DATE: Thursday, February 27, 1997           TAG: 9702270012

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Letter 

                                            LENGTH:  150 lines

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

GENDER

Women fight on home fronts, too

I must wonder if Nicholas Allen has ever been a guest on one of those afternoon talk shows? I ask this after reading his Feb. 20 letter, ``Women in the military? Give me a break. . . .''

He inquired about the difference in length of course for men and women while golfing. The answer is simple. It isn't that she is ``weaker,'' it's just that she doesn't have the strength to deal with a full day of golf and still defend the enemy lines that are awaiting her at the home front.

As for tennis, well, if a woman played five full sets, she wouldn't have enough time to get home and put the pot roast in the oven for her husband and starving children that await in the foxhole she calls her house.

Oh, and the draft. Come on, no one likes it. If you don't believe me, just ask the president. Although I wasn't born yet, I hear a whole lot of men were high-tailing it to Canada. Whether a body does or does not contain ovaries doesn't dictate their likelihood to dodge or not to dodge.

Heather M. Contant

Photographer's mate third class

United States Navy

Norfolk, Feb. 20, 1997

Today's high-tech

military needs

woman's touch

Nicholas P. Allen raises some very interesting points in his Feb. 20 letter explaining why women should not be allowed in the military. After detailing why women's golf tees are closer to the hole, why women's professional tennis games are shorter, and why the Chicago Bulls would consistently lose if they had a woman on the team, he goes on to state that a group of male barflies could take on ``a battalion of the meanest, best-trained women in the military'' and win (presumably).

Modern warfare consists of many sophisticated, high-technology elements requiring highly trained personnel. I suggest that many women are not only up to these demanding tasks but superior to many of their male counterparts.

A country's military exists, as George Will puts it, ``in a culture of extreme violence.'' Extreme violence can be done in the parking lot of a bar or by the push of a button launching a multiple-warhead ballistic missile. Physical strength is not always an issue. I would welcome women in the military of any country. Perhaps by exposing the other 50 percent of the world's population to the mechanics of executing a war, we may all decide to give that up and do something constructive; like golf perhaps?

Paul A. Robinson

Norfolk, Feb. 21, 1997

THE RHINOS

We're still a region

no one's heard of

Those who are glad to have seen the Rhinos bid fail did not fully grasp the benefits a big-league team provides to this area.

It has very little to do with hockey. It has almost everything to do with better-paying jobs, an increased tax base and an improved quality of life.

But to accomplish that, Hampton Roads needs a vehicle through which it can promote itself nationally - a place that gets the attention of Fortune 500 companies. I can think of few examples outside of an airline hub that offer the kind of publicity major-league sports brings. See Green Bay.

So until the next George Shinn gets here, let's consider the long-term benefits of big-league sports to Hampton Roads . . . unless you're content being the biggest little region no one ever heard of.

Doug Aronson

Chesapeake, Feb. 21, 1997

Just say no to

Shinn, et al.

Why can't George Shinn take a hint? The people didn't want the Rhinos, and tried to tell City Council, but when did the council ever ask the citizens of Norfolk anything? Their idea is, Build it and they will come. Guess what? They didn't. Just look at Nauticus; it's still empty.

Now Shinn is going after Gary Bettman. Let's hope Bettman just says no and that Shinn listens this time.

I don't know about the rest of you in Norfolk, but my pockets are getting empty when it comes to the possible new taxes to pay for all of these pipe dreams, and Norfolk is running out of real estate to hawk.

Robert K. Voskuhl

Norfolk, Feb. 21, 1997

Beach, Norfolk

dropped the ball

With respect to the Beach council's opposition to an arena in Norfolk, if the Beach council felt it was being pushed down their throats, then they are obviously opposed to the economic welfare of the region as a whole. They should have been only too happy to be involved in such a wonderful opportunity, not only for unity among area communties but for broader economic expansion.

With respect to the city of Norfolk, if they had been more forthright and cooperative over the years, and if they would not hold the Lake Gaston issue over the Beach's head, perhaps the two councils could work together, instead of at odds, and get some things done for the region.

This was the only chance we had for any kind of recognition by any major-league sport and we let it get away, as usual. We had a hardworking, experienced owner who came to us with the marketing expertise and financial resources needed for such an undertaking. We just couldn't put our petty differences behind us.

Michael A. Via

Virginia Beach, Feb. 19, 1997

MARIJUANA

Schools should encourage truth

Three cheers to Larry Maddry for his article, ``What did student learn from school's drug policy?''

What was done to Jaime Driggers was, in my opinion, intolerable and shameful. When a school goes by the letter of the law and not the meaning or intention, the students are the only parties that suffer.

How can we as parents expect our children to ``do the right thing,'' as Spike Lee suggests, if the schools that we trust to teach and help guide them encourage them to hide the truth?

Cathlene B. Armstrong

Virginia Beach, Feb. 15, 1997

Don't just kick

aside problems

I read with extreme interest Larry Maddry's Feb. 15 article, ``What kind of lesson did student learn from school's drug policy?'' It recounted how a 12-year-old student found a plastic bag containing marijuana seeds and, upon arrival at school, immediately turned them in to his teacher. The student was suspended for possession of contraband on school property. The article quotes the principal, when asked what action the student should have taken to avoid the suspension, as saying that he should have ``either kicked the bag to the side or taken them home.''

The student did exactly the right thing in bringing the contraband to the attention of an authority figure and should have been lauded. What are we teaching our students when these types of actions are rewarded with punishment?

I am indeed shocked that our public-school administrators are advocating a kick-it-aside attitude. If a problem is surfaced, it can be dealt with right away, thereby minimizing the negative impact. To kick the problem aside leads to an environment of mistrust, lack of communication and dishonesty.

Michael Ragsdale

Chesapeake, Feb. 15, 1997

Turning in drugs

Jaime Driggers (the young man who turned marijuana in to his teacher) is a hero in our eyes. Anyone who tries to get marijuana off the streets should be praised, not treated as a criminal and thrown out of school. We need to encourage more young people to turn in drugs and not allow the drugs to sit around for others. We are quite upset that our public-school leadership has shown a total lack of common sense in dealing with a serious problem.

Let's work together as a community to get drugs off the streets.

Jesse and Mary Fanshaw

Virginia Beach, Feb. 16, 1997

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