Letters for November 16, 2006

Throwing stones, yup yup!

Re “Rites of passage” by Christine Craft (SN&R Essay, November 9):

One might ask why Christine Craft feels compelled to criticize a group of men who are merely trying to improve themselves and their families. It isn’t enough that these men are seeking betterment; they must seek it in ways that are deemed acceptable by Ms. Craft. “D” showed true courage and grit by sneaking in to a Promise Keepers event dressed as a man. It is unfortunate, however, that she apparently lacks listening and comprehension skills equivalent to her renowned bravery.

If she had listened a little harder, she might have realized that none of the speakers at the event were telling men that it was enough to merely “come forward from their arena seats, hug their new best buddies whom they’ve just met, and cry up a river of deliverance tears.” What the men actually were being told was that acknowledging their need to lean on God and their fellow men for support is merely the first step in a long-term battle.

The second, far-harder step was to acknowledge their failings and ask for forgiveness and advice on better serving their loved ones in the future. The third and toughest step of all is to actually put those words into action. But these instructions, and the break that was taken specifically for men to get a chance to make phone calls to their families and ask these questions, must have been while “D” was out surveying the literature in the hallway. After all, she never would deliberately present a skewed view of what went on just to support her own foregone conclusions.

Promise Keepers is not about a one time get-out-of-sin-free card to avoid accountability. The opposite is true: Promise Keepers is about coming face-to-face with our own sin and error, asking forgiveness and learning to serve.

Maybe Craft and “D” disagree with the Promise Keeper method or message. Fair enough. But the bottom line is that there are far too many failing marriages and families in our world today. Promise Keepers is trying to do something to fix that. Perhaps Craft and SN&R should stop throwing stones and try to help. Yup yup!

Joshua Speakes
Sacramento

Craft should stick to the air

Re “Rites of passage” by Christine Craft (SN&R Essay, November 9):

Hmm. Another article in SN&R that makes fun of Christian worship (“raised palms in the air,” among other comments).

I thought this newspaper wanted to promote tolerance, but it looks as if it likes to make fun of things the authors don’t understand.

I believe Christine Craft meant her article to be some sort of exposé on Promise Keepers. This was hard to decipher, since about half of it was about her friend “D” posturing as a man. But the parts that did discuss D’s actual experience at Promise Keepers lacked credibility. There were no direct quotes. There was lots of poking fun without giving the reader any valid sources of what was so funny.

As a woman who has attended Promise Keepers (and not undercover or as a food server), I am confused by Ms. Craft’s apparent problem with it. Historically, Promise Keepers was founded on exactly what its title implies: keeping promises. This includes not only promises of fidelity, but also to love one’s wife, to be there for one’s children, even to help around the house. It also has included racial reconciliation among men.

I’m not sure why a liberal feminist would find fault with that.

It seems Ms. Craft has her own bias, which makes for poor journalistic exposés. Maybe she should stick to the airways.

Bronwyn Schweigerdt
Sacramento

Joy to read Joey

Re “Runaway hubby” by Joey Garcia (SN&R Ask Joey, November 9):

I’m a person who believes people should be recognized for the things they do in their life. So I wanted to thank you for publishing Joey Garcia’s heartfelt answers in her Ask Joey column. I always enjoy how very real she is with people, and how she ties spirituality into many of her perspectives. It’s a joy to read Ask Joey.

Peter Villanueva
Sacramento

What’s so bad about billionaires?

Re “On November 7, SN&R recommends …” (SN&R Opinion, November 2):

In your voting guide section, while freely admitting that Cruz Bustamante is a criminal, you recommended him over the “billionaire” Steve Poizner.

So your only criticism of Poizner is that he’s a “billionaire”? When did being rich become such a bad thing? Phil Angelides is also a billionaire, yet you recommended him for the office of governor.

Mark Williams
Sacramento

Editor’s note: While Angelides is a multimillionaire, his net worth is less than a billion.