the surest method of preventing pregnancy.” What if he had kept it in his pants? Has Mr. Richardson never been persuaded to do something he otherwise wouldn’t have done by somebody with a slick line? His reluctance to lay blame on the fathers of out-of-wedlock babies is utterly chauvinist. … Sean P. Brady e-mail (Memphis) To the Editor: By punishing the pregnant teens the message given is that a behavior is “immoral” only if a person gets caught. One wonders what message the high school athletes that Mr. Richardson coaches get: “Do whatever you want, just don’t let the referee catch you”? And since when is being pregnant immoral? M. Jones e-mail (Jonesboro, AR) To the Editor: Okay, William K. Richardson. You are an insensitive, sexist ogre. You should be compared to Hitler and the Klan. They, too, once thought that Jewish, black, and gay citizens shouldn’t walk around as “regular people.” On behalf of all of those who read your article, some advice: Next time you have a thought that you think should be spoken aloud, don’t. Your attitude and one-dimensional thoughts are why there are so many children leaving their babies in dumpsters. … Stephanie Watkins-Pitts e-mail (Memphis) To the Editor: To show how wise our Maker is, coach William Richardson has no daughter and, leaving nothing to chance, not even a cellar. He/She is good! Rene Elfer| e-mail (La Place, LA) To the Editor: Mr. Richardson, in a few short paragraphs, managed to blame the downfall of society on teenage girls. What about the boys, the parents, churches, and schools?… A better solution, since we’re being barbaric, is to bind the teens together for the duration of their lives. During school, we should use handcuffs as the pregnant status symbol. “I’m Jane. I’m a pregnant teen. I’m John. I got her pregnant.” … Richardson’s solution will not eliminate teen pregnancies. What will? Force all of us – not the girls alone – to take responsibility for what we teach our children at home, church, and school. Naomi G. Senkbeil e-mail (Memphis) To the Editor: … Punishing these girls for being pregnant is not the Memphis City Schools’ business. Since a class on morality and ethics is currently not included in the MCS curriculum and since the word sex cannot be mentioned in class without getting half the students’ parents in an uproar, a decision to remove pregnant teens from the system would be unfair. Mr. Richardson says contraception is readily available to all, but is it readily available in the Memphis City Schools? Or is he referring to the health clinics throughout the city which are pretty much inaccessible to those who are without transportation and that are, on the whole, unknown to the 13-year-old girls who are getting pregnant? … If the purpose of school is to prepare every single individual for the real world, 1) to take away an education necessary to operate in the real world and 2) to wreck a young woman’s self-esteem even more are pretty damn senseless and hypocritical of the entire concept of education. … Nora Boone e-mail (Memphis) The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. 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