Letters to the Editor Unfair Characterization To the Editor: I would like to comment on the article “Tales from the Darkside” (the August 27th cover story about therapy for pedophiles and rapists inside the Tennessee prison system). I know Lenny Lococo personally and find the article’s comments about him very offensive. They are not true of Lenny Lococo at all. He was instrumental in the training of local therapists who work with sex offenders. He is always very professional and deals with the topic of sexual abuse appropriately. Lococo has dedicated many years to this population and has worked to help innocent people from being victimized. When we have an individual that is willing to do this, it would be nice to have publications back him, not put him down. The topic of sexual abuse is very sensitive to a lot of individuals. We need more people like Lenny Lococo to help combat the problems. Sharon Davis e-mail (Memphis) Children and Discipline To the Editor: I would like to thank Debbie Gilbert for “Classroom Iconoclast” (News Feature, September 10th issue). Speaking with pioneering educator Dr. Lorraine Monroe, she reminded us that “ … Memphis City Schools teachers, in a 1997 survey, named discipline their number-one problem, ahead of workplace issues such as salaries … .” The problem of discipline in schools will not end until we get some idea of how children’s minds work. Children are not born with the capacity to reason as adults do. They do not understand our logic, our reasons why, our arguments, our relations of cause and effect. We would be less concerned with the problems of discipline if we would think more about children’s needs and less about our own comfort and convenience. Children are not naturally “naughty” as many people seem to think. They are just children, with ways of behaving that are different from adult ways – ways that are perfectly right and proper at certain ages. We are there to help them grow out of the childish ways at the right time. That help should be given with kindness and courtesy, not with anger and harshness. Love, tolerance, cheerfulness, and a sense of humor – these, I sincerely believe, are our best tools. The possession of these qualities means that we are ourselves truly grown up. Harshness, severity, over-strictness, and impatience with children are signs of emotional childishness. But I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not now – nor will I ever be – an advocate of permissiveness. A permissive policy is an open invitation to mass confusion and, ultimately, can only lead to anarchy. Common sense should tell anyone where to draw the line. Arthur H. Prince Memphis Move or Shut Up! To the Editor: In response to Bobby Blair (a Memphis resident who wrote last week with a laundry list of problems related to life in the city): Either move or be quiet. Stop complaining. I am appreciative of being from the heart of the deep South – Memphis – and a loyal downtown resident. Rende Nicole Jones Memphis The Chief Role Model To the Editor: After learning of all the sexual encounters that President Clinton has had during his political career and the present one with Monica, do you actually think that any red-blooded American teenager would want to be president when he or she grew up? Ohhhh, hellll yeahhhh!!! Joe Mercer e-mail (Memphis) The Memphis Flyer encourages reader response. Send mail to: Letters to the Editor, POB 687, Memphis, TN 38101. Or call Back Talk at 575-9405. Or send us e-mail at letters@memphisflyer.com. All responses must include name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters should be no longer than 250 words. Editor’s Note It seemed like a simple idea. We were approaching our 500th issue and wanted to do something special. We are also approaching our 10th anniversary in February 1999, and didn’t want to do anything this week to overshadow that milestone. So, with lists being so popular these days, we came upon this brilliant concept: 500 good things about Memphis. Coming up with 500 items was the easy part. In fact, when everyone at Contemporary Media, Inc. handed in their suggestions, we had a list that reached well into the 700s, even after we eliminated the duplications. The hard part was the details – how to list the various items, which pictures to use, whether we should explain each entry or keep it minimalist. The end result, it seems to me, is a hodgepodge of style and format. But, for better or worse, we did get 500 down. Now we would like to hear from you. Disagree with any of our selections? Want to add a few that we overlooked? Send us a letter. We’re always happy to hear from you. And for a humorous look at our first 500 issues, check out Tim Sampson’s recollections on page 26. A City Reporter story last week about a new service on the public library’s Web page failed to give the URL for that site. To reach the library site, go to www.memphislibrary.lib.tn.us.