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Sexual abuse can cause self-hatred
Self-hatred was the worst damage done by sexual abuse during my childhood. Whether it is done by a neighbor, priest, coach or family member, I believe unresolved molestation is a time bomb.
When an older boy tried to rape me at age 6, I hated myself. “How could I be so stupid to let him trap me? I should have known better,” I said to myself. “And if I tell Mom, she’ll be mad at me for playing over there.”
A family member tried some sexual stuff on me at age 9, and my thinking was, “If I tell, it’ll be a big mess. He’ll get in trouble, but my family will hate me for causing the whole thing. It’s – I’m – not worth it.”
I told myself that it was no big deal, that it happens to everyone. And for years, that worked. I was an honors graduate, married well and had a fine family.
But the molestation was a big deal, because depression devastated me at about age 40. It took five years of counseling to come back to life.
Now I know that I was a good kid in a very bad place. But it took telling, and counseling, to truly quit hating myself.
S. LARSEN
Wichita
Speak English
The Eagle editorial board may think that Wichita’s immigrant students will one day enrich the workforce (“Diversity creates challenge,” Nov. 9 Eagle Editorial), but I say the benefits are not outweighing the crazy amount of money this district spends on kids who should be speaking English before they set foot in the classroom.
I was appalled to learn that some of these kids don’t speak English when they enter kindergarten, even though they have lived here for five years (Nov. 7 Eagle). Even if their parents are not citizens, they should make sure their American-born children learn the language they will need to succeed, without expecting the community to cover them when they don’t bother. This is political correctness run amok, and it’s bankrupting school systems across this country. It’s also causing teachers to waste their time getting English for Speakers of Other Languages endorsements, when all they should be worried about is teaching their respective subjects.
Yes, we’re a nation of immigrants, but in the past immigrants learned the language because no one coddled them. And if Wichita continues along this vein, it will become poorer – as the middle class leaves for districts that spend their money teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, not English as a second language.
KATHLEEN BUTLER
Wichita
Accept Israel
“Vote for Palestine” (Nov. 8 Letters to the Editor) advocated granting Palestine full membership in the United Nations.
What we know as Palestine is a cluster of territory controlled by various Iranian-subordinate organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Arabs living in the region in 1947 departed, as requested, to clear the way for the destruction of the Israelis by the invading combined Arab armies. Unfortunately for them, the invaders were crushed by the Israeli forces, leaving the local Arabs no way to gracefully return to their abandoned homes.
Negotiations for the establishment of a Palestinian state have been hindered by their unwillingness to accept Israel as an established state. How can you make peace with someone who, in your mind, does not exist? Peace has not been achieved, so the Arab people who lived in what is Israel and the occupied territories have turned to their anti-Semitic friends in the United Nations for help.
Until those known as Palestinians accept Israel as a reality, there can be no peace. What they can do is organize their area as if it were a nation so as to be prepared for eventual statehood.
RICHARD GILMARTIN
Wichita
Real heroes
An athlete or an actor has no impact in my life. The folks who work overtime in awful weather to keep our streets safe are more valuable. My thanks to them.
ALBERT GARRETT
Wichita
Toy Scrooge
An Opinion Line contributor was ticked off at the “small” number in the community who ride motorcycles for having the audacity to stop traffic while they paraded through the city to the Kansas Coliseum with thousands of toys.
This person must not realize, sitting in his or her car at a stoplight, that every block of the entire parade route is lined with people waving, holding U.S. flags, cheering and having a great time seeing all the big, bad bikers with toys strapped to their machines.
Also, this person apparently didn’t pay attention to the media, which gave suggestions on how to navigate around the parade route.
I’ve been in 27 of the 32 Wichita Toy Runs, and every year there is some Scrooge who has to shout, “Bah, humbug.” Some even wave their middle fingers at us. I smile and return the peace sign. I feel sorry for those who have no heart or compassion and are not smart enough to know how to avoid the parade route.
I also think it’s a shame the city of Wichita now charges $3,000 for a parade permit to such an outstanding charitable event.
JOHN DeARMOND
Wichita
