Opinion: The question of gender

To the editor: If I read Jonah Goldberg’s essay correctly, he has now accused Hillary Clinton of 1) being a woman, 2) formerly holding an elected office and, perhaps most devastatingly, 3) running for President.

( “Clinton’s gender advantage,” Opinion, Aug. 2)

His indignation is palpable, even if its source and purpose are hard to fathom.

Just as Trump’s candidacy has people on the left feeling horrified and ashamed, it seems to have people on the right feeling panicked and adrift. I wish Goldberg luck in regaining his bearings.

David Carpenter, Claremont

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To the editor: In his typically callous fashion, Goldberg manages to belittle women’s studies departments while lauding efforts to establish women’s rights.

While this feat may be worthy of (dubious) merit, it is troubling that his defense of our nation’s oppressive history is that, to paraphrase, “Hey, nobody else was treating women well either.” That argument didn’t get me off when I illegally (and regrettably) downloaded “Minions.” But hey, everyone else was doing it!

If we want to continue to claim to be the greatest nation on Earth, perhaps we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.

Kevin Litman-Navarro, Long Beach

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