Letters: March 29, 2010

'Scandal in Afghanistan'
Of the large number of Afghan police trainees no longer with the force, how many of them took their assault rifles with them when they left?
Burr Loomis, Chambersburg, Pa.

We have to stop outsourcing vital military functions. First Blackwater, now DynCorp—when will we learn? We need people responsible for representing our country to care about the jobs they are hired to accomplish, not just be in it for the money. The people we are trying to help deserve our respect, which is evidenced by the quality of the support we provide.
Clare Gengarelly, St. David, Ariz.

'Bibi's Bluster'
I couldn't help finding irony in the portrait of George Washington looming above President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu in a photo accompanying "Bibi's Bluster." I hope the president reminded the prime minister of Washington's historic advice to "steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." There is still much applicable wisdom in the first president's Farewell Address, with its mature reflections on national unity, the perils of party, and the conduct of foreign relations.
Steve McGreal, Chicago, Ill.

'Are We There Yet?'
As an alumnus of that era, I much admired your piece on the women's revolt at NEWSWEEK And what has (and hasn't) happened since. It's a sad truth that, as you put it, the victory dance is premature. They almost always are in revolutions; I wrote about the black struggle in the '60s and had a similar "wow" moment with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As with NEWSWEEK And the larger American workplace, a lot of progress has been made since that season of rebellion; we've got a black president and two sitting women Supremes. But if John Lewis can still be called a n----r and Nancy Pelosi can be caricatured as the spawn of Satan, how far have we really come, and how much further do we have to go? Youth, impatience, and the fierce urgency of now—that was the soul of the women's uprising of 40 years ago. As I can testify, youth fades, but impatience and urgency shouldn't, and don't have to.
Peter Goldman Newsweek Senior Editor from 1968 to 1988, New York, N.Y.

The dilemma described in "Are We There Yet?" has a name: the double bind. It's where you face two coexisting demands, yet anything you do to fulfill one violates the other. If a woman acts like a person in authority, she violates expectations for women and isn't liked. If she acts as women are expected to act, she violates expectations for a person in authority. Though the result is aptly described as "sexism," the process by which it holds women back—and the reason it still exists long after we thought equality was achieved—is that these conflicting expectations are deeply ingrained in our assumptions about women and work.
Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

At 59 years old, I have faced as much discrimination from other women as from men, if not more. Feminists in the early women's movement trashed each other. Female co-workers betray and sabotage each other every day. We cannot expect equality with men until we create equality with each other.
Paula Kramer, Nelsonville, Wis.