Letters
What a week. Keith O'Brien's July 9 cover story on Norman Swerling elicited hundreds of letters, some supporting the driver's ed teacher, and others condemning him. Meanwhile, Miss Conduct's response to a question on Iraq drew growls and gratitude, and a Sudoku enthusiast celebrated.
Norman Swerling was my driver's education teacher in 1979, and he was quite a character ("Not Guilty," July 9). He introduced each class with a bumper-sticker aphorism. Maybe the lesson of this case should be that driver's education teachers should take their own advice: Keep both hands on the wheel, stay in your own lane, and remember to yield - but not to temptation.
JASON M. RUBIN /// Melrose
I take issue with the Globe for not identifying the accuser in the case. Mr. Swerling's name has been bandied about a great deal and even in your story, many months after the fact. The accuser gets to walk around scot-free and is protected by the press. Meanwhile, Swerling's life is ruined. Something does not seem right about that.
JAMES HIGGINS /// Hyde Park
Keith O'Brien uses stereotypes of the victim as a whore who asked for it because she is good-looking and has posted what he calls "pinup shots" of herself on her website. Feminists have been laboring for decades to reverse this terribly wrong and misguided assumption so that rape victims could come forward to get justice. Swerling, who currently receives more than $80,000 a year for not working, does not deserve any tears.
REBECCA PONTIKES /// Cambridge
I was sad to see that Norman Swerling had the defacing question "Rapist?" with his picture. He was acquitted, and therefore not guilty. In our system, that is what it takes to eliminate the question. It appears that his strict teaching did not match the girl's personal needs, but he has taught many teens safe driving, including my sons. Thanks to Swerling, they are both excellent drivers.
ROSALIE WEENER /// Newton
So the girl got the time of day wrong and forgot to say she took her seat belt off, and this is supposed to persuade me she's lying? It makes no sense for a teacher with an active dislike of a student to hound her mother for private driving lessons and then comment on her looks to another adult, period.
D. BARGHOTHI /// Jersey City, New Jersey
Keith O'Brien's article left me feeling that if Norman Swerling had done anything wrong, he would have broken with guilty grief about it by now, admitting it somehow.
KATY LEHMAN LANDISHAW /// Lyman, South Carolina
Professional ethics in other fields dictate that professionals not be alone with clients or patients of the opposite sex, or, if this occurs, they leave the door open to a hallway or larger office. This seems a prudent precaution for teachers as well. Establishing an explicit "open door" policy is an important safety measure for students and teachers.
NAOMI BAR-YAM /// Newton
SUDOKU SATISFIES
For the first time since Sudoku puzzles have appeared in the magazine, I was finally able to complete one today ("Sudoku," July 9). I am very excited! A couple of weeks ago, in frustration (after I shredded the puzzle page with my pencil), I gave up entirely. I'm so glad I gave it another try.
PATRICIA BELL /// Chelmsford
THE RIGHT CONDUCT?
Too bad Robin Abrahams couldn't answer the Marine mom's question without injecting her own opinion of the war ("Miss Conduct," July 9). The most polite response to the question would have been an uncontroversial one. Many of us feel we owe that woman and her son not only our "compassion and respect," but most of all, our gratitude. Abrahams blew it.
LISA DICKMANN /// Portsmouth, Rhode Island
An hour before I read the column, I learned that my son, who is serving in Iraq, was in a tank that was hit by an IED. One part of Robin Abrahams's response, "Please hold on until November and be as brave as your son, for your son," hit me as I sat there, numb from crying and angst. Thank you, Miss Conduct, for being there at the right time for me.
CATHERINE DONEGAN ///Somerville
