We would like to reply to Sara P.’s letter about perverts at her school (Feb. 1 Backtalk). We can completely relate to her story. We have many boys in our 6th-grade class who talk about a lot of gross and disgusting things. They talk about sex, body parts and girls in a way that it shouldn’t be said. Since some of them are my friends, I am constantly around this nasty behavior. I don’t want to get them in trouble, but me and some of my girlfriends can’t tolerate their behavior any longer. The guys get as pathetic as trying to watch porn on a blurry screen because they don’t get that channel! It’s really sad. They also seem to think it is normal for their age and think it’s funny, but no one else thinks so. I really want to make them stop, because they also shout out gross comments about their body parts. They even make fun of us using bad language and say sick things about all the girls. Sometimes they can be unbelievably annoying and also cruel. I hope they stop soon.
— Reina R., 12
I agree with Sarah P. But what kind of school do you go to? I mean, a kid sticking his hand down another kid’s pants! That’s just nasty. Your school needs to teach you two things. One thing is called self-control. The other is a little something I like to call keeping your hands to yourself!
— Matt D., 11
Bottled blond
In response to Emily K. (Feb 1. Backtalk), I would just like you to know that Christina Aguilera’s song “Genie in a Bottle” is not about her losing her virginity. It’s actually about her not wanting to go so fast in the relation-ship and wanting to be respected. And, just so you know, she said it herself on an MTV special. Anyway, just wanted to clear that up. So thanks!
— Stefanie W., 12
Headed for trouble?
I totally disagree with you, Maura (Feb. 1 Backtalk). If WWF wrestler Al Snow has a head on the show, he shouldn’t. Younger children will see that there is a head without a body and will start taking the heads off of their toys, then start hurting other children.
Nicole (Feb. 1 Backtalk), I don’t think socks are alive, have feelings or a nervous system!
— Becca P., 10
KidNews note: Hey, Becca, you’ve never gotten close to our stanky ol’ socks! (Lucky you!) We’re sure they’ve become some kind of funky new life form!
I think Al Snow should carry a woman’s head. It’s like a trademark of his. Having Snow without a woman’s head is like having a bird without wings. Little kids shouldn’t be watching wrestling anyway.
— Alicia F., 10
Traitors? We’ve had our Phil!
Michael Jordan is being called a traitor in Chicago. I don’t think he’s the only traitor. I think Phil Jackson is too. They said they were going to retire, but they came back, and that’s not right.
— Zach G., 10
Phil Jackson isn’t as good of a coach as everybody makes him out to be. It’s kind of easy to be a great coach when you have two of the 50 greatest players on your team. I think the way you can see that he’s not that good of a coach is that when Michael Jordan left, the Bulls barely made the playoffs. But Mike came back and made him shine again.
I can just imagine being in a huddle with Phil with 10 seconds left. Everybody’s tired, waiting for a play, and all Phil says are four words: “Give it to Mike.” Yeah, that’s great coaching. He was making about $3 million to say give it to Mike. I don’t think he should make all that money for doing nothing.
— Brandon F., 12
Slow-mo drivers
Have you ever been in a hurry to get somewhere, but the person in front of you is going too slow? I have, and I hated it! It’s the worst thing ever! For example, when I’m trying to get to my dance class and I’m going to be late, it seems there’s always that someone who has to go 5 m.p.h.
When people hit a certain age (let’s say 50), they should be required to take the Driver’s Ed test again. This would prevent most of the tickets, accidents and deaths on the road. Also why not have more cops on the road or make up a new law regarding the way people drive?
— C., 12
KidNews note: We get impatient sometimes, too, C.! By the way, we wanted to know if drivers 50 and older really are behind most accidents, so we checked it out. Actually, statistics show that younger drivers are the most dangerous. According to the National Safety Council, drivers 25-34 account for the highest percentage of fatal accidents (21 percent) and accidents in general (23 percent). Drivers 45-54 account for the same percentage of accidents in general as drivers 19 and younger (13.8 percent).
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