Praise for NOW and for Tammy Bruce

Were she with us today, Simone De Beauvoir would undoubtedly smile ironically at the latest bout of infighting between members of the National Organization for Women (“A House Divided in Pursuit of Equality,” by Robin Abcarian, Dec. 17).

De Beauvoir might well be intrigued to discover that women continue to vehemently disagree within their own ranks on volatile issues. Then again, perhaps it is to be expected when strong-minded, intelligent people come together for a cause.

Still, one can’t help but speculate as to how this latest brouhaha could have been avoided. Placing Tammy Bruce at the helm of L.A.’s NOW chapter was a poor choice. Bruce’s less-than-circumspect opinions have frequently stirred up a caldron of public dissension on less pivotal issues. However, this instance of divisiveness within NOW concerns issues that are extremely serious.

Bruce’s reactive comments following the O.J. Simpson verdict bespoke a knee-jerk response that gave many women pause. Calm in the face of danger is not her strong suit. Racial animosity and domestic violence are both delicate and highly charged issues. And they can be dangerous unless answers and solutions are intelligently spoken and calmly activated. Censure of Bruce by NOW board members was requisite and appropriate.

BETTE AMSLER

Joshua Tree

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You really missed the mark this time. Since when has NOW or any other activist organization weighed political sensitivity before deciding what position one of their leaders should take? NOW has become much too conciliatory if its leaders can’t see that Tammy Bruce is passionate, gutsy, fair and right.

I’m a black man who generally does not agree with NOW or Bruce, but I have studied her ascension here in Los Angeles quite closely, including the evolution of her radio show, and I have found no racism there.

Face it, Ms. Abcarian, NOW is wrong. The only racial angle to the Simpson trial was artificially manufactured and Bruce is right to ignore it.

BERNARD JACKSON

Inglewood

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Kudos to Robin Abcarian for printing what lots of women have been feeling but don’t have the guts to say. Tammy Bruce is a one-agenda person. Unfortunately for NOW and for women everywhere, that agenda is self-promotion. Bruce is always mugging for the camera and, regrettably, station management at KFI gives her license to do it there as well.

Since when did NOW become a single-topic organization? No woman wants to see the perpetuation of violence by men against women. However, women have many problems that should be addressed and NOW needs to tackle those issues, i.e. better and more available day care for working mothers, more dollars for medical research and experiments dealing with seriously ill women, low-cost, easy-access vaccinations for children, fighting for quality educators in our schools.

And, oh, by the way, in case no one noticed, the glass ceiling is nowhere close to caving in. Has anyone seen equal pay for equal work for women executives, scant in number as they still are at the end of the 20th century?

LUCY BLASI

Torrance