Gallup, I wasn’t assigned a gender
Recently, I received a survey from Gallup that included a question about general demographics which surprised me. It asked what gender I was assigned at birth. “Assigned,” not identified or recognized. From the moment of my birth, I was observed to be female. Over the years, I have manifested qualities typically considered feminine such as tender heartedness and nurturing traits. I have also manifested qualities typically considered masculine such as strong mathematical ability and courage under pressure.
I appreciate the current trend to question gender stereotyping and allow individuals to develop a full range of gifts and abilities. However, I wasn’t assigned my gender. I was born with it.
I am concerned by cultural shifts that begin with redefining words.
M.A. Milbank
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
Newspaper must live up to its core values
I love your paper’s Statement of Core Values that appears on page 2 every day. It calls for reporting “without personal opinion or bias” and states correctly that “impartiality is the greatest source of credibility” for any news medium. It’s a wonderful statement of how a newspaper should aim to report the news.
However, the ideals expressed in the statement are in jarring contrast to the reality of the news reporting found in most stories covering national political issues. The reporting from the major wire services (namely, the Associated Press and New York Times News Service) are dripping with bias in virtually every story you print, especially when it concerns President Trump or the Republican Party.
It is this flagrant display of partiality that has led to the charge of “fake news” against major news outlets. There is not even the pretense of objectivity in “the mainstream media.” Sadly, the Times Free Press is also a purveyor of “fake news” because of its reliance on biased national wire services.
You have an otherwise excellent newspaper, but perhaps you should stop printing your core values so prominently until you can actually live up to them.
Philip Lancaster
Lookout Mountain, Ga.
‘Migrants’ need to wait their turn
Our country is based on the rule of law. Even at fast-food restaurants, Americans know how to stand in line. Illegal aliens are called “migrants,” as if they are going from Cleveland to Rossville. They are not. They are sneaking into our country illegally. And they illegally bring children with them. I have compassion for children, but I have compassion for children of all countries, not just those who sneak across our Southern border. I do mission work in many countries. There are people in Romania and Cameroon and Venezuela patiently waiting their turn to get to emigrate to America. They have children, too. What about them? We are a country of immigrants. We are a compassionate people. But everyone should wait their turn with everyone else or be sent to the back of the line.
Gerald Whitely
Ringgold, Ga.