This letter is in response to Ken Goze’s Sept. 30 column.

How do you move from a close-to-insightful commentary about euphemistic war coverage to an attack on the phrases used to describe the handicapped and the word “womyn”?

“Physically handicapped” is repulsive? That is not masking reality, it’s taking the focus off of the disability and putting it on the person.

Apparently you’ve never felt the humiliation (or seen what it does) of hearing yourself called a “cripple” by ignorant people (ignorant is, of course, independent of stupid). Do you advocate the use of words people used to use—”idiot,” “moron,” “cripple” or “retard”? These are categorizing, pigeonholing words that prejudice.

Or, should we gather together and brainstorm—creating words that put the focus on their abilities.

When your son is someday struggling in school, will you encourage him and help him find his strengths or will you call him stupid?

You don’t seem to have had experience with these people. Spend Christmas Break at the Lamb’s Farm. You will discover their abilities. They used to sometimes be “idiot savants.” Now they are “savants”—KNOWERS.

Become a hugger at the Special Olympics. Maybe after gaining some knowledge, you could offer us an educated opinion.

I can’t even begin to tell you how disgusting it is that you would trivialize the PC movement so much by asking if they would call Manson and Dahmer “differently perceptive.” What would they call you?

And one other point I wish to waste little breath on: why are you so defensive about the word “womyn”? If you think feminists are wrong for being unable to stand to have any visual connection to “men”—then why can’t you do without the connection? Why attack it?

Why shouldn’t we define ourselves in terms of OURSELVES? When women can define themselves in terms of themselves—then we will be free to grow and develop truly.

How can one see oneself if the only given comparisons are the men around us? This is simply the step after the one where some of us stopped using Mrs. which is a contraction of “mister’s.” I’m assuming that you do not assume that I am property.

So when you talk about pulling the chrome handle on somebody’s garbage ….

Tara Bardi

DeKalb resident