ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 11, 1996 TAG: 9611130002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
I ATTENDED a Catholic grade school in Virginia. I was a gawky third-grader, bookwormish and completely respectful of the nuns who taught us.
Instead of a recess one rainy day, we were sent back to our classrooms to wait out the humid lunch hour. No teacher or room monitor was present. The result was a melee in the form of spitballs, and boys' flipping girls' skirts to reveal their underwear, etc.
Sister Joan's return to the class was near. It was an honor to carry her books or hold the door for her, which was why I was in the hallway. Toby came out of the boys' bathroom. He was a tall third-grader, slovenly dressed, made bad grades, had a bad attitude. Suddenly he pressed himself against me, crushing me, his lips smashing my mouth, his tongue pushing through my lips. Horrified, I fought a boy nearly twice my size. Just then, I saw Ann and shouted "help." Toby jumped back. Ann tore back into the classroom singing, "Jane and Toby were kissing in the hall.''
Sister Joan returned, and my explanations of being attacked were dismissed as silly, childish. No discipline, no reprimand for Toby. My embarrassment and hot tears of hurt were not addressed. There were only classmates' taunts: "Jane and Toby sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.''
Other girls and I endured three more years of this boy's harassment in the form of nasty notes and pictures, skirt flipping and rude, graphic comments. Never were our complaints given any credence. After failing the sixth grade, he moved to another school. The last I heard, he was in jail for raping a girl.
We shouldn't react hysterically to incidents such as the 6-year-old North Carolina boy and his innocent kiss. However, neither should we totally ignore them. Just as the Jeffrey Dahmers of the world could be identified early on by their odd abuse of animals, so can future sexual offenders be identified by their early behavior. If someone had taken the time to help Toby, his path might have been vastly different.
Do listen to 6-year-old boys, and believe in and be thankful for their natural naivete that makes them peck a little girl on the cheek. But please listen to the little girls when they're scared and bewildered by inappropriate behavior. It happens, and a lot more often than you think. We need to find a solution.
JANE CAMPBELL
ROANOKE
Close the salary gaps for workers
VIRGINIANS, let's join hands to help our fellow man. We can make this a better world for mankind everywhere. We cannot be selfish, caring only about our ``wants'' while others do not have their ``needs.'' Many cannot even afford the basics in life. The word says, ``Work with your hands that you may have something to help those that have need. The poor you will have with you always.''
For those who can work, give them a job that will pay a decent salary. Then they will be able to take care of their families. Minimum wage isn't enough to care for a family. Individuals may work as a sweeper, housekeeper, factory worker, road worker, cook or a storekeeper. It doesn't matter what kind of job they have, just make pay more equal down the line.
No one should feel it's right if he or she makes a huge salary while many workers make $5,000 or $6,000 a year. Those workers also need health care and retirement. Give them a chance to have some of the American dream. They are the people who make huge profits for others.
Be willing to share with the poor, and it will make you happier than you have ever been. When you love everyone enough to care and to share, we can have a better world.
ODESSA L. MOYER
MARTINSVILLE
Speak out against nude dancers
I WAS very shocked to learn that Roanoke city has stooped to allowing nude dancers at the Girls, Girls, Girls Club. I know that our values and morals are not what they once were in Roanoke, but I didn't know that things had gone so far downhill. I cannot believe that city residents want this type of business in our community.
What message are we sending our youth? Everyone wants to quickly blame teen-agers for violence, disrespect, drugs, etc., but what kind of an example are adults setting for teens to follow?
I challenge all decent, respectable citizens to speak out against the owner of the business and protest allowing this type of business to remain part of our community.
If we do not react to this establishment, what is to stop topless bars and strip clubs from opening next? We need to protect the future of our communities for our children, if not for ourselves.
BONNIE WALDRON
VINTON
Perot has inspired Generation X'ers
GOING TO college is one of the single most important steps a person can take toward a fulfilling life. I am putting myself through school, and I sometimes forget what a privilege it is to be here and how liberating it is to find knowledge and truth.
I was reminded with Ross Perot's recent visit to campus (Oct. 29 article, ``Trust me, Perot tells Hokies''). Not only did the visit emphasize the numerous opportunities one has by being in school, but emphasized also the importance of being open-minded to new and old ideas. This way of thinking was the essence of the American Dream.
I am not a history major, but I know this country was not founded on one idea by one lawmaker but by a collection of visions and dreamers. Perot, a manifestation of the American Dream, used his graphs and lists to paint a picture of truth and history - not cynicism. I never once doubted what he said nor did I feel the need to read between the lines. Truth is logic. A president should be logical.
This revelation has led me to ask pessimistic questions: Has my generation been labeled ``X'' because we have had nothing to believe in? Can society accept logic? Perhaps a new generation of dreamers and doers would come forth if we had someone like Perot to remind us of the believable again.
TANYA V. BOONE
BLACKSBURG
Many will miss Elizabeth Leah
WHILE WAITING to pick up election materials a few years ago, I was talking with another lady who was also waiting. I commented how nice and patient Roanoke County Registrar Elizabeth Leah had always been when I came to the Registrar's Office or when I called her on the telephone with a question on Election Day. When I finished, the lady thanked me and said that Leah was her sister. I'm sure she and others have heard this same story many times.
We will all miss Leah.
GLORIADENE LANCASTER
BENT MOUNTAIN
Interfering neighbor endangered a child
IN RESPONSE to your Oct. 28 Associated Press news article (``On trial for aiding teen in abortion'') about the neighbor who helped a girl (notice I said girl, not woman) obtain an abortion:
The neighbor (whose stepson had impregnated the girl) drove the girl to New York, without her parents' knowledge, for an abortion. An attorney, Kathryn Kolbert, fears that young ``women'' will not seek medical advice if this neighbor is penalized. I was under the impression that a 13-year-old was still considered a minor. Just because a female has the ability to become pregnant doesn't mean she is mature enough to make such an important decision without parental guidance.
Think about it. If it were your child and a neighbor took her across state lines for a hernia operation or an appendectomy without your knowledge, let alone permission, how would you react? We have gotten to the point that abortion rights are protected, no matter what.
Parents, wake up! This should never happen in America. You are responsible for your child, no one else.
This neighbor should be prosecuted to the fullest extent for endangering a minor.
LORINDA SPECK
ROANOKE
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